Mal Meninga believes the Perth Bears are “doing really well” despite pressure mounting on the NRL’s 18th club ahead of their inaugural season.

After the other looming expansion franchise, the PNG Chiefs, managed to land the huge signing of Jarome Luai for 2028 and beyond, attention has now turned to the Bears.

While the club have signed quality players including Tyran Wishart, Siosifa Talakai and Scott Sorensen, the lack of a true marquee player has been called into question, while question marks have been raised about how the Bears have hyped up their arrival.

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Panthers veteran Scott Sorensen will join the Bears. Getty

Things reached fever pitch on Nine’s 100% Footy this week when Paul Gallen told club board member James Bracey that the Bears had “done nothing” to promote the fact they would be joining the competition next season, prompting a heated debate.

There have also been rumblings about animosity between Meninga and assistant coach Ben Gardiner, according to reports from The Sydney Morning Herald.

Quizzed about the fiery on-air exchange, Meninga remained upbeat about Perth’s recruitment for the 2027 season and explained the “strategy” was around long-term success, bringing in players who can bridge the gap created by a lack of pathways.

“I was stuck over in Perth and didn’t see the show unfortunately. However, I got a transcript and James is an avid Bears man, so really happy he stuck up for us,” Meninga told 2GB’s Continuous Call Team on Saturday afternoon.

“We know the conditions, we know what we need to do and we’re just worried about what we do and what’s in our control, and I think we’re doing a really good job.

James Bracey and Paul Gallen on 100% Footy. Nine

“We discussed a strategy a long time ago and I think we’ve done really well sticking to that. We’ve got a plan around the future and it’s a sustainable one, it’s not about, ‘Oh, we’re gonna miss out on that marquee player’, and we haven’t really chased marquees, to be honest with you, but you look at the players we’ve got and I’m really happy.

“We’ve got no sophisticated elite programs and no kids coming through our system, so we’ve got to buy players who are going to be there for a long period of time.

“We’ve got a few more that we’re talking to, just quietly.” 

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The coach said it could also take up to five years before a Perth-bred player makes his way into the first grade set-up, doubling down on the need for roster stability early on as the NRL looks to allow the Bears some cap concessions according to the Herald.

Meninga also denied suggestions the Bears officials – himself included – hadn’t done enough in an AFL-heavy region to promote the club in the lead-up to next season.

“I think we’re doing really well there,” he said.

“We’ve got to build our ecosystem – we call it our Bear country – and we’ve got to gain respect. We’re not going over there to say, ‘Look at us, we’re a big NRL team and come follow us’ … we need to get into the community and I think we’re doing that really well.

Mal Meninga speaks to media in Perth. Getty

“There’s a lot of interest in the NRL in WA, honestly, but we also understand that it’s a big AFL state and there’s a lot of good major sports over there.

“We’ve just got to build respect in the community and we need to be competitive.”

Perth already had their own first grade rugby league club in the past, with the Western Reds operating from 1992 until 1997, before becoming a Super League war casualty.

Meninga hasn’t coached a club team since 2001 with the Raiders, but has been highly successful at representative level with both Queensland and Australia.