‘Drop in quality’: Major NRL fear laid bare but Gould says ‘don’t panic’
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Phil Gould has urged Perth Bears officials not to panic yet, despite signing very few top-line players for their inaugural 2027 season.
The latest expansion franchise has faced plenty of scrutiny for its recruitment, especially when the PNG Chiefs - who come into the league a year later - have already landed Jarome Luai and appear to be closing in on Joseph Manu.
Jarome Luai signs his PNG Chiefs contract. Supplied
Perth have signed some steady, solid first graders and a handful of Super League players, but have yet to strike a major blow in terms of a marquee recruit and right now, their most high-profile players are Tyran Wishart and Toby Sexton.
The new club still has plenty of room available in both its top 30 roster and salary cap, but Gould said it isn’t time to start worrying yet.
“I’m saying no to them getting a wriggle on, but they do need to sign some quality and that will come in time,” he said on Wide World Of Sports’ Six Tackles With Gus.
“It’s a long race, don’t panic - I remember when the Dolphins were coming in, people were panicking about them and what they had, but I kept saying they were doing it right, buying a lot of good young kids, because it’s a long-term process.
“It’s not about what you do in year one, it’s whether you’re still there in year five and year 10, if you’re gonna build these new clubs. I’m sure Perth will have a long-term view towards that, but it’s gonna be very difficult for Perth in this market.
“To put together a top-eight team in their first year, I think that’s an unrealistic expectation. The key for Perth is what they look like in five years or 10 years’ time and then in 20, 30, 40 and 50 years’ time, that’s what they are setting up for.
“All they can do now is sign who’s available or who is willing to go there.”
He also cautioned people against getting too excited about the Chiefs, despite the tax-free dollars on offer and their strong early recruitment drive.
“They’re not gonna find it easy,” Gould said.
“I know they’re advertising some high-profile interviews and recruits at the moment, but it’s not gonna be easy. They’ve gotta set that up for the longer term that unites their country, which means a lot of locals playing in that squad.
“They can’t keep coming to Australia to buy players to make their team competitive, it eventually has to represent PNG.
St George Illawarra are stranded on the bottom of the ladder. Getty Images
“In the short-term, corporate support and their performance and notoriety, they need to sign some marquee players … but it’s not gonna be easy for them to fill those roles, even if they are offering tax-free money.”
Gould’s comments come after a heated debate with Paul Gallen over the merits of adding more teams to the NRL, where he accused the Sharks legend as having a “short-sighted” view of where the game is headed and potential growth.
Gallen pointed to the lack of success for teams like the Dragons and that said adding more teams would only dilute the talent pool across 18, 19 or possibly 20 clubs.
Billy Slater also admitted the addition of two more teams - and potentially a third in the coming years - would have an impact on the competition.
“Every game will drop in quality,” he said on Nine’s The Billy Slater Podcast.
While there are mixed views on the NRL’s continued expansion plans, the reality is the Bears are just months away from their first pre-season and still have plenty of room to improve when it comes to their inaugural squad.
As alluded to by Gould, they can only sign who is available - which admittedly does make it a tough task - but there are still some valuable players on the market.
Mal Meninga speaks to media in Perth. Getty
The most obvious handful of available names the Bears should be looking at right now are Kodi Nikorima, Ronald Volkman, Matt Dufty and Billy Walters - any of whom would add much-needed quality in the spine, but also give them multiple years of service as opposed to being a bandaid solution for just one season.
Mal Meninga and his recruitment staff could also look to add some shorter-term, experienced players, particularly in the forward pack, with the likes of Tyson Frizell, Braden Hamlin-Uele and Junior Paulo without contracts for 2027.
Potential 2027 targets for Perth Bears
Billy Walters, Morgan Smithies, Jonathan Sua, Lipoi Hopoi, Braden Hamlin-Uele, Hohepa Puru, Kodi Nikorima, Ray Stone, Shawn Blore, Tyson Frizell, Kaiden Lahrs, Murray Taulagi, Junior Paulo, Joash Papalii, Jack de Belin, Kelma Tuilagi, Ronald Volkman, Will Penisini, Christian Tuipulotu, Matt Dufty, Rocco Berry
Perth Bears 2027 squad currently
Toby Sexton, Harry Newman, Emarly Bitungane, Luke Smith, Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui, Liam Henry, Sean Russell, Josh Curran, Tyran Wishart, Nick Meaney, Chris Vea’ila, James McDonnell, Luke Laulilii, Scott Sorensen, Siosifa Talakai, Mikolaj Oledzki, Te Hurinui ‘Apa’ Twidle, Kit Laulilii, Mason Barber, AJ Gudgeon, Mavrik Geyer
