EXCLUSIVE: The one thing 'proud' Perth Bears boss refuses to ask NRL for help with

The Perth Bears will sell out every home game next year.

That is, at least, according to Bears CEO Anthony De Cegile.

"The vibe in Perth is electric. We feel like we have lightning in a bottle over here… we really feel confident that there is a big, big rugby league community over here that just can't wait for the Perth Bears to play," De Ceglie told Wide World of Sports.

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The Bears are set to sell brand new club merchandise at this weekend's NRL double header event at Optus Stadium in Perth.

The Rabbitohs, Raiders, Sharks, and Roosters will fly to the West Australian capital to showcase the best of rugby league to the city.

"A couple of weeks after that, we'll launch our memberships," De Ceglie explained.

"And then the plan at this stage is to launch the inaugural jersey in line with the Melbourne Storm home game in Perth in August."

The Perth Bears will make their NRL debut next year.

Though he grew up in an AFL state, De Cegile says he fell in love with the game of rugby league when he was the deputy editor of the Daily Telegraph in Sydney.

"I have an affinity to the Bears, but since taking on this job, I've done a lot of homework and a lot of research into the North Sydney Bears," he said.

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"We wake up every day feeling proud and honoured, that we're carrying on the Bears tradition."

Seeing the Bears play again at North Sydney Oval has long been the dream for a lot of diehard Bears fans, and it's something De Cegile wants to see happen.

"We'd love to, we will definitely play games at North Sydney, whether they're NRL premiership games or trial matches or captain's runs. We're not sure," he said.

"A lot of it depends on the facilities at North Sydney... I think there's a really strong case for upgrades at North Sydney Oval... considering it's an iconic historic location.

"Perth is our home, but our spiritual home will always be North Sydney."

This isn't the first time Perth have had a rugby league team. The Western Reds were dismantled at the end of the 1997 season after only playing in three seasons.

"The Western Reds were a successful franchise, even though they were only around for a few years. They were just caught up in the Super League debate. The Western Reds have a lot to teach us."

Perth already has numerous sporting franchises representing the city, but De Cegile reckons Nine's free to air coverage is the key for the Bears to gain the upper hand.

"Most of the other sports in Perth aren't on free to air," he said.

"So I feel getting in front of a large mass TV audience is a real superpower for the Perth Bears, that no other sporting team in Perth, other than the AFL teams have."

Perth are still in the process of recruiting players and filling their 30-man squad for the inaugural season next year.

Though De Ceglie is not directly involved in recruitment, he says he has full confidence in coach, Mal Meninga, to deliver a competitive team for round one.

"The heavy lifting is most certainly done by the football department, and that's their expertise. They know what they're doing," he said.

"We've got an incredibly experienced football department working on this."

De Cegile admits the Bears have missed out on a few key players, but asking for salary cap exemptions from the NRL is not on the table.

"It's a very proud West Australian thing, that we don't make excuses and we don't ask for concessions," he said.

"We're feeling very confident about where we are. We're really excited about what's coming up.

"I'm also bullish that we're going to be very competitive. And I think if we're selling out home games and if we're competitive, then that will embody the West Australian spirit, the North Sydney bear spirit and our fans will be proud."