If you were asked at the start of the year to nominate which five-eighth from Sunday's Manly-Cronulla clash would be steering his team towards a top-four berth, you probably would have said Kieran Foran. Or maybe, if you were brave, Ben Barba.

Instead, a previously unheralded rookie, whose game sense and battle with arthritis belies his years, has overshadowed them both.

If the Sharks beat the Sea Eagles to secure a second-chance shot in the playoffs, Bird will have played a big part. The 20-year-old arrived in the Sutherland Shire without the fanfare that greeted Barba but such has been his contribution that he has beaten the Dally M medallist for the No.6 jersey. The impending arrival of James Maloney at the club next year means any halves headaches for coach Shane Flanagan are welcome ones.

While Foran will again dominate the focus in his farewell game for the Silvertails, Bird is the unlikely playmaker powering Cronulla's resurgence from last to a genuine premiership threat. "Kieran's a good player and they've been a good side for the last few years," Bird said. "It's unfortunate for them they had a bad run at the start of the year. We started the year off pretty bad as well, but we just found our groove, started playing as a team and here we are today."

Bird shifted from St George Illawarra with a view to cementing a spot in the centres. Instead, he was given the No.6 jersey that was initially earmarked for Barba, who will make a timely return from injury on Sunday. "No, not at all, I didn't think I was going to play five-eighth for the Sharks," he said. "I came here as a centre but I can play five-eighth and enjoy it. I'd probably pick five-eighth over centre, you get a bit more ball.

"I didn't know what was going to happen, it was a real eye opener. Benny is a great player, just circumstances weren't going his way. He was suspended, the team got off to a bad start but I don't think it was Benny's fault. You can't take it off him that he's a good player."

So too is Bird, who is a hot favourite for rookie of the year honours at the upcoming Dally M awards. The Berkley Eagles product struck up a friendship and combination with fellow youngster Valentine Holmes during their junior representative days. They played against each other in junior Origin fixtures but came together in the Australian under-20s side, where Bird was the centre and Holmes was his winger.

"Ever since then we've kicked on as pretty much best mates," he said. "I knew I was coming here then, he knew as well, so we had the bond going there."

The NSW Country representative - who reminds their coach Trent Barrett a bit of himself - considers former teammate Josh Dugan a mentor from their time together at the Dragons. Not that there's much risk of Bird over-indulging - the former Junior Kangaroo is still taking medication for rheumatoid arthritis which restricts his alcohol intake.

"I'm still taking my needles every fortnight," he said. "I take a tablet every Saturday and Wednesday night. I'm in remission at the moment, so there's no pain but the medication is a thing I have to keep continuing. It's all under control but once I get older hopefully I can cut down the doses. At the start my family were paying for [the treatment] and I think it's about $26,000 per year.

"It was hard for my family but back at the Dragons they were helping us out and paying for it. Now at Cronulla they are helping out, which is good for me and my family, we're grateful."