James McDonnell<\/a> and Chris Vea\u2019ila, adding further depth and versatility to Mal Meninga\u2019s rapidly growing roster.<\/p>\nIrish International McDonnell Heads West<\/p>\n
Leeds Rhinos forward James McDonnell will join the Bears on a two-year deal after his departure from the Super League club was confirmed over the weekend.<\/p>\n
The 26-year-old Irish international brings a wealth of professional experience, having made 110 senior appearances across stints with Wigan Warriors, York City Knights, Leigh Leopards and Leeds Rhinos. Known for his work rate and defensive reliability in the middle and edge, McDonnell shapes as a valuable foundational piece for Perth\u2019s inaugural squad.<\/p>\n
Sharks Fringe Forward Vea\u2019ila Gets Opportunity<\/p>\n
Also committing to the Bears is Chris Vea\u2019ila, who arrives on a two-year contract after time with the Cronulla Sharks.<\/p>\n
The 22-year-old made his NRL debut in Round 20 against the Sydney Roosters during Cronulla\u2019s 31\u201318 victory and has been a regular performer for Newtown Jets in the NSW Cup. Vea\u2019ila\u2019s move west offers a clear pathway to top-grade football as the Bears look to develop emerging talent alongside established names.<\/p>\n
Bears Squad Taking Shape<\/p>\n
McDonnell and Vea\u2019ila become the latest additions to an increasingly impressive signing list as Perth build towards their historic entry into the competition.<\/p>\n
Perth Bears Confirmed Signings (as of now)Toby Sexton \u2013 until end of 2028Harry Newman \u2013 until the end of 2028Luke Smith \u2013 until the end of 2028Emarly Bitungane \u2013 until end of 2028Liam Henry \u2013 until end of 2030Iszac Fa\u2019asuamaleaui \u2013 until end of 2028Sean Russell \u2013 until end of 2030Josh Curran \u2013 until the end of 2029Tyran Wishart \u2013 until end of 2031Nick Meaney \u2013 until end of 2029James McDonnell \u2013 until end of 2028Chris Vea\u2019ila \u2013 until the end of 2028<\/p>\n
With a blend of NRL experience, Super League pedigree and developmental upside, Perth\u2019s roster is quickly beginning to resemble one capable of competing from Round 1.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Perth Bears\u2019 recruitment drive continues to gather momentum as the NRL\u2019s newest expansion club edges closer to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":396600,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[181264,64,63,216019,215972,22798,760,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-407516","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-rugby","8":"tag-2027-nrl-signings","9":"tag-au","10":"tag-australia","11":"tag-chris-veaila","12":"tag-james-mcdonnell","13":"tag-perth-bears","14":"tag-rugby","15":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/407516","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=407516"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/407516\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/396600"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=407516"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=407516"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=407516"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}