By Angus Hayman

There are plenty of ways to measure whether a move has worked out.

For Randwick five-eighth Charlie Bird, the simplest might be to look at where they sit on the 1st Colts ladder or maybe the Green and Gold Jersey I’m sure is hanging up somewhere.

Bird made the move south from Queensland to Sydney with a clear goal: to give himself the best possible chance of playing his best rugby. It’s not to say Brisbane Boys College or Wests rugby club wasn’t going to do that for him but Coogee Oval is awfully enticing. 

It was a big decision, leaving family and friends behind and taking a punt on a new state, new club and new opportunity.

A little over a year later, the decision looks pretty easy to justify.

Bird has not only established himself in Randwick’s minor premiership-winning side, he has become one of the competition’s most influential attacking players and the highest point scorer in the competition. Then came the phone call every young player dreams of, earning selection for the Australian Under-20s and pulling on the green and gold.

“It was a surprise to be honest,” Bird said.

“But it was definitely one of my goals from when I finished school, was to play in the Australian Under-20s, and I didn’t think I’d get that same opportunity up in Queensland that I would down here.”

The opportunity Bird was chasing has certainly arrived.

His move to Randwick was helped by a few familiar faces. Bird already knew Luca Cleverley and Tom Farr-Jones from playing against them previously, while Tyler Maybery, a former schoolmate, became his housemate.

Those connections helped make what could have been a daunting move considerably easier.

Then there was the rugby.

Bird has flourished in a Randwick side that has only lost one game all season, with his ability to steer the attack now a key part of a team that has earned the minor premiership.

And while his point-scoring numbers have been impressive, the lessons from his Australian Under-20s experience have added another layer to his game.

Putting on the Australian jersey was, unsurprisingly, a surreal experience.

“I think once you put that jersey on, you’ve got an expectation to be 100 per cent and do everything at 100 per cent because you’re representing your country,” he said.

“It was massive. I can’t really put it into words.”

Coming back to Randwick after that experience has brought more than just confidence. Bird believes he has returned with a better understanding of how he can influence the players around him and help lift the standard of those alongside him.

“Just being able to learn from a higher level and on my impact on what I can do to help make the players better around me,” he said.

“I think that’s the biggest lesson I’ve come across.”

That could prove particularly valuable now, because the easy part of Randwick’s season is over.

The Galloping Greens finished as minor premiers and now begin the real business of finals football, hosting Manly at Coogee Oval at 1:30pm on Saturday.

For a side that has spent the year building momentum, there is no desire to suddenly reinvent itself because the stakes have changed. 

Bird says the message within the group has been simple: the minor premiership is nice, but it means very little without the trophy that comes afterwards.

“The minor premiership….. good job to us, but it doesn’t mean anything if we don’t win the premiership out of it,” he said.

That mentality will be important against a Manly side with everything to play for.

Finals rugby brings a different level of pressure, and Bird knows the standard has to rise accordingly. The lessons from his time in the Australian Under-20s setup could be particularly useful when the game tightens up and every decision starts to matter a little more.

“I think it is a more high-pressure game, finals footy, against a few of the harder teams,” Bird said.

“So everyone just needs to step up and do their roles.”

It is a long way from the young Queenslander who wondered whether moving South was the right call.

The nerves that came with the move to Sydney have been replaced by something considerably more useful: confidence.

And with Randwick chasing a premiership rather than simply celebrating a minor one, Bird will be hoping that decision to move south keeps paying dividends when it matters most.