Ever since their ill-fated merger with the Manly Sea Eagles at the end of 1999, the North Sydney Bears have harboured desires to return to the top level of the National Rugby League.
The initial bid (Central Coast Bears) lost out to the Gold Coast Titans in 2005 and although they have constantly put their foot forward, they have been knocked back every time.
That’s not to say that Norths haven’t tried other ways to get back in too. In 2016, the club launched a bid to takeover the then struggling Gold Coast Titans.
The bid was to see the Titans renamed as the ‘Gold Coast Bears’, have their colours changed to red and black and play a home game each year at North Sydney Oval. The ultimately unsuccessful bid was likened to the relocation of VFL side South Melbourne to Sydney in 1982.
In 2018, a proposal for the Bears to merge with the Perth NRL bid and become the Western Bears was also put forward, however nothing came of that.
Now the Bears have launched the latest incarnation of their bid to return to the topflight. The bid is simply ‘The Bears’ with no geographical fixation, following the lead by the NRL’s newest club, the Dolphins.
If successful, they plan to be based at North Sydney, taking roughly have of their matches to regional centres, including Gosford, Coffs Harbour, Tamworth, and Wagga Wagga.
This bid seems more unlikely than any of the previous. The NRL should be looking to expand, and another team based in Sydney is not the way to go about it. The places most people are mentioning for the 18th NRL team are New Zealand, Adelaide, and of course, Perth.
It’s well worth the Bears efforts to reconsider relocating to Perth, for a number of reasons. For starters, there is an appetite for a Perth-based team. They would garner plenty of support on the west coast from old and new fans.
They would also have plenty of away games in Sydney for their old fans to attend. A club with as much as history as the Bears would have no trouble attracting corporate support, which would help their bid immensely.
They already have a similar colour scheme to both the defunct Western Reds and active West Coast Pirates bids.
Perth also has a surprisingly strong local competition and good pathways for male and female players, arguably even stronger than Melbourne, with the aforementioned Pirates even competing in the SG Ball Cup prior to Covid-19 restrictions.
(Photo by Getty Images)
The Sydney Swans relocation was mentioned during the Gold Coast Bears proposal but would make even more sense if the Bears were to move to Perth.
A long-suffering foundation club relocates outside the heartland for a new beginning. The difference is the Swans were looking to an unknown market with minimal prospects.
The Bears in Perth would be better backed by fans and financially, as well as having a better-known brand.
There are plenty of old Bears fans in Sydney crying out for their team back, plenty of fans in Perth who want some footy and plenty of new fans just waiting to be converted.
A west coast relocation is the only way the Bears can ever return to the NRL. If they make the right moves now, when the NRL makes the likely move to 18 teams in a few years, they won’t be able to look past the Western Bears.
Robert Harvey
Roar Rookie
I live in W.A. know, but following the Rabbitohs for awhile now, but I’ve liked the Bears for along time I followed either with my family, friends, etc. I used to watched the Bears at there home ground most of the time ???? every time they scored a five piece band used play, and or the favourite player’s song these days music song would play after scoring, etc. This part of W.A. where I live Perenjori by is 3hrs away by car. But anyway I like watching RUGBY LEAGUE. If you spend sometime here in W.A. can the Bears come here and train here in Perenjori.
Kashmir Pete
Roar Guru
Brett How many Sydney fund managers are majority owned by residents of the lower North shore whose personal wealth is so big they barely know what to do with it. And how many of their HNW private clients live in the same area , and would be only too happy to be invited to a Friday night game under lights at NSO? You only need one major sponsor. Just relying to your question. Cheers KP
Big Fish
Guest
PNG would be based in Cairns, and fly into Port Morseby for games. Can easily play ten games a year in Port Morseby, two games in Cairns. PNG NRL team doesn't need to train in PNG, as there is already strong domestic comp and QLD Cup team (based in Aus) that is connected to the juniors in PNG. There is an American market. Hawaii is apart of that. Hawaii will do well for the NRL in US betting. It is an easy sell. 10 hour flight will be fine, each club is only flying there once a season, possibly not even that with conferences. Players will want to live there and the reward will be the lifestyle. Plus the team might do a tour in Aus/NZ to break up the travel. If Away teams travel to Hawaii is connected to the Bye, then everyone is laughing. NZ2 will work. It's top down but there is enough 'rugby' type players that the depth will come across to play for a NZ team that has a salary cap of 9.9 million. Money talks. If it engages the Pacific players, then expect Pacific born kiwis to support. Also expect local kiwis to support it in time. Perth and Adelaide will work as they have massive populations. Brisbane 3 - Jets will work as the intercity rival to the Broncos and Dolphins. Massive growth corridor out west. Olympic money being spent by Govs on sporting infrastructure. Central Coast Bears - This takes more convincing, but if it can engage the Central Coast, and still find a way to engage North Sydney. 24 teams, 2 conferences.
Tim Buck 3
Roar Rookie
St.George were saved by the joint venture when the game went national/anzac. Although they are small the Bulldogs have strong historical ties to their community and will get up again before too long.
Tim Buck 3
Roar Rookie
What could the AFL do? I know the media is pro AFL and anti NRL. I lived in Adelaide many years ago and had to phone home to Sydney to get the NSWRL results. An Adelaide newspaper did run a story about a Sydney RL game. It was about Manly and Wests being abandoned because the crowd rioted and invaded the pitch. It was propaganda to warn people of the dangers of dabbling in drugby league.
Tim Buck 3
Roar Rookie
We need to accommodate the fans who have been pushed aside. It's a bit late for that. Also Norths didn't have a large number of fans like Souths. The North and East of Sydney is Rugby Union territory but they don't get good crowds. In Perth Rugby League will attract new fans. Most Aussie Rules fans will ignore it but it's a big new market that has lacked competition due to it being a Rugby League free zone with an Aussie Rules media like Melbourne and Adelaide.
Adam
Roar Guru
There is no US market and it can't be manufactured. Hawaii is almost 10 hours flight from Sydney, completely unsustainable during a season. PNG has too many issues financially and politically to sustain a multi million dollar professional club. Not withstanding the flight time of almost 7 hours between PNG and Melbourne. The Warriors are in the heartland of NZ league and are reasonably well supported but there's no evidence there's an appetite from fans to have NZ2. The NRL has done well not to be the play thing of billionaires and it would be a step back to start that kind of model (moving teams to where billionaires chose).
Glory Bound
Roar Rookie
Tony had me up at the crack of dawn, Matt. He even had me convinced I was in Dubai. :laughing:
matth
Roar Guru
Got you hook line and sinker :laughing:
Glory Bound
Roar Rookie
Like I have commented recently, Bunny haters here on the ROAR can't have it both ways. You can't make jokes about Souths and medical retirement salary cap dispensations and then criticise them for trying to avoid being caught in the same situation again.
matth
Roar Guru
Yep pretty poor of Souths to not want to sign their own juniors. I’m sure Adam Reynolds is sympathetic
matth
Roar Guru
Surely it’s the Bundy Drop Bears!
matth
Roar Guru
Plus no broadcaster is going to want the additional costs of playing at regional centres each year
matth
Roar Guru
I see the bridge you apparently live under must be closed for renovations :laughing: :laughing:
Big Fish
Guest
100% disagree Adam with good reasons as discussed above. Even if you don’t go CC Bears and Ipswich Jets, and just go Perth and Adelaide they are big ponds to fish in. NZ2 is sustainable financially and with juniors. Hawaii would tap into Pacific market and bring in US betting market. PNG would pay for itself and be swimming with juniors.
Adam
Roar Guru
It can't. The population of Australia dictates that
Adam
Roar Guru
Hawaii is a 10 hr flight. Not possible or sustainable over a 30 week season. Png might be League mad but is one of the most corrupt, dangerous politically unstable areas outside of the middle east. A team could not be based there. No body would move there so they have to somehow become NRL standard with the QLD cup side. NZ barely supports the Warriors in Auckland, a city that actually has some rugby league heritage. I don't mean to be a wet blanket, but the thing about expansion is it has to be sustainable, billionaires come and go, a team eventually has to be near to profitable in the NRL because it's not globally high profile like the NFL or EPL.
Big Fish
Guest
24 NRL clubs is basically 20 Aus teams, 2 NZ teams, PNG and Hawaii. AFL is going to expand to 20 teams eventually. NRL is basically just adding a country of 5 million NZ, a country of 9 million PNG, 1.4 million Hawaii. That’s not including the Pacific. That’s the depth. Commercially NZ will pay for itself. PNG will pay for itself. Hawaii with the right tv rights, betting money for NRL in US market and a good owner will pay for itself. Central Coast Bears can pay for itself. Ipswich with the right ownership can pay for itself. Perth with current bid and commercial support in WA can pay for itself. Adelaide may need some help.
Tom G
Roar Rookie
This is the oft cited rationale by NRL for ignoring a Central Coast bid.
Tom G
Roar Rookie
a couple of big differences between Melbourne and Perth though. Melbourne has scale through population and a culture predisposed to sports attendance. The other is hugely more significant travel costs which someone would have to pick up