\u201cIt\u2019s obviously a great opportunity for me with the Bears, but I still have another year to go here and I\u2019m fully focused on doing my best for Penrith.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI\u2019m going to soak it all up for the next 12 months, and I\u2019d love nothing more than to win a premiership before I go, that\u2019s for sure.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously every pre-season you look at areas where you can improve and get better, but we\u2019ve kept our main core of players, and it is exciting to think we can build on that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Henry said neither he nor his wife Sophie had been to Perth before the Bears flew them out for negotiations.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had a look around for two or three days, met everyone at the club and checked out the facilities and the city, and we liked what we saw,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously it will be a bit of a challenge and there\u2019ll be a settling-in period, because it is a fair way from home.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut the chance to help build a club, starting from scratch, it doesn\u2019t come around every day and I\u2019m excited to be a part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The clincher was coach Mal Meninga\u2019s sales pitch.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously I\u2019m in awe of Mal and what he\u2019s done in the game,\u201d Henry said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe took Sophie and I out for dinner, and just the way he described what he wants to build, and the legacy he wants to leave, it made me feel very, very privileged that he wants me to be part of that.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 105-kilogram prop said it did not require a leap of faith to link with a franchise that, thus far, has recruited six players: Henry, Toby Sexton, Iszac Fa\u2019asuamaleaui, Luke Smith, Harry Newman and Emarly Bitungane.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know what they want to build,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously the signings will come as time goes on, and that\u2019s going to be exciting too, finding out who I\u2019m going to be playing with.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe good thing is that we\u2019ll all be in the same boat, working hard to build a new team, and it\u2019s going to be something special for everyone involved.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Geyer played 33 games in three seasons for the Reds, before the Perth franchise became collateral damage in the Super League war and folded in late 1997, allowing the NRL to replace it with Melbourne Storm.<\/p>\n
The back-rower returned to play out his career with Penrith, retiring at the end of the 2000 season.<\/p>\n