![\"James](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0_James-McDonnell-005.jpg\")
<\/p>\nMcDonnell will play in the NRL in 2027.<\/p>\n
08:37, 12 Jan 2026Updated 08:56, 12 Jan 2026<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
James McDonnell will move to the NRL in 2027. (Image: SW PIX)<\/p>\n
Perth Bears have confirmed their latest double signing, including Leeds Rhinos forward James McDonnell.<\/p>\n
The back rower, part of the Super League Dream Team in 2025, becomes the second Rhinos player to sign for the NRL\u2019s newest club, following on from Harry Newman. Both players will move to Australia after the 2026 season ahead of 2027.<\/p>\n
Still only 25-years-old, McDonnell, a product of the Wigan Warriors academy system, will join the Bears on a two-year deal.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been an ambition of mine to play in the NRL and I\u2019m absolutely delighted to be given that chance with the Perth Bears,\u201d McDonnell said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe NRL is the toughest competition in the world, and I can\u2019t wait to get over to Western Australia and test myself against the best of the best.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s great to know that Harry Newman and a few other lads from the Super League will be joining me. My focus is on giving 100% for the Rhinos this year but it\u2019s exciting to think that in a year\u2019s time I\u2019ll have the chance to be a part of history.\u201d<\/p>\n
Perth have also confirmed the signing of New Zealand outside back Chris Vea\u2019ila. The 22-year-old is currently with Sydney based NRL club Cronulla Sharks and like McDonnell will join the Bears on a two-year deal from 2027.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe chance to be a part of history with the Bears was too good an opportunity to pass up,\u201d Vea\u2019ila said. \u201cPerth is a fantastic city, and I feel it gives me the best opportunity to continue my development as a player on and off the field.\u201d<\/p>\n
The two signings are Perth’s 11th and 12th new recruits. To date, their 2027 roster stands at: Emarly Bitungane, Josh Curran, Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui, Liam Henry, James McDonnell, Nick Meaney, Harry Newman, Sean Russell, Toby Sexton, Luke Smith, Chris Vea’ila, Tyran Wishart<\/p>\n
Speaking on both of the club’s latest signings, head coach Mal Meninga added: \u201cI\u2019ve kept an eye on McDonnell for a few years now and I thought he really went to another level in 2025. I\u2019m confident he will develop more this season and I\u2019m excited to see what he can bring to the Bears.<\/p>\n
\u201cChris Vea\u2019ila had an exceptional junior career with the Knights and was given his chance with the Sharks last season. Similar to James, I think he will continue to improve this season and be a real asset for the Bears in 2027 and beyond.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel really confident we are building the foundations for this club to be successful now and into the future.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"McDonnell will play in the NRL in 2027. 08:37, 12 Jan 2026Updated 08:56, 12 Jan 2026 James McDonnell…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":408052,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-408051","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408051","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=408051"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408051\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/408052"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=408051"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=408051"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=408051"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}