Bears coach Mal Meninga has hit back at criticism of the club’s roster-building strategy as Perth unveiled its inaugural home jersey for the 2027 season.
The jersey pays tribute to North Sydney’s strip when they entered the top grade in 1908, including the red and black hoops that were made famous in North Sydney.
The new design was shown off on Friday ahead of the Storm’s clash with Manly in Perth this weekend.
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“The Perth Bears are the most exciting story in Australian sport,” Perth Bears chief executive Anthony De Ceglie said.
“While our club is new, it is not without history and we move forward on the foundations of both the North Sydney Bears and rugby league in WA.
“We’re extremely proud to be taking the red-and-black colours into a brand new era while also honouring our history.”
Rugby league legend and head coach of the Perth Bears Mal Meninga poses with the newly unveiled Bears jersey in Perth, 07 August 2026. Picture: SuppliedSource: Supplied Source Known
The North Sydney Bears were one of the foundation clubs 118 years ago, with the founding year and original logo to feature on the back collar of the new jersey.
The foundation jersey partners include principal partner Cash Converters, premier partner Budget Direct, as well as major partners Penrite Oil, Atlas and XFM.
“It’s really important to acknowledge our history, but also to create a new identity for the Bears here on the west coast,” Meninga said.
“A bear doesn’t shy away, a bear stands up, a bear is bold and courageous, which is exactly what we are going to be.
“We are focused on building a club that WA and North Sydney will be proud of and we will have a team that will do that.”
Mal loves ‘bold’ new Bears jersey | 00:56
The jersey launch is the latest milestone for the club who announced on Thursday that English international Morgan Smithies was the latest key signing after he inked a long-term deal to leave Canberra at the end of the season.
Despite that signing, the Bears’ inaugural roster has still been widely criticised for lacking a true marquee player — something that Meninga took exception to when asked on Friday.
“Let me be frank with this. I’m really excited about the roster we’ve built,” Meninga said.
“I’ve got great belief in the players we’ve already already got. We’re 25 deep already and to start the year we only need 24 and to start the season we need 28.
V’Landys backs Bears for success | 00:53
“So honestly, what is a marquee? How do you describe a marquee or high profile?
“You look through the team, we’ve got some high-profile players already and we’ve certainly got players of the future, there’s no doubt.
“You look at the age groups, it’s from 22 to 28, we’ve got Scotty Sorenson coming over as well at 31.
“We’ve got a team for the future as well. There’s no doubt we want to be competitive.”