Bird captained Catalans last season

Australian star Greg Bird has had his conviction for glassing his girlfriend quashed on appeal.

The 25-year-old, who played for the Catalans Dragons last season, was convicted in April of recklessly wounding Katie Milligan in Australia.

In June, he was sentenced to serve at least eight months in jail but a Sydney court cleared the ex-Cronulla player.

The Dragons want to keep Bird and have offered a new two-year contract, but Gold Coast Titans are also interested.

"We are lucky to have had Greg playing for us at the Catalans Dragons," said Dragons general manager Christophe Levy.

"Now we know he is going to be in high demand but the salary cap could be a problem for the Australian clubs. We are keeping a spot available."

Bird was released by Cronulla after the incident at his apartment in 2008 which left Milligan with a fractured eye socket and cuts to her face.

He then agreed a deal to join Bradford Bulls but that move collapsed due to difficulties in obtaining a UK visa.

We've saved a spot for him on our overseas quota and if he chooses to play for us that would be fantastic Dragons coach Kevin Walters

It was then Catalans stepped in and he went on to play an influential role as the Dragons reached the Super League play-offs for the first time.

Dragons coach Kevin Walters is keen for Bird to return to the Perpignan-based club and added that he is happy to give the player time to make a decision.

"This clears the way for him to play rugby league but where he ends up remains a mystery," said Walters.

"We're like the other clubs, just waiting to have a chat with him. We've saved a spot for him on our overseas quota and if he chooses to play for us that would be fantastic.

"We may have an inside running because he played here last year. He's a world-class player so you'd expect other clubs to be interested but we're prepared to give him extra time."

Bird's appeal has been monitored closely by a number of clubs.

Titans chief executive Michael Searle said: "We have allowed court proceedings to take their natural course and now that they have been completed we will endeavour to speak as a club and with Greg and his partner about his plans for the future.

"The club has a good track record of working with players who have had previous off-field issues and we are interested in talking with Greg and his partner to see where he believes his future may be headed. We will also consult with the NRL throughout this process."

The NRL say they will keep a close eye on the situation and have suggested any return to the competition would depend on a prospective club meeting a number of requirements.

NRL chief executive David Gallop said: "If a club looks to sign Greg then clearly we need to look at the issue of registration of a contract.

"There'd be a range of factors that we would want some information about. Clearly that club would need to be thinking in terms of how they're going to help him manage his situation.

"He's been through a difficult time no doubt but he's had issues before. He would fall into a category of a player that we would be looking for any prospective club to give us an idea of how they're going to deal with him."

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