![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/poster-fallback.png\"\/)
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Broncos\u2019 premiership-winning centre Shibasaki has penned a two-year deal at the Bears worth $500,000 a season.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a key signing for the Bears given they had signed up a stack of forwards but were still light on when it came to outside backs.<\/p>\n
Shibasaki was a breakout star in Brisbane last year after starting the season on an $80,000 train and trial contract.<\/p>\n
The 28-year-old went on to play for his state and country and score two tries in Brisbane\u2019s drought-breaking grand final win over Melbourne.<\/p>\n
Bears coach Mal Meninga said Shibasaki had been on his radar for some time.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is a Test player who will add a new dimension to our backline. He is large, strong and has big game experience that will be invaluable,\u201d Meninga said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has persevered for a long time and ultimately that led to success. I\u2019m excited to welcome him and his family as part of our squad.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shibasaki said the prospect of being an inaugural Bears player was enticing.<\/p>\n
NRL 2026 RD18 Brisbane Broncos v Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks \u2013 Gehamat Shibasaki \/Source: Supplied<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe in Mal\u2019s vision for the club and I\u2019m excited about the opportunity to play for him and the club next year,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe squad is shaping up well and I\u2019m confident we can make an immediate impact.\u201d<\/p>\n
NSW under 19s representative and Bulldogs pathway player Jope Rauqe will also bolster the Bears outside backs depth.<\/p>\n
The teenager made his Test debut for Fiji in 2025 and the Bears naturally see him as a long-term investment.<\/p>\n
Meninga described Rauqe as an \u201coutstanding prospect\u201d who, at 191cm, had all the physical tools to become an NRL star.<\/p>\n
Promising winger Jope Rauqe is the Bears\u2019 newest signing.Source: News Corp Australia<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is tall, athletic and an absolute try scorer. He will bring energy and excitement to our squad and can make a real impact,\u201d Meninga said.<\/p>\n
Rauqe joins the likes of Mason Barber, Jasais Ah Kee and Apa Twidle as a group of young players the Bears want to develop alongside the more experienced players they\u2019ve already signed.<\/p>\n
The Bears have now locked in 22 of their inaugural top 30 squad.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Perth Bears have signed Australian and Queensland State of Origin representative Gehamat Shibasaki along with one of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":817839,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-817838","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\/817838","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=817838"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/817838\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/817839"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=817838"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=817838"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=817838"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}