Anyone able to access:
The Western Bears are likely to play the majority of home games at HBF Park as Sunday twilight fixtures if they win the NRL’s 18th licence and join the competition in 2027
thewest.com.au
Expansion News - from The West
Western Bears to seek recruiting concessions if bid is successful as they target 2027 licence
EXCLUSIVE GLEN QUARTERMAIN
The West Australian
Thu, 29 August 2024 7:35AM
Comments
The Western Bears are likely to play the majority of home games at HBF Park as Sunday twilight fixtures if they win the NRL’s 18th licence and join the competition in 2027.
The West Australian can reveal the 480-page bid document, lodged on August 14, nominates Sunday at 4.30pm as the preferred timeslot.
The West Australian can also reveal:
The WA Bid Co has asked for recruiting concessions, including approval to enter the market to secure marquee players as much as two years before their contracts expire.
Salary cap relief for relocation expenses.
A senior coach is likely to be appointed in early 2026 ahead of the team’s first game in 2027 with staggered football department appointments between 2025 and 2027.
A transition executive team would steer the club through its initial stages.
The document was constructed by Freshwater Strategy, a Sydney-based business management consultancy, that put together the successful Dolphin’s bid to become the NRL’s 17th franchise.
The Western Bears believe they could be competitive on and off field as soon as next year if required, although attracting marquee players in such a short time frame and building a 30-strong squad would be difficult.
The bid is in the hands of the Australian Rugby League’s expansion and bid assessment committees with sources suggesting it rated a 10/10 on all metrics and left no doubt it was “NRL ready”.
It is understood the bid was constructed off the “high water mark” blueprint of the Dolphins’ bid, while also improving on some areas of that presentation, and has been met with universal support from NRL clubs and attracted interest from major sponsors from within a robust WA economy and also from interstate and overseas.
An announcement on the 18th NRL licence is expected to come either shortly before or after the NRL grand final on Sunday, October 6.
The bid featured a detailed analysis of governance, executive structure, capitalisation, infrastructure and build, organisation and management planning, player acquisition, talent pathways and fixtures.
West Australian consortium stands its ground on control of new NRL team.
Unlike previous bids, the WA Bid Co engaged with the ARL Players’ Association and received positive feedback on players desire to shift to Perth.
The two mantras of the bid team were “competency not fantasy” and “leave no stone unturned”.
It mounted a compelling case for Perth to be “additive” to the league, clubs, broader rugby league community and broadcasters, while outlining how it will grow participation and broaden the talent pathways.
The Bid Co is chaired by long-time rugby league supporter Peter Cumins, who Cash Converters International executive deputy chair, and supported by a WA Government working party, led by MP Peter Tinley.
Premier Roger Cook has also been a major supporter of the bid, with ARL chair Peter V’landys joking recently he might ask for a restraining order against him given the number of phone calls he has made to the rugby league boss.
The Bid Co has raised the $30 million required to get the team to the start line.
The preferred timeslot of 4.30pm would allow the NRL to play three consecutive games on a Sunday afternoon into evening, a boon for eastern states viewers, and would capitalise on the south-east Asian and Asian markets with the Western Time Zone holding 60 per cent of the world’s population.
The bid described a “Perth effect” based on Freshwater Strategy’s attendance forecasts, describing the above average crowds compared to other States of WA’s professional franchises such as the two AFL teams, Fremantle and West Coast, Perth Wildcats and Perth Scorchers.
That argument was supported by the recent Dolphins v Sydney Roosters NRL match, which became the fastest selling crowd at HBF Park which has a capacity of 20,500.
The Western Bears are confident they will be “fully subscribed” for 11 home games in their first year and early marketing campaigns which will be based on a “get in early” membership push.
Freshwater’s suggestion of Western Bears, not Perth Bears, was a nod to history both in WA and Sydney.
Market research indicated a “strong association” with the Western Reds, which played in the then NSWRL elite tier in 1995 and 96 and less with the Perth Reds, who appeared in Super League in 1997 before folding.
Their colours of red, white, black and yellow represented both their partnership with the North Sydney Bears and that club’s 116-year history and the Western Reds, while also ensuring it remained a WA team from the very top down to the last-listed player’s bootlaces.
The bid document referred to WA as “the great greenfield opportunity” for participation growth.
There are 4350 registered players in the NRLWA competition, which represents 12 per cent year-on-year growth, and peaked at 10,000 in Western Reds era
NRLWA has seen plenty of growth in recent seasons.
North Sydney Bears as the affiliate partner will be the feeder team into the NSW Cup, while the Bid Co is also in meaningful conversations with potential Queensland partners.
The Western Bears will appoint and fund four full-time employees at North Sydney Bears, including a general manager of football, head of high performance and two other football department staff.
There will be 11 of the 12 home games played at HBF Park, one trial game and one “home” game in Sydney, preferably at North Sydney Oval if it can meet requirements.
They also plan to sell away games as a package to eastern states based members.
www.newtownjets.com
