City Sure Up Talented Young Trio

Nathan Bird (Anthony Napoli/CTY)

Words: Michael Flynn
Image: Anthony Napoli/Brisbane City FC

Three further Brisbane City talents will return in 2015, with Nathan Bird, Nick Buckley and Kai Smith re-signing for the club.

Midfielder Buckley and defender Smith, both 18, had break-out years in 2014, cementing their positions in the City first team after playing with the Youth Men’s and Under 18’s teams in the inaugural PlayStation 4 NPL Queensland campaign.

24-year-old attacking midfielder Bird (pictured) originally hails from Mareeba and previously played with FNQ Bulls in the former Queensland State League before making the move to City for the league’s first season.

Despite still being relatively young by football standards, Bird's 42 appearances in the past two seasons will make him one of the side’s most experienced players – a status he is still coming to terms with.

“It’s a little bit weird because I’ve come in two years ago and I was obviously the new boy when I started but now only a few seasons in I feel like I am pretty much one of the more senior players,” Bird said.

“I just say the same thing to the younger players coming through – just keep coming to training because the coaches look for commitment and just show them what you can do.”

Bird said his fellow re-signings Buckley and Smith were prime examples of the opportunities the club has provided dedicated young talents in recent seasons – with both players part of City’s 2013 Grand Final winning Youth Men’s team.

“When City sees a younger player that is ready to step up, they give them a shot in the senior squad. Bucks and Kai are two products that have done exactly that,” he added.

“They’ve come through the youth side and kept stepping up and now are pretty much permanent in the senior side – there is really a lot of opportunity at City.”

Bird netted twice in the 2014 season, taking his all-time league tally to five goals, but conceded his returns in front of goal should’ve been much greater.

“That’s probably the thing I want to work on most is my finishing. I probably could’ve scored a lot more goals but my end product wasn’t the best,” he explained.

“I’m going to do a lot more before and after training and some more stuff by myself just to try and put the ball into the back of the net.”

He added that the team’s emphasis this season will be to return to finals football following a disappointing 2014 campaign.

“I’m probably looking forward to this year more than any other. We probably didn’t have a great season last year and it’s something we want to rectify and get back to winning ways,” he concluded.

The signings take the number of confirmed players for City’s 2015 squad to six with further announcements expected in coming weeks.




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