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 Perth Bears 

Club information
Full name	Perth Bears Rugby League Club[1]
Nickname	The Bears
Colours	Primary   Red   Black Secondary   White
Founded	2025
Website	perthbears.com.au
Current details
Grounds	Perth Rectangular Stadium (20,500) North Sydney Oval (16,000)
CEO	Anthony De Ceglie
Coach	Mal Meninga
Competition	National Rugby League
Uniforms
Home colours

The Perth Bears are a planned professional rugby league football club to be based in Perth, Western Australia that is scheduled to enter the expanded National Rugby League (NRL) in 2027.

The club has links to the North Sydney Bears, a foundation club that exited the NRL in 1999 when it merged with the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles to form the Northern Eagles.

The original Western Bears bid was rejected by the NRL in October 2024. However, in April 2025, after initially putting negotiations on hold, the NRL entered negotiations with the Government of Western Australia, and on 8 May 2025, an agreement was reached to admit the Bears into the competition in 2027 as the Perth Bears.^[2]

The team's colours are the traditional red and black of North Sydney, with white added as a secondary colour.^[3]

There had been no elite rugby league team in Perth since the Western Reds folded in 1997,^[4] leaving Perth as the largest Australian city without a team in the NRL competition. Advocates for a Perth-based team had argued it was necessary for the NRL to consider itself a truly national competition.

The Reds name was revived in 2006 as the WA Reds, competing in the third-tier Bundaberg Red Cup (now Ron Massey Cup) with the intention of eventually fielding an NRL side. The team was rebranded as the West Coast Pirates in 2012^[5] due to the Reds brand being associated with failure^[6] and competed in the S.G. Ball Cup until the COVID-19 pandemic prevented them from being able to compete from 2020 onwards.^[7]

After the end of the Northern Eagles joint venture in 2002, the Bears initially attempted to return to the NRL on the New South Wales Central Coast,^[8] but later the bid was expanded to include other regional centres.^[9] Other Bears bids included a takeover of the Gold Coast Titans^[10] and a Pasifika bid.^[11]

A consortium of Western Australian businessmen had indicated they were always prepared to go it alone and resurrect the previous Reds moniker in an effort to get a team back in the top-flight competition^[12] as they wanted to ensure the team was under the control and ownership of Western Australia^[12] in preference to a relocated Sydney team.^[12]

The consortium were advised by the NRL that their highly preferred model was an alignment with the North Sydney Bears. Talks were held with the Bears and also Newtown Jets, however the later pulled out of talks when John Singleton declared the Bears were always going to be the partner.^[12]

In August 2024, the North Sydney Bears and the Western Australian consortium headed by Cash Converters founders the Cumins family, signed off on an agreement to lodge an application for the Western Bears to enter a team in the 2027 NRL season.^[13][14]

In October 2024, the Australian Rugby League Commission rejected the Western Bears consortium proposal, stating the $20 million bid fell short of its expectations.^[15][16]

In November 2024, the NRL announced it could soon officially announce the Western Bears as the competition's 18th team following urgent talks between ARLC chairman Peter V'landys and the Western Australian Government. Despite the NRL having rejected a Perth-based consortium's proposal the previous month for falling short of the financial requirements, the NRL held constructive talks with the West Australian Government about an expansion team in Perth.^[17]

Having previously announced Papua New Guinea as its eighteenth team, in April 2025, the NRL had originally put negotiations on hold, deciding to postpone the introduction of a 19th team.^[18]

However, on 24 April 2025, the NRL agreed to a $50 million deal with the Western Australian Government, thereby securing the 2027 return of the Bears.^[19]

Under the terms of the final agreement with the ARLC, the WA government has committed to spending a total of $85.6 million, including $35 million on grassroots rugby league over the next seven years, with the remaining $50 million consisting of $25 million on content over the next five years, $5.6 million to help with the costs of the new team, and $20 million to be committed to a Centre of Excellence.

The WA government will not pay a licence fee, with a promise being made that there will be a likely upgrade of their home ground, the HBF Park.^[19]

To the joy of fans on two coasts, on May 08 the team was officially confirmed to the public as recipients of an NRL license. The NRL renamed the Western Bears as the Perth Bears, in order to give the 18th team a bona fide geographical link to the region in which they will be based and remove all links to the previous bid.^[20][21]

It was announced on 6 June 2025, that rugby league immortal and icon Mal Meninga would become the inaugural coach of the Perth Bears come their debut in 2027.^[22] Meninga has agreed to take the reins for at least the 2027 and 2028 seasons, but with the more immediate focus of building the club, and the roster, from the ground up.

In late September, 2025, it was announced that Australian insurance company Budget Direct would be the team's first major sponsor, with the deal equating to $1 million.^[23] This was also combined with the announcement that the Queensland Cup side Brisbane Tigers and French rugby league team Catalans Dragons would also sign partnerships with the team, acting as a funnel to the expansion side.^[24]

On 1 December 2025, New Balance was named as the on-and-off field apparel supplier for the club. The Perth Bears are the first NRL club to partner with the global sports brand.^[25]

On 2 December 2025, halfback Toby Sexton and England international centre Harry Newman were confirmed as the club's first official signings.^[26]

On 14 December 2025, the Bears announced their major jersey sponsor would be Cash Converters, who was originally a major backer for the private Western Bears bid which collapsed in late 2024.^[27] The announcement gave a major boost to the Bears financial preparations to join the league, and further strengthened their financial viability. The sponsorship deal is also reminiscent of the Western Reds, which were also sponsored by the company.^[28]

On 14 January 2026, the Bears formally released the club’s new insignia, showing a roaring Bear in the club’s traditional red and black colours.^[29]

The team's primary colours will be the traditional red and black of North Sydney, with white being the club's secondary colour since the 1992 NSWRL season.

In January 2026, the Bears unveiled their logo in anticipation of their inaugural 2027 NRL season. The logo shows a roaring Bear in the club’s traditional red and black colours. It pays homage and respect to the North Sydney Bears, while embracing the club’s future in Western Australia. It was created by longtime passionate North Sydney Bears supporter and graphic designer Dave Carnovale. On the design, Carnovale said he wanted to create a responsible evolution using the Bears DNA.^[30]

The majority of Bears home games are to be played at HBF Park. The proposal is for the stadium to be used not only for league purposes as a home base, but shared with soccer's Perth Glory and rugby union's Western Force.

With the support of the Government of Western Australia, being firm backers of the Bears, a grant of $300 million was pledged to upgrade the venue even further if a licence was granted to a Perth team.^[31]

The club may also play one NRL home game each year at either North Sydney Oval, Central Coast Stadium or the Sydney Football Stadium in recognition of the club's Sydney supporter base. The match is proposed to be against arch-rivals the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles.^[32] Further, one pre-season game is proposed to be played at North Sydney Oval each year however cricket use may result in that being transferred to Gosford at the stadium the Bears built in 1999.^[32]

Player	Previous club	Length	Date
Toby Sexton	Catalans Dragons	2 Years	2 December 2025[33]
Harry Newman	Leeds Rhinos	2 Years	2 December 2025[34]
Luke Smith	London Broncos	2 Years	3 December 2025[35]
Emarly Bitungane	London Broncos	2 Years	3 December 2025[36]
Liam Henry	Penrith Panthers	4 Years	10 December 2025[37]
Iszac Fa'asuamaleaui	Catalans Dragons	2 Years	10 December 2025[38]
Sean Russell	Parramatta Eels	4 Years	24 December 2025[39]
Josh Curran	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	3 Years	7 January 2026[40]
Tyran Wishart	Melbourne Storm	5 Years	10 January 2026[41]
Nick Meaney	Melbourne Storm	3 Years	10 January 2026[42]
James McDonnell	Leeds Rhinos	2 Years	12 January 2026[43]
Chris Vea'ila	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	2 Years	12 January 2026[44]
Luke Laulilii	Wests Tigers	2 Years	16 January 2026[45]
Scott Sorensen	Penrith Panthers	2 Years	25 February 2026[46]
Siosifa Talakai	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	3 Years	27 February 2026[47]

The Bears and Western Australia are widely supported for re-admission into the NRL by players and fans alike. Evidence can be seen in the growth and proliferation of fan sites, such as the Perth Bears Supporters page, The NRL Perth Bears Crew and The Cave, all comprising predominantly Western Australian followers. They complement traditional North Sydney Bears fan sites such as the Yass and Countrywide site, and The Den site. Although the first bid was rejected, Perth-born players in particular remain supportive of Western Australia competing in the NRL once again.^[48]

The WA Government have strongly and financially backed this team and could have had the potential to have a support base of over 200,000 fans both in Western Australia and across the North Shore of Sydney and surrounds.^[49]

The North Sydney Bears will remain in the NSW Cup and shall act as a feeder team to the Bears.^[50][51]

The Bears have also struck a feeder-club alliance with the Brisbane Tigers in the Queensland Cup as the NRL’s 18th franchise looks to expand its brand to Queensland.^[52]

• Western Australia rugby league team
• Rugby league in Western Australia
• List of sports clubs inspired by others
• NRL Western Australia
• North Sydney Bears

• Official website