NRL Perth Bears

They need a big influx of talent to even become comparable to the inaugural Dolphins
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The Western Reds started off with some decent game day crowds but that quickly dropped away. Can see that happening again if they don't get at least some competitive results. That Dolphins team and coach is very good for a first up game. Mal is an interesting pick as coach (not a good one IMO) and so far it looks like they have signed a lot of average players, though I do think Toby Sexton is underrated. No 'stars' in that line up though. They will need to get busy with recruitment soon. They really do need a big name even if it's just from a PR perspective.
 
Boom Parramatta utility back Apa Twidle has shocked the Eels by quitting the club to join rugby league’s revolution in Perth.

This masthead can reveal Twidle will leave the Eels at season’s end after agreeing to terms on a three-year deal with Perth as Bears coach Mal Meninga pulled off a Parramatta poaching raid.

The parties are in the 10-day cooling off period, giving the Eels one last opportunity to convince Twidle to renege on his Bears deal.

But the 21-year-old believes Perth’s offer is too good to refuse and is set to become the 18th player to join the Bears for their foundation season in the NRL in 2027.

The New Zealand-born young gun made a stunning NRL debut earlier this month in Parramatta’s Easter Monday clash with the Wests Tigers.

Thrust into the action off the six-man bench, Twidle scored with his first touch and remarkably had two tries in three minutes in one of the most remarkable debuts in NRL history.

That performance piqued the interest of Meninga, who has got his man after weeks of negotiations with the Waikato whiz.

Twidle’s management had also fielded inquiries from Phil Gould’s Bulldogs and the Dolphins, but Meninga has won his signature, securing Twidle until the end of 2029.

Twidle was off-contract at season’s end and his preference was to stay at Parramatta, but it is understood the Eels’ preliminary offer was an $80,000 development deal for next season.

The Kiwi rookie saw greater security at the Bears, as well as the opportunity to play in the halves.

Twidle is one of the most versatile players in the league, capable of playing wing, centre, five-eighth or halfback, making him a handy option to support Bears first-choice No.7 Toby Sexton.

Twidle took up league at age five before moving to Australia to attend Marsden State High, the school which has produced generations of league stars including Cameron Smith and Israel Folau.

Twidle has been a star in Parramatta’s lower grades and scored 12 tries in 21 for the Eels’ NSW Cup side over the last 12 months before graduating to the top grade.

Meninga has spoken of the challenges of signing 30 NRL players amid fears over the tyranny of distance in travelling across the Nullarbor.

But Meninga made it clear the Bears would not hit the panic button with recruitment and dismissed concerns life in AFL-mad Perth, a four or five-hour flight away from Sydney, was a turn-off for NRL stars.

“The distance is not an issue,” Meninga told this masthead recently.

“Building the foundation from the start is a challenge but we have the great traditions of the North Sydney Bears and Western Reds.

“We won’t be having a crack at just anyone.

“We will have a crack at people we want.

“We have our pillars and the type of player we want because that’s what we will build our foundations on.

“We have some standards we want to uphold, so we won’t have a scattergun approach and throw big money around willy-nilly.

“We’re set on players that we believe are going to fit the DNA of the Perth Bears and we’ll go from there.

“How long it takes to sign players doesn’t particularly worry me to be honest.”
 
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