North Sydney Bears confirm return to NRL as Western Bears
More than 25 years since they last played in the competition, an agreement to resurrect the team has been reached.
The Western Bears’ formal launch on Friday means that the Bears’ 25-year NRL hiatus will soon come to an end. The North Sydney Bears are anticipated to reappear as the competition’s eighteenth team in the upcoming years, having lost their NRL license in 1999. Westen Bears are now the 18th team in the NRL. WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE.
The team, which will be based out of Western Australia, is expected to join the NRL in 2027.
Their submission still needs to be finalised ahead of the August 14 deadline, but it looks almost certain to be ratified.
Officials included in Western Australia’s bid for a team closed out months of negotiations with North Sydney on Friday to confirm the joint venture.
It’s understood they considered the ‘Perth Bears’ as the team’s name, but opted for Western as a nod to the state’s first NRL team.
The Western Reds spent two years in the competition during the 90s before defecting to the Super League.
Papua New Guinea is still expected to join the competition, but will now become the 19th team, a year after the Bears’ return.
According to Andrew McKinlay of 7NEWS Sydney, the Western Bears will don the historic North Sydney colors. They may play at least one token home game in their spiritual home of New South Wales, most likely against archrivals Manly.