Perth Bears Prepare to Join the NRL After Years in the Wilderness
Perth's prospective new National Rugby League (NRL) team will need to get their claws stuck into training soon, with news they are expected to return to the league in 2027.
The team will revive the North Sydney Bears, one of the NRL's foundation clubs formed in 1903, through a new partnership with Western Australia. The Bears lost their NRL licence in 1999 but have long campaigned for a return to the top level of the sport.
The Australian Rugby League Commission (ARLC), the peak governing body for the sport, has reportedly given the green light to a $50 million offer from the West Australian (WA) government to bring the rebranded Perth Bears on board.
Premier Roger Cook's government had earlier offered $35 million but increased the amount to get the proposal over the line.
Bears stalwart and board member Billy Moore has backed the push for a return to the NRL, saying that news of the comeback was the best thing for the club since winning their second premiership in 1922.
Formed in 1908, the North Sydney Bears were one of the earliest clubs in the Sydney-based Rugby League competition that eventually became the NRL.
Related Stories
1/27/2025
10/1/2024
For the most recent NRL bid, the Bears partnered with a WA consortium to form the new Perth-based incarnation.
'There is nothing else that comes close to this moment,' Moore said.
'This is a day for the true believers, just outstanding.'
The agreement for the Perth Bears to get on board still needs to be signed off by the 17 existing NRL teams and the Rugby League Players' Association.
A Papua New Guinea side is also set to enter the NRL a year later, as part of a $600 million plan funded by the Australian government.
There is also room for one more, with the league hoping to amass a set of 20 teams.
During the 2024 season, the NRL reported a record revenue of $744.9 million, up $43.7 million from the previous year.
A Perth-based team is expected to provide a significant economic boost to the state.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Bloomberg
19 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
Bloomberg: The Asia Trade 10/6/25
"Bloomberg: The Asia Trade" brings you everything you need to know to get ahead as the trading day begins in Asia. Bloomberg TV is live from Tokyo and Sydney with Shery Ahn and Haidi Stroud-Watts, getting insight and analysis from newsmakers and industry leaders on the biggest stories shaping global markets. (Source: Bloomberg)
Yahoo
23 minutes ago
- Yahoo
New Mexico Foundation's new CEO makes quite an impression
One of my tasks as the business reporter at The Santa Fe New Mexican is to keep tabs on what's happening in the state's nonprofit community, which explains why I spoke last week with Justin Kii Huenemann, the new president and CEO at the New Mexico Foundation for a profile in our June 4 edition. Justin Kii Huenemann Justin Kii Huenemann, the new president and CEO of the New Mexico Foundation, says the organization faces unique challenges and opportunities as the only statewide community foundation in New Mexico. The Santa Fe-based community foundation lists collaboration and sustainability as two key elements in its core values, and it is clear that Huenemann plans to continue emphasizing both during his tenure. Citing his upbringing on the Navajo Nation near Tsaile, Ariz., he talked about how the landscape of that area has shaped his perspective on the world as an adult. Not surprisingly, he said he tends to take the long view in his approach to managing organizations, especially those that have experienced a recent leadership void. 'The sky's not falling,' he said, describing the message he likes to convey to his new staff in those situations. Huenemann had to hit the ground running in his new position, but he nevertheless made time to spend at least an hour conversing with each member of his staff within two weeks of his arrival. He described himself as an active listener, adding that the most important job of his foundation is to avoid creating barriers for its partners. But the thing he said that impressed me the most was when he described community foundations as 'a privileged environment within a privileged sector,' a reminder to himself to remain cognizant of how different a given situation can look to someone on the outside. As someone who spent the last 10 years living just off the Navajo Nation in San Juan County, a remote and often overlooked corner of New Mexico, I felt like I understood well what he was trying to say. And I have little doubt that Huenemann's term at the foundation will be a successful one.
Yahoo
23 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Proposed RENT Ordinance aims to rein in unfair rental practices
Jun. 9—The Albuquerque City Council is set to consider sweeping new rules that would overhaul the rental process citywide, aiming to protect tenants from hidden fees, housing instability and unresponsive landlords. The bill, known as Renter's Empowerment and Neighborhood Transparency (RENT) Ordinance, would enshrine several protections around almost every part of the renting experience. The bill addresses nearly all aspects of the rental process and would impact every landlord and renter in the city. Statistics from the American Community Survey show that about 44% of households in Albuquerque rent. But it's far from guaranteed to pass. "I think that this council has proven in the past that they're not interested in helping renters very much," said Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn, who is sponsoring the bill on behalf of the mayor's office. "But recently, we did get two pieces of tenant protections passed." Those two pieces were an ordinance mandating landlords provide cooling for tenants and a bill that created a code enforcement position to respond directly to renters' issues. The bill also faces opposition from landlord advocates. "While the stated intent of this legislation may be to protect tenants, in practice, it burdens responsible landlords, increases operational and legal risk, and would discourage housing investment in Albuquerque," said Alan LaSeck, executive director of the Apartment Association of New Mexico. LaSeck went on to say the proposals ignore the realities of managing rental housing and would lead to reduced availability, higher costs and greater conflict. "Rather than fostering cooperation between tenants and owners, they threaten to drive housing providers out of the market, shrinking our housing supply, increasing rents and worsening the very problem we're trying to solve," LaSeck said. What's in the RENT Ordinance? Shanna Schultz, policy and government affairs administrator for the city, said the bill comes at a time when Albuquerque continues to grapple with a housing crisis. A 2024 Denver-based Root Policy Research report, titled "Albuquerque Region Housing Needs Assessment," found a significant shortage of units for low-income renters. The same report found that residents were spending more than a third of their monthly income on housing and that occupied units, such as apartments and single-family homes, often had more residents than rooms available. "I think we know that building more homes is essential, but that's not enough on its own. It's not the only tool in the toolkit," Schultz said. "We also need to protect the people who are already living in homes." Schultz, who authored the policy proposal, noted that the bill's transparency provisions were among its most significant changes. The RENT Ordinance would require landlords to disclose all costs of a rental agreement in plain language in their published listings. That includes anything on a background check that could disqualify an applicant, as well as minimum credit score or income requirements. "This can help renters avoid surprise charges and do things like budget more confidently, which is very important in this economy right now," Schultz said. There are several other key provisions, including those around repairs. The ordinance grants the tenant the right to arrange for necessary maintenance by a licensed and insured professional. The tenant can also deduct the cost of the repair from their rent payment or receive reimbursement from the landlord when the landlord fails to make a repair. Landlords would also be prohibited from charging fees and additional rent for companion animals, defined in the bill as typical pets not used for commercial purposes. In all, the bill makes changes to rules around security deposits, relocation assistance, the rental application process, evictions, credit reporting requirements, move-in and move-out procedures and methods of payment. It's set to go before the Land Use, Planning and Zoning Committee on June 11. If it advances, it's unlikely to go before the full council until at least August, Schultz said. "Why would landlords also be interested in this? And I think the answer to that is that clear rules reduce confusion and conflict," Schultz said.
