ESSENDON recruit Craig Bird is the only premiership player on the Bombers' list and the former Sydney Swan is ready for the challenge of helping his new side back into the finals.
Bird joined Essendon as part of a three-way trade that saw the Bombers lose Jake Carlisle to St Kilda in October's exchange period.
The hard and tough inside midfielder, who featured in the Swans' 2012 Grand Final win over Hawthorn, played just six games in John Longmire's team this season and said the interest from new Essendon coach John Worsfold swayed him to make the switch.
"It wasn't until a couple of days before the [trade] deadline and I was interested in a new opportunity somewhere and Essendon approached me. I was pretty excited to come down here and John Worsfold was keen to get me down here," Bird said on Wednesday.
"'Woosha' saw a spot for me in the team and he was pretty keen to get me down here. I was obviously disappointed to leave Sydney.
I didn't really want to leave the Dons: Melksham
"I loved my time in Sydney and we had great success there but I think Essendon were a bit more keen to get me down here than what Sydney was to keep me, so at the end of the day I was pretty excited by that and I'm looking forward to working under Woosha."
Long-term injuries to Jobe Watson, David Myers and Heath Hocking last season showed the Bombers were light in depth for ball-winning midfielders, with Bird's addition helping to bolster that area of the ground.
Bird expects to spend the majority of his time in that role, but has also been earmarked to be used off half-back, a spot he was occasionally placed in his 137-game career with the Swans.
But Bird faces a new task at Essendon, which finished in the bottom four last season and has not won a final since 2004.
In the 26-year-old's eight seasons with the Swans the club missed the finals just once (in 2009) and he hopes his new teammates can build towards sustained success like his former side.
"It's exciting, there's a lot of new faces and a lot of young players here. The challenge is getting back in that final eight, whereas at Sydney we were probably up there a fair bit in my career," he said.
"It's a bit of a different challenge but it's exciting at the same time. I'm looking forward to seeing these kids develop and some of the older guys having some success."
The retirements of Dustin Fletcher and Paul Chapman last season left the Bombers, for a short time, without a premiership player on their list.
Brendon Goddard and James Gwilt both played in Grand Finals for St Kilda, but Bird's arrival at Essendon means he is the only player at Tullamarine to have tasted flag glory.
He sees it as part of his adjusted role at Essendon to steer the group as much as he can using his experience.
"At Sydney I wasn't really one of the veterans, but coming down here I'm probably one of the more experienced players. I think I'm going to help out some of the younger guys and help push them along," Bird said.
"A few guys have played in Grand Finals so they know what it takes to make one, but it was good having that experience of the premiership so I can pass some of that knowledge on to the other guys and give a bit of feedback to them about what it takes to get there."
