{"id":594741,"date":"2026-04-09T02:59:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T02:59:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/594741\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T02:59:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T02:59:12","slug":"perth-bears-launch-tracks-academy-to-grow-rugby-league-talent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/594741\/","title":{"rendered":"Perth Bears launch Tracks Academy to grow rugby league talent"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#\" onclick=\"window.open('https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/shareArticle?mini=true&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediaweek.com.au%2Fperth-bears-launch-tracks-academy-to-grow-rugby-league-talent-in-wa%2F&amp;title=Perth+Bears+launch+Tracks+Academy+to+grow+rugby+league+talent+in+WA', 'linkedInShare', 'width=626,height=436'); return false;\" title=\"Share on LinkedIn\"><\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<p><\/a><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#\" onclick=\"window.open('http:\/\/twitter.com\/share?text=Perth Bears launch Tracks Academy to grow rugby league talent in WA -&amp;url=https:\/\/www.mediaweek.com.au\/perth-bears-launch-tracks-academy-to-grow-rugby-league-talent-in-wa\/', 'twitterShare', 'width=626,height=436'); return false;\" title=\"Tweet This Post\"><\/p>\n<p>Tweet<\/p>\n<p><\/a><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#\" onclick=\"window.open('http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/www.mediaweek.com.au\/perth-bears-launch-tracks-academy-to-grow-rugby-league-talent-in-wa\/&amp;t=Perth Bears launch Tracks Academy to grow rugby league talent in WA', 'facebookShare', 'width=626,height=436'); return false;\" title=\"Share on Facebook\"><\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<p><\/a><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"http:\/\/www.mediaweek.com.au\/cdn-cgi\/l\/email-protection#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\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/p>\n<p>Email<\/p>\n<p><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediaweek.com.au\/sca-wa-signs-three-year-media-deal-with-perth-bears\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Perth Bears<\/a> have launched their inaugural Tracks Academy in Western Australia, marking a significant step in building a local talent pipeline for the code.<\/p>\n<p>The program is designed as an entry point for players aged 14\u201317 into the club\u2019s development pathways system.<\/p>\n<p>Building a talent pipeline<\/p>\n<p>The invitation-only academy brings together emerging athletes identified by a selection panel from NRL WA and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediaweek.com.au\/one-family-across-two-coasts-perth-bears-unveil-logo-ahead-of-2027-nrl-debut\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Perth Bears<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The cohort includes talent from across multiple codes, including AFL and rugby union, as the club looks to broaden its recruitment base.<\/p>\n<p>Further academy opportunities are expected to roll out throughout the year across Western Australia and in North Sydney and Brisbane.<\/p>\n<p>Government and code backing<\/p>\n<p>The academy was officially launched at the WA Institute of Sport, with Roger Cook in attendance.<\/p>\n<p>The inaugural two-week program is led by Elite Pathways Manager Ian Millward, alongside Head Coach Mal Meninga and Assistant Coach Ben Gardner.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s an historic day for the Perth Bears but also for the entire rugby league community,\u201d Millward said.<\/p>\n<p>Participation growth<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-198129\" class=\"size-full wp-image-198129\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Anthony-De-Ceglie-profile-shot-1-e1715316286119.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"799\" height=\"434\"  \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-198129\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">\u201cWe have already seen participation skyrocket across the State with growth in the crucial 13-15-year-old age group rise 23% year on year on the back of the Perth Bears announcement\u201d, De Ceglie.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediaweek.com.au\/perth-bears-and-mcdonalds-announce-major-partnership\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">CEO Anthony De Ceglie<\/a> said the academy is a key part of growing the sport in Western Australia.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Tracks Academy is about helping the best of the young talent in Western Australia have the opportunity to play professionally.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis first Academy is just the beginning and we can\u2019t wait to significantly expand our Tracks program in the years to come,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Main image:\u00a0Perth Bears<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediaweek.com.au\/subscribe-morning-report\/&#039;\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Keep on top of the most important media, marketing, and agency news each day with the Mediaweek Morning Report \u2013 delivered for free every morning to your inbox.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Share Tweet Share Email Perth Bears have launched their inaugural Tracks Academy in Western Australia, marking a significant&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":594742,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[217468,64,63,11639,760,85,290300],"class_list":{"0":"post-594741","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-rugby","8":"tag-anthony-de-ceglie","9":"tag-au","10":"tag-australia","11":"tag-mal-meninga","12":"tag-rugby","13":"tag-sports","14":"tag-the-perth-bears"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/594741","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=594741"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/594741\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/594742"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=594741"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=594741"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=594741"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}