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NRL expansion: ARL Commission backs Bears joint venture with Perth, Perth bid team prefer solo licence over merger with Bears or Jets
The ARL Commission wants the Bears back in the big league as part of a push for North Sydney to join forces with Perth, despite the WA bid team’s preference to set up a stand-alone club. WA bid boss Peter Cumins said they are willing to compromise to get a team approved, but made clear the mixed marriage of Perth and a foundation club raised concerns. “We are very parochial in Western Australia and, with due respect, the history of the Newtown Jets or North Sydney Bears doesn’t carry a lot of weight in Perth,” Cumins said. The Perth Bears are the preferred candidate for an NRL licence, with North Sydney just 10 days away from learning their fate as part of the ARL Commission’s expansion masterplan. WA bid powerbrokers will hold talks with North Sydney and Newtown Jets chiefs in the next two weeks to satisfy any ARLC demands.
North Sydney was axed from the premiership in 1999, but if ARLC chair Peter V’landys gets support, the Bears will be back as an NRL force in 2027 or 2028. V’landys will preside over a board meeting on Wednesday week – the day of Origin II – that shapes as one of the most historic conventions in the code’s 116-year history. At that meeting, the ARLC board will mull over an expansion document which is likely to result in a call for three new franchises. Following the meeting, the Commission is expected to call for expressions of interest from consortiums bidding to be part of a 20-team league, with their introduction to be staggered in the lead up to the 2032 Brisbane Olympics. The existing 17 clubs will be included in the expansion process – and rewarded with extra grants totalling at least $60 million. Western Australia is now the frontrunner to oust Papua New Guinea and be the NRL’s 18th team by 2027.
V’landys is keen for North Sydney to form a strategic alliance to launch the Perth Bears. The ARL Commission’s June 26 meeting could see an 18th NRL team named for 2027, followed by a 19th franchise 12 months later. Cumins believes the code’s most aggressive expansion drive since Super League is imminent. “I do get a sense that there will be an announcement in June and it will be expansion (is going ahead),” Cumins said. “I think Perth will be included, whether we’re the 18th, 19th or 20th team, for us it doesn’t matter, as long as we know we will be back in the game. “They are talking 2027 (for the 18th team), so that’s not far away and we’ll have to get cracking.
“There has been a lot of talk about a marriage with the North Sydney Bears and the Jets has popped up as another option for us. “We think we can do it on our own.” It is understood there are concerns over Perth’s grassroots, supporter base and development pathways. The WA bid consortium will be advised to join forces with the Bears, a foundation Sydney club with a latent supporter base, plus established junior and senior structures, to secure NRL admission. Under the plan, there is scope for the Newtown Jets to broker a feeder-club arrangement, giving the Bluebags second-tier links to a Perth Bears NRL franchise. The Newtown Jets and North Sydney Bears squared off in the NSW Cup at Henson Park on Saturday ahead of their respective meetings with Perth bid bosses. Cumins said he has not received a formal directive from the ARL Commission to merge with the Bears, but Perth will do so if it means entering the NRL. “We’re led to believe at the moment it won’t be a condition (to secure an NRL licence), but that’s not set in stone,” he said. “If it was a condition, well we are desperate to have a team in Perth and we would make the Perth Bears a success. “If it’s not a condition, we would have to consider what the Bears or the Jets would bring to an NRL franchise in Perth. “It’s got to be more than just a logo and a name that has no relevance in Perth. “I will meet with both clubs at the end of June and hopefully they put a compelling case forward to satisfy everybody.”
North Sydney chairman Daniel Dickson believes the Perth Bears can be a smash hit as the NRL’s 18th or 19th club. “This is by no means a takeover plan from us,” he said. “This can be a two-city team. “The game has been speaking favourably about the Bears and its history and we think this is a wonderful marriage to bring a state like Western Australia into the game, combining it with the rich history of the Bears.
“If the NRL desires a team to be housed in Perth, that’s fine by us – we took the name ‘North Sydney’ out two years ago in order for the game to position the Bears in the right place. “The Perth Bears is the perfect marriage.”
