As an adopted West Aussie who loves rugby league, I can’t wait for the Perth Bears to enter the comp in 2027. The code’s ambitions to become a truly national competition require it, and the revival of the North Sydney Bears as a relocated Perth team is the perfect bridge between the old and the new.
It gives the new franchise an immediate supporter base in Sydney when playing on the road, as well as a history and culture from day one to help build its presence in Perth.
Inevitably it will be a challenge to take on the AFL in one of its heartland areas, but Perth is also filled with east coast expats. While the term ‘expats’ is supposed to only apply to people living in a new country, the west is such an isolated community that it can be readily applied to a move to WA, too.
Let’s not forget, WA voted to secede from the rest of Australia back in 1933, with a 66 per cent vote in favour of doing so.
It never happened, of course, but the separatist culture has continued, with popular polls on the issue continuing to reveal a sentiment of ‘us verses them’. It’s why voting patterns in WA regularly don’t follow what’s going on elsewhere around the country.
The choice of the inaugural CEO of the new franchise is another masterstroke by Australian Rugby League Commission boss Peter V’landys and NRL CEO Andrew Abdo.
Former Channel Seven director of news and current affairs Anthony De Ceglie will be the CEO of the Perth bears as they try to break the AFL’s stranglehold on the state
The Bears played first-grade footy in North Sydney from 1908 to 1999, showcasing legends like Mario Fenech (pictured right with teammate Sean Hoppe) – giving the team a huge head start as they try to make their mark in WA
The Bears will be the ‘perfect bridge between the old and the new’ in the Western Australian capital (pictured, David Fairleigh playing for North Sydney)
Say what you like about this pair, they aren’t afraid to take it up to the AFL in the war of the codes, and in recent years the NRL is outperforming its rivals.
Who better to lead the NRL’s push into WA than a former boss of West Australian newspapers and the national head of Channel Seven’s news and current affairs, Anthony De Ceglie.
The West and Channel Seven are the biggest media players in WA and De Ceglie hails from across the Nullarbor, described as a ‘genuine Western Australian’ by V’landys when announcing his appointment.
While I can’t claim the same status, having only moved to WA as an adult, the AFL-mad state is desperate for more local sports and the Bears arrival in 2027 is a great opportunity to build the code as a truly national competition.
Australians living elsewhere find it hard to fully appreciate just how parochial WA can be.
The state Premier is regarded as more of a PM than Premier, with state politics dominating coverage over national politics in the west, not something we see elsewhere.
The isolation – Perth is the most isolated major city anywhere in the world – feeds such sentiments. Even those like myself who turned the state into their adopted home join in.
While I’ve seen concerns expressed that rugby league may struggle to find its feet on the other side of the country, crafting a management and pathways program that does more than insert east coast personnel into the west is a prerequisite for success. De Ceglie’s appointment sends an important message locally.
Footy supremo Peter V’landys (centre) and NRL CEO Andrew Abdo (pictured right, with WA Premier Roger Cook) have been outperforming the AFL in recent years
The NRL’s bold move into Perth comes as the West Coast Eagles (pictured) endure one of the worst periods in the history of the club
The recent decision by the local paper to use mock outrage to condemn the state government’s decision to invest in the Bears’ arrival, splashing with a derogatory front page when the formal announcement was made last week, was more a criticism of the state government spending money in support of the new team than an attack on the code itself.
Premier Roger Cook’s decision to back the Bears only serves to increase the new franchise’s chances of success. It’s a net positive to be sure.
Much of the money is designed to help build the code from the grassroots up, which will be important to its capacity to compete with Aussie Rules and rugby union.
A Perth franchise came and went quickly during the Super League war of the 1990s. The amalgamation of the competition coupled with financial challenges associated with what was a hastily convened team contributed to its downfall.
But since that time Perth has grown as a market, as has the game. Those lessons have been important to getting the move right this time.
The opportunity to open WA up as a destination for east coast Australians to consider traveling to is another important reason why the state government backed the bid. A four hour flight between Sydney and Perth is seen by some as too far to make the trip, which wouldn’t represent a barrier to them if they gave the west a chance, even just once.
The city, the Swan River (which feels more like a harbour) and the ‘down south’ lifestyle make most other parts of the country look positively drab by comparison. Opening WA up to the rugby league community is only going to grow the state more, if current West Aussie can keep an open mind about letting others enjoy what their state has to offer.
In politics we often lament our leaders not thinking big, not taking the time to properly consider and craft what they want to do next. It’s a problem of short term thinking winning out over long term planning and foresight.
Perhaps we need the likes of the NRL management to try their hand at politics next, because at the national level the ability to ‘think big’ is sorely missing.
