SirPies&Beers
Juniors
- Messages
- 1,467
'Pretty f--king happy!' Bears on brink of return as NRL and WA government come to terms, inaugural coach firming
By The Roar / Editor2 hours ago
A Western Australian NRL team is nearing finalisation, after the ARL Commission has accepted a revised offer from the WA government for a Perth-based 18th league franchise.
The deal could mark the return of the Bears to top-flight rugby league for the first time since being culled in 1997.
Reports that negotiations between the two parties had stalled earlier this month, plus the announcement of a new Papua New Guinean franchise in 2028, appeared to have put paid to a WA team.
More League
Brisbane Broncos vs Canterbury Bulldogs: NRL live scores, blog
NRL News: ‘Handled poorly’ – Flanno filthy as Dogs poach rising star, Tigers boss blasts transfer system, Raider on the move
New era for Sky Blues as coach springs Origin selections surprises
NRL Tipping Round 8: The Roar’s expert tips and predictions – Only one reliable option left in helter-skelter season
Biggest under-achievers in Australian sport: Broncos struggling to get the mix right with top-heavy roster
The ARLC have signed off on an increased offer from WA Premier Roger Cook, which has salvaged plans for the Perth Bears concept to enter the competition in 2027.
Bears fans are already celebrating, including club great Billy Moore.
“With my lovely wife, I’ve had a glass of champagne already today, this is the biggest day since 1922 … I’m pretty f–king happy,” Moore told Fox Sports.
“We’ve gone through emotion… the exact nuances aren’t crisp and solid yet but the most important thing that matters to me, my former teammates and the 220-odd thousand fans is that the Bears are back baby, the red and black is there.”
A blast from the past: North Sydney’s 1983 team.
The in-principle agreement must also be signed off by the existing 17 clubs and the Rugby League Players’ Association, with those meetings expected to be expedited to give the code extra bargaining power ahead of the next TV rights talks.
Negotiations between the NRL and WA government appeared to have hit a stonewall when Cook accused the league’s governing body of treating his state like a “cash cow”.
Cook had previously said ARL chairman Peter V’landys had been asking the government to provide $120 million in funding over the next decade to help establish the side, and that a team wasn’t a priority.
“Unfortunately, like some people from the east, the NRL only appears to see WA as a potential cash cow,” Mr Cook said.
Western Reds captain Brad Mackay with the foundation team in 1995. (Getty Images)
A bid from a private Western Australian consortium was also rejected by the NRL.
Should all go smoothly, the new franchise could enter the competition as early as 2027.
It’s a major boon for Bears fans, who have been hoping for one home match per season at North Sydney Oval as well as having their team’s famous colours revived by the new club.
The premier revealed earlier this month they were back at the table and described talks as “positive” for the 18th franchise to be located in Perth, and a formal affiliation with former first grade team the North Sydney Bears.
The state government reportedly upped its bid from $35 million to $50 million over five years to get the deal done.
As well as Perth, a Papua New Guinea team is set to enter in 2028, giving the NRL a 19-team competition with 20 sides the league’s long-term ambition with bids from Queensland and New Zealand set to fight it out for the last spot.
The Western Reds only lasted three seasons after they were an expansion team in 1995, sacrificed as part of the Super League War peace treaty.
North Sydney played their last season as a standalone club in 1999 before surviving for two more seasons as part of the ill-fated Northern Eagles joint venture with Manly.
Former Parramatta Eels coach Brad Arthur is firming as the leading candidate to be the WA NRL side’s first head coach when they enter the competition.
“Would I like the Perth job? Of course. I feel I have proven that I can build a club from the ground up, because that’s what we had to do when I started at Parramatta. But this is all premature … But if you’re asking me if I would be interested, then yes, I would be,” he told the Sydney Morning Herald on Thursday.
With over 250 games’ experience as an NRL head coach under his belt, Arthur was dismissed after Parramatta’s poor start to the 2024 campaign.
Across his decade-long tenure, he was unable to secure the club’s first premiership since its heyday of the 1980s but led the Eels to the 2022 grand final where they were soundly beaten by the Penrith Panthers in the second of four straight grand final victories.
But this will be quite a different challenge, with the new club to start from scratch with potentially less than two years to prepare for Round 1 of the 2027 season.
