Perth on a Bear hunt with North Sydney showing the way
Scott Bailey |
Bear season has begun early with Perth officials pointing to North Sydney’s remarkable NSW Cup run as evidence they can build one of the NRL’s most underrated pathways programs.
Perth’s squad will officially come together for the first time on November 18, while it can be revealed their inaugural pre-season training will begin five days later at the club’s WACA base.
Players have also already started venturing west in recent weeks.
Gehamat Shibasaki attended a junior finals day last weekend, while Corey Horsburgh and Morgan Smithies both visited during Canberra’s round-26 bye.
On the other side of the country, the Bears are making ground.
The club have signed a pathways agreement with Brisbane Tigers, while fellow feeder club North Sydney will on Saturday play their NSW Cup knockout semi-final against Newtown.
Incredibly, the Bears’ run to second came despite being the only team in NSW Cup not to have access to first-grade players, with no link to an NRL club.
But that will change next year with North Sydney players to naturally feed into the Bears’ NRL system and NSW Cup players Ammaron Gudgeon and Jayden Yates already on train-and-trial deals.
“They’ve been a group of part-time footballers that have trained three afternoons a week,” Perth’s football boss and former North Sydney CEO Gareth Holmes said.
“They’ve never been lower than third on the table in all year. There was a decent stint there where they were coming first.
“The players, the staff, everyone around that North Sydney Bears football club couldn’t be more excited about the opportunity that’s in front of them now.
“So it’s definitely something that is tangible from a player’s perspective, and has really sparked what they’re doing there.”
Perth officials firmly believe under coach Mal Meninga they are building a roster that will create a hard-work ethic to set the club’s culture up long term.
They have also made significant moves in the junior stakes with the Bears believing that younger generation can grow into the club’s culture.
Mason Barber looms as their highest-touted young signing from North Queensland, while the Bears have picked up Australian rugby schoolboys stars Cooper Watters and Asher Chapman.
Watters and Barber have gone straight into the Bears’ top squad, while 17-year-old Chapman will play SG Ball for North Sydney and join Perth’s top roster in 2029.
The Bears have also moved to ensure North Sydney have a third-tier Ron Massey Cup side in 2027, giving them under-17s, under-19s and two senior teams in both NSW and Queensland.
“This is really unique,” Holmes said.
“We’ve got a pathway program in three capital cities that are going to be supporting an NRL team here in Perth.
“They’re both well-established pathways programs. North Sydney have got 4000 kids playing, when you add up the junior league, rep teams and pathways.
“From an alignment perspective, we couldn’t be happier with how that’s all played out.”
AAP