NRL to consider Perth Bears-Western Force player swap
Justin Chadwick |
ARL Commission Chairman Peter V’landys will consider a remarkable player-share agreement between the Perth Bears and Western Force to ensure the NRL’s newest club becomes an instant hit.
Western Australia haven’t had an NRL team since the demise of the Perth Reds in 1997, but that will all change when the Perth Bears are unleashed in 2027.
Thursday’s press conference to confirm the inclusion of the Perth Bears contained plenty of stock-standard answers and politician talk.
But a massive curve ball was thrown when V’landys was asked how the introduction of the Bears might affect the Western Force – a Perth-based rugby union team who play in the Super Rugby Pacific competition.
The Force are owned by billionaire mining magnate Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest, who is renowned for his quirky out-of-the-box thinking.
Instead of seeing the Bears as a threat to the Force’s market share, Forrest sees the introduction of a Perth NRL team as a big opportunity.
As well as sharing training facilities, Forrest has floated the possibility of players at the Force and Bears being interchangeable.
It’s an idea V’landys is keen to explore further.
“Look, we’ve had talks with Twiggy Forrest with regards to the Western Force,” he said on Thursday.
“There’s an opportunity here that may never have been done anywhere in the world, where the two teams could be combined to a certain degree and can use each other’s players in specific matches.
“So we’re going to look at that. It’s a novel idea. And who’s to argue with Twiggy Forrest who is a self-made man?
“As anyone that knows me, we look at things outside the square, and that’s outside the square.
“You know, if it can help both games in Western Australia, why wouldn’t we do it?”
Whether the east coast-based NRL clubs would be on board with the Bears having access to elite rugby union talent remains to be seen.
V’landys sees the concept as a way for the Perth Bears to get a helping hand in their early years.
“This is a new club, and they’ve got to be given some, you know, additional opportunity,” V’landys said.
“And as I said, we’re only looking at it, and naturally we’ll be consulting our member clubs back in New South Wales.”
The NRL-run Perth Bears are expected to target South African rugby union stars as part of the recruiting campaign to fill their roster.
The Force boast Wallabies such as Nic White, Ben Donaldson, Harry Potter, Jeremy Williams, Hamish Stewart and Carlo Tizzano.
However, the idea is unlikely to get approval on all sides, given the Super Rugby competition contains teams from Australia, NZ, Fiji and the Pacific Islands.
AAP
