Perth Bears Set to Make NRL Debut Following Long Hiatus
Billy Moore, a club stalwart, is overwhelmed with excitement about the potential new Perth NRL team.
News has emerged that the new National Rugby League (NRL) team in Perth is expected to rejoin the league in 2027 and will need to kick off their training sessions soon.
This team will be a revival of the North Sydney Bears, a founding club of the NRL established in 1903, through a new partnership with Western Australia. The Bears lost their NRL license in 1999 but have been advocating for a return to the league for quite some time.
Reports suggest that the Australian Rugby League Commission (ARLC), the governing body of the sport, has approved a $50 million offer from the West Australian (WA) government to welcome the rebranded Perth Bears into the league.
Despite initially offering $35 million, Premier Roger Cook’s government increased the amount to seal the deal.
Billy Moore, a loyal Bears member and board member, has expressed his full support for the team’s comeback, stating that this news is the most exciting development for the club since winning their second premiership in 1922.
Founded in 1908, the North Sydney Bears was among the earliest clubs in the Sydney-based Rugby League competition that eventually evolved into the NRL.
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The most recent NRL bid saw the Bears team up with a WA consortium to establish the new Perth-based team.
Billy Moore expressed his excitement, saying, “There is no other moment as thrilling as this. This is truly exceptional.”
Although the agreement for the Perth Bears’ entry into the league still needs approval from the 17 existing NRL teams and the Rugby League Players’ Association.
In addition to the Perth team, a Papua New Guinea side is set to join the NRL a year later as part of a $600 million initiative funded by the Australian government.
With the league aiming to have a total of 20 teams, there is still room for one more team to join.
The NRL reported a record revenue of $744.9 million during the 2024 season, marking a significant increase from the previous year.
The introduction of a Perth-based team is expected to provide a substantial economic boost to the state.
