- Concerns have been raised about a TV star’s involvement with the Perth Bears
- The Channel 9 presenter is set to become a board member at the new club
A Channel 9 superstar’s proposed deal to join up with the Perth Bears has raised alarm bells among some NRL chiefs over the potential for a conflict.
James Bracey is now a front-runner to be the latest television personality to hold a position of power within an NRL club, with the broadcaster set to join up as a board member with the Perth Bears.
Bracey, 40, is a massive Bears fan and is, according to The Daily Telegraph, expected to take up one of seven spots available on the newly incorporated NRL club’s board.
But there is a small hitch.
There is some concern from the NRL that his board-level involvement with the club could prove to be a conflict of interest, the outlet claims.
Following the announcement that the Bears would finally enter the league in the 2027 premiership season, the NRL has been working through issues relating to the involvement of members of the media in the club.
Channel 9 superstar James Bracey (pictured) is being backed to become a board member at the Perth Bears
Bracey (left) is well known to be a big fan of the Bears and had previously hinted he could take up a role at the club
That is particularly in relation to Seven West Media, whose publication, The West Australian, has been critical of the move in the past.
NRL great Andrew Voss fumed at a recent front page from the outlet after the Bears were confirmed as the 18th side to enter the NRL.
The front page showed a picture of a bear snarling, with the headline: ‘The Bad News Bears’. A subheading read: ‘Rugby mad Roger Cook forces WA taxpayers to pay Sydney NRL rejects $65m to play in Perth’.
The story itself blasted the move, criticised financial projections and picked holes in the plan to situate a new NRL side in Perth.
It claimed that revenue predictions were wrong, adding that the ARLC claimed the team would bring in $52million, but further investigations show that figure to be more in the region of $28.
Voss branded it ‘clickbait’.
That came as Anthony De Ceglie, who is the former editor-in-chief at The West Australian, was appointed as the Bears chief executive.
Seven were instructed, according to The Daily Telegraph, not to include De Ceglie in their broadcast coverage of Mal Meninga’s appointment as the Bears’ new coach.
The Bears are set to enter the NRL from 2027, but there are concerns over appointing Bracey
Reports claim the NRL is worried about conflict of interest considering Bracey’s links with Nine Network (pictured ARLC boss Peter V’landys, left, NRL CEO Andrew Abdo, right)
The outlet adds that Bracey’s inclusion could put a strain on tensions between Seven Chiefs and the NRL.
‘I would love to be a part of [the Bears],’ Bracey told 100% Footy earlier this year.
‘I’ve been there with the pom poms since I was a kid.’
But he remained coy on what role he could take with the new footy club.
