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St George Illawarra centre Jack Bird insists he has nothing to prove to Brisbane when he faces his former NRL club on Thursday night.

St George Illawarra's Jack Bird insists he has no bad blood with Brisbane before Thursday night's clash with his former NRL club.

The 26-year-old has overcome two ACL injuries and doubts about his body's ability to even withstand the physicality of the NRL.

Bird played just 17 games for the Broncos across three injury-interrupted seasons before he was let go at the end of 2020.

He has played 11 consistent games this year for the Dragons in the centres.

It's the first time since 2017 with Cronulla that Bird has played as many games in an NRL season.

The former NSW Origin star will face the Broncos for the first time since leaving them but says he has nothing to prove at Jubilee Stadium.

"I'm not going out there to prove anyone wrong or anything, I always knew I was going to come good in the end and we just had to be patient and do the right things around me knee and around my health," Bird said.

"The Dragons gave me the opportunity to come here and get on the paddock and they've done everything right by me.

"I'm just going to go out there and play some football and hopefully get the win."

Bird was an Origin player and 2016 premiership winner when he accepted a big money deal with the Broncos that ultimately did not pay off.

"It's obviously disappointing," he said.

"I went up there with high hopes... in saying that I love the club up there and enjoyed my time there, it just didn't work out."

Meanwhile, the Dragons have been hit hard by with suspensions, injuries and an Origin call up for Tariq Sims which will force Bird into the second row for Thursday's game.

It'll be the first time in his NRL career he's started in that position.

Mikaele Ravalawa and Josh Kerr return from suspension, while Jack de Belin has been named to make his NRL return from the bench.

"We all know what Jack can do, so to put him out there now is a good thing for us, it's a good morale booster," Bird said.