Source :- THE AGE NEWS
It’s entirely appropriate that Mal Meninga explains what the Perth Bears stand for while sitting under the shade of a fig tree.
Whenever Meninga, the expansion club’s inaugural coach, pitches to a prospective player, he shows them a slide that encapsulates the culture he is cultivating. It depicts a giant fig, akin to the ones that have long fringed North Sydney Oval, or the one that is the backdrop to our interview thousands of kilometres away at Perth’s Kings Park and Botanic Garden.
The striking image is captioned with the words “Connect. Respect. Protect.”
“We’re putting together what we call the Fig Tree Pillars,” Meninga says, gesturing toward the timber above. “It’s about connecting east and west through the fig tree.
“We’ve got pillars around Connect, which is connecting relationships and everyone together from the Perth Bears’ point of view—the community and all that sort of stuff. Then we’ve got Protect, which is around our standards, and then obviously Respect, which is around engaging in the local community and being part of the community over here.”
Meninga opens his laptop and shows another slide, pointing to a “BEARS” acronym that encapsulates the values he wants to instil.
Bold. Empowered. Accountable. Resourceful. Selfless.
They are the traits that served him throughout a playing career that garnered Immortal status, followed by unprecedented success with the clipboard for the Maroons and Kangaroos. However, the challenge he faces in his latest gig is his greatest yet.
The Bears have already assembled 25 members of its inaugural roster, the latest being Canberra’s English international Morgan Smithies. If Parramatta prop Junior Paulo accepts a two-year deal, he will become the 26th.
Meninga is bullish about the quality of the squad.
“We’ve got a few young fellas that have still got a bit to do, but most of them are in their prime,” Meninga says.
Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V’landys adds: “Look, I’m probably in the minority here, but I think the roster that they’ve already got is pretty good.”
Few share their optimism. The biggest knock on their playing list is that it doesn’t contain a bona fide star, the so-called “marquee man” to be the face of the new enterprise. Some bookmakers, in framing their wooden spoon market for 2028, have installed the Bears at $1.10.
Even the NRL, which owns Perth’s licence, appears to be concerned. Moments after the Bears revealed their jersey design at the WACA on Friday – the distinctive red and black horizontal stripes pay homage to foundation club North Sydney – V’landys announced salary cap dispensations to help the Bears land their elusive marquee.
Rival clubs, in a rare act of charity, also offered a sweetener of their own that will allow Perth to be the only destination should one of their disgruntled stars want to leave. The twin perks are an acknowledgement that the Bears are struggling to compete for talent, particularly given the tax-free incentives on offer at the PNG Chiefs.
For Meninga, being written off is just further motivation to prove the critics wrong.
“I think that’s just a natural reaction, you know?” Meninga says. “It does upset us. Well, upsets me. But it makes you more motivated and determined.
“But that’s not going to be the guiding light for what we’re on … If it’s motivating one week, then we might use it. If it’s not, well, we’ll find themes. That’s part of our coaching … I think that’s just a natural reaction. They look at our team, and I don’t know how they judge it, to be honest with you.”
Being competitive from the outset is only one challenge. For the Bears to be a sustainable success, they will need to produce their own players.
“We want to become a development club,” says the Bears’ elite pathways manager, Ian Millward.
The ambition presents logistical challenges. The Bears are based in AFL-obsessed Western Australia, while their feeder team, North Sydney Bears, is almost 4000 kilometres away. Given that their other talent pipeline is Queensland Cup side Brisbane Tigers, plans are being fast-tracked to provide talented Perth teens with a pathway to the NRL.
They include establishing a local SG Ball side in 2029, and then a Harold Matthews offering a year later. For now, there is a “Tracks” academy for the state’s most promising teens, overseen by former Western Reds centre Chris Dever. The initial cohort includes prop Cooper Crockett and playmakers Jacob Smith and Zane Murray.
“It would be a really good story for any Perth kid to pull on the jersey and show people you can make it over here, you don’t have to go east to make NRL,” Smith says.
And then there is a plan to recruit South African rugby players, an ambitious ploy that will be headed up by former Wallabies star David Campese.
“I think it’s a natural progression for us,” Meninga explains. “We’re on the west coast of Australia, South Africa is eight hours away. There’s so much talent up there. They are probably the best team in the world at the moment, and they’ve got so many juniors. The skill system is huge, and they just haven’t got opportunities, so it could be an opportunity for us to test the waters and see what comes out of it.”
But all of that is in the future. Perth’s first preseason is less than three months away. Like any new franchise, particularly where they aren’t the dominant football code, immediate success is paramount.
Despite a lack of local coverage from an AFL-aligned media, Bears membership has swelled past 20,000 and is expected to reach 35,000 by kick-off. The full-house sign is expected to go up for home games.
So what does success look like for the NRL’s newest franchise?
“Success looks like every week when we play, everyone understands who our identity is,” Meninga says. “They understand what sort of effort we put in – we never give up. All those things that are really important, the one-percenters. The teams that win competitions are very good at the basic fundamentals. They’ll see a team that’s very competitive, based around effort.”
Underpinning it all is what Meninga calls the “Bear-cosystem” – a culture that, like the fig trees, is grown from the ground up.
“It’s all around family,” he says. “To do what they’re doing, we talk about the right reasons.
“The right reason is that they’ve got to be bold, they’ve got to be courageous. It’s not the player or their talent; it’s the family. If the wife, the partner, and the kids see it as part of an adventure for them, they’ve got to have that trailblazing attitude towards coming over here.”
On Saturday, Meninga led a contingent of fans on a “Bear Walk” to HBF Park. He believes it is the first step of a journey towards greatness.
“It’s a legacy piece for me, mate, honestly,” he says. “I’m here for the right reasons. It’s about helping the game and the players. That’s why I talk to players passionately about that legacy and being trailblazers, being unique …
“These are the foundations of what we hope is a superpower in rugby league. We’re a one-team state, the biggest-resourced state in Australia collectively by far. So for us, if we can get some momentum – not takeover, just build respect – this can be a beast.”
Adrian Proszenko travelled to Perth as a guest of the Perth Bears.
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