If Swans players were split into Nerds and Julios as the Australian cricket team's players have been for some years, there would be little doubt which camp Craig Bird would be in.
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There is none of the vivid body art, fancy hair work or designer threads some of his Julio-esque teammates prefer. Bird is much more a no-frills Nerd, a hard-working silent achiever who has done a solid, vital and mostly unglamorous job for the Swans over 134 games since 2008.
As his colleagues grab the glory, the 26-year-old premiership winner almost always flies under the radar, assigned unfashionable tagging roles on dangerous opponents with the express task of nullifying their threat.
Bird will have another inglorious job to perform in the top-of-the-table clash with Fremantle in Perth on Saturday. It may not command the same attention as a bag-full for Buddy or match-stealing goal from young star Isaac Heeney. But his performance on Dockers midfielder Nat Fyfe - widely rated the best player in the competition - could have the biggest bearing on whether the Swans emerge with their unbeaten record intact.
"I've played on Nat a few times and he's a very tough match-up and he's been in great form again this year," Bird said.
"He's such a tough bloke to match up on. He's a really good contested-footy player, really strong inside but he can also run and be on the outside as well.
"He's also a really good overhead mark and can take you forward and kick goals on you. His work rate around the ground is really good. He's pretty tough to stop. He's someone we'll really have to watch."
The 23-year-old Fyfe amassed more than 30 possessions in each of the Dockers' wins over Port Adelaide, Geelong and West Coast. Bird, being the Swans' best shut-down player, will almost certainly spend much of the game pestering the lethal midfielder. However, he explained, it is uncertain if he will have the job on Fyfe all on his own.
"If you get assigned to a certain player, you're job is to pretty much stop his influence on the game," he said. "But it's also about sticking to the team structure, which means you might not always be playing on them. We have some target players in the Freo side we know we need to watch, so I think it's really a whole team effort."
While Fyfe is in the midfield Bird will probably keep him company. But if he moves forward the baton will be passed on to one of the Swans' back six
"Sometimes you might go with him all the way," Bird said. "But the coaches might decide to have a couple of different players working on him. It varies according to which team you're playing, who's playing and what the coaches want to go with."
Most kids grow up dreaming of kicking classic goals and taking high-flying marks. Bird, who grew up in rugby league territory north of Newcastle, discovered a very different reality when he joined the Swans as a NSW scholarship holder in the 2007 draft. Last season he talked about his desire to play more as a genuine midfielder and his wish was granted. The result was a career-high average 20 possessions per game, as well as five tackles and just under four clearances each match.
Bird still wants to play a position with more freedom. However, for matches such as the Anzac Day clash with Fremantle, there is an obvious role his team needs him to play.
"I don't think I'm going to have run-with roles every week," said Bird, who did a great job keeping GWS on-baller Dylan Shiel quiet in last week's win over the Giants.
"It's just about playing the role you're given each week and it's just sort of worked out so far this season that I've had a couple of roles like that. But things can change from week to week.
"Last year I had some run-withs but also played as a two-way midfielder. We'll have to see how the season pans out but I've been enjoying it so far. We've had a good start to the year, a lot better a start than last year."
