Western Bears

ChairmanPeter CuminsCompetitionNational Rugby LeagueRecordsPremierships2 (1921, 1922)Runners-up1 (1943)Minor premierships2 (1921, 1922)Wooden spoons9: 1915, 1917, 1919, 1932, 1941, 1948, 1950, 1951, 1979

The Western Bears, officially the Western Bears Rugby League Football Club, are a rugby league football club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded as a joint venture between the Western Australian Rugby League and the North Sydney Bears as a bid for Perth to rejoin an expanded National Rugby League in 2027. If successful, the Bears would play out of Perth Rectangular Stadium, also known as HBF Park for sponsorship reasons. There will also be one pre-season match and one heritage game played at North Sydney Oval in Sydney. The teams primary colours are red, black and white, with dash of yellow as a secondary colour.

There has been no elite rugby league team in Perth since the Western Reds folded in 1997.^[1] Since the Reds were not included in the NRL’s inaugural season, Perth is the largest Australian city without a team in the competition. Advocates for a Perth-based team have argued it is necessary for the NRL to consider itself a ‘truly national’ competition. The Reds name was revived in 2006 as the WA Reds, competing in the under-18s S.G. Ball Cup with the intention of eventually fielding an NRL side. The team rebranded as the West Coast Pirates in 2012^[2] and continued competing in the S.G. Ball Cup until the COVID-19 pandemic prevented them from being able to compete from 2020 onwards.^[3]

Western Australia had indicated they were always prepared to go it alone and resurrect the previous Reds moniker in an effort to get a team back in the top-tier competition.^{[citation needed]} This was conditional if they were unable to finalise a partnership with North Sydney, as they wanted to ensure the team was under the control and ownership of WA.^{[citation needed]} They wanted the team to be a true Western Australian one.^{[citation needed]}

Western Australia were also interested in aligning with Newtown Jets, however the NRL had made it clear that their preference was to resurrect North Sydney instead of the Jets.^[4]

In August 2024, the North Sydney Bears and a Western Australian consortium headed by Cash Converters founders the Cumins family, signed off on an agreement to lodge an application for the Western Bears to enter a team in the 2027 NRL season.^[5][6]

Months of protracted negotiations finally reached an end point on 9 August 2024, with officials from North Sydney and Western Australia’s bid team signing off on the historic agreement to resurrect one of rugby league’s most famous brands.^{[citation needed]}

The Bears will return to the NRL for the first time since 1999.^[4] The new franchise will be called the Western Bears, rather than the Perth Bears with the former being a nod to Western Reds — WA’s first professional rugby league team.

It is understood the agreement between the two parties included an adaptation of the Bears logo; one heritage match to be played in NSW, with the hope it will be against arch rivals Manly Warringah Sea Eagles. The match could be played at North Sydney Oval, Sydney Football Stadium or on the Central Coast where they will wear a traditional North Sydney jersey. A pre-season game will also be played at North Sydney Oval.

The main colours will be red, black and white, however there will be a tinge of yellow too, which again pays homage to the former WA Reds outfit. The Reds may have their own heritage jersey.

The Bears logo is expected to be redesigned for the new side.^[7] This will be done through an adaptation of the Bears logo to suit NRL competition requirements and full integration of the red and black colours that are synonymous with the Bears.^[8]

The majority of Bears home games will be played out of Perth Rectangular Stadium. The stadium will be used not only for league purposes as a home base, but shared with Soccer’s Perth Glory and Rugby Union’s Western Force.

Since 2019, the stadium is known as HBF Park after WA's biggest health insurer took over naming rights at Perth's home of soccer and rugby.^[9] After a significant grant by the government to improve facilities at the stadium, the capacity was increased to 20,500. With the support of the WA Government being firm backers of the Bears, a grant of $300 million was pledged to upgrade the venue even further, if a licence was granted to a Perth team.^[10]

It is expected that North Sydney Oval, home of the foundation club North Sydney Bears, will host one home match during the season as a heritage match and a preseason game.

Prior to the ill-fated Northern Eagles joint venture from 2000 to 2002, the rivalry between the Bears and Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles was arguably one of rugby league's fiercest. Manly were admitted into the premiership in 1947 with the Bears at the time being one of the main advocators for a team to be in North Sydney.

The intense feelings between the two sides continued over the next couple of decades fuelled as players switched between the two clubs. The biggest defection occurred in 1971 when the Bears life member and one of the game's greatest wingers Ken Irvine joined Manly. Former Bears and Manly player Phil Blake said of the rivalry "It was certainly a game you looked forward playing in. The ground was always packed and it was always a great afternoon".

In 2016, the Bears and Manly played their final competitive senior game against each other in the Canterbury Cup competition where the Bears won the match 32–18. The only competitive games played between the two clubs as of 2017 are between the Bears and Sea Eagles Harold Matthews Cup, SG Ball Cup and Jersey Flegg Cup competitions.^[11]

The Western Bears are widely supported for re-admission into the NRL by players and fans alike.^[12] Perth-born players in particular are supportive of Western Australia competing in the NRL once again.^[13]

The WA Government have strongly and financially backed this team and could have a support base of over 200,000 fans both in Western Australia and across the North Shore of Sydney and surrounds.^[14]

The demographics of Perth also suggest a team will have a strong chance of survival. Perth has large expat English and South African populations that can be expected to find rugby league more appealing than Australian rules football. Western Australia is the second fastest growing state in terms of population and is flush with mining industry cash.^[15]

The Western Bears are working with other NRL clubs and venues to allocate sections for Bears fans at East Coast away games where the majority of games will be played. Upon licence confirmation, Western Bears Foundation member packages will be available, and proposed Bears packages will allow Sydney fans to attend Sydney-based regular season and trial season home games and multiple away games. Exclusive content and events will also be made available to foundation Western Bears fans.^[8]

The North Sydney Bears will remain in the NSW Cup and act as a feeder team to the Western Bears. By aligning with the North Sydney Bears brand, the Perth based team have tapped into a setup in Sydney which operates a successful NSW Cup side.^[15][8]

• WA Reds
• West Coast Pirates
• Western Australia Rugby League
• Western Australia rugby league team
• Rugby league in Western Australia

• Official website