Greg Bird predicts Ricky Stuart will still play key role for NSW Blues Greg Bird (R) expects former Origin coach Ricky Stuart to remain involved with the team. GREG Bird has thrown his support behind incoming NSW coach Laurie Daley - but predicts Ricky Stuart will retain a significant hold on the side. The Indigenous back-rower's football has flourished under Stuart in the past two State of Origin series, and he credits him for the type of form that last month saw him named co-captain of the Gold Coast Titans alongside Nate Myles. While Daley will be his own man as Blues coach this year, Bird expects Stuart - who will serve as an adviser - to remain influential. "Ricky will do his best to get in there and get involved - the controlling bloke that Rick is," Bird said, grinning. He will want to be involved. I've enjoyed being back in Origin and I feel more of a leader. I'm playing the best football I've ever played. I feel like I'm in my prime, and it's because of him. It will be a lot different with Laurie onboard, but the coaching staff stays the same. There's a lot of knowledgeable blokes. Baz (Trent Barrett) will run a similar style of football to what we played under Rick. I'm looking forward to it. There were a couple of factors in the last series that were out of our control. If they had gone our way, the Queensland reign could be over. Not only is Bird reborn as a player in recent years, but he has been reborn as an indigenous man. He admits he felt "intimated" when he first came into the Indigenous All Stars side. "It was intimidating, because my appearance isn't the same," Bird said. But it doesn't matter what colour your skin is here. We're playing for the same thing, and representing the same thing, and we're all equal. My grandmother on my father's side is Aboriginal. I never had a great deal to do with it, the cultural side of it, due to family reasons. I guess I've been in the process of trying to find out more, through great uncles and the like. The desire to find out has grown. Found out a little bit, I'll definitely find out more. I felt a little bit like an outcast when I first came into camp because we were doing a lot of cultural activities, and a lot of people knew a lot more than I do. But others who I thought would've known - Scott Prince, Johnathan Thurston - they didn't know a great deal. Since then, they've gone out and found out more though their family. That's something I want to do.