New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/p>\nBroncos\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
\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
\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
Originally published as Perth Bears strike with double signing coup in much-needed recruitment boost<\/a><\/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":819178,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[394466,394491,394462,72756,394481,394501,394465,4891,279106,86766,394497,394479,394490,376766,394489,394495,394464,394458,394456,386796,394500,392277,172855,394483,394486,394480,394460,394477,394496,394471,240090,18999,64,63,394457,4632,232601,651,394459,394484,394472,377206,377159,3739,393646,763,376761,394488,394499,394487,394473,394494,62756,377208,45755,394474,233817,394475,255061,394455,394498,761,762,33725,155207,377169,158,394470,2733,394478,394492,394467,394454,6622,22798,38633,394482,25176,394468,394463,380089,85,22386,55661,394493,382205,74713,380835,394461,380430,290300,394485,384823,356269,394476,394469,19121,377211],"class_list":["post-819177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-s-drought-breaking-grand-final-win","tag-s-test-and-origin-representative-gehamat-shibasaki","tag-s-vision","tag-72756","tag-000-train-and-trial-contract-the-28-year-old","tag-191cm","tag-19s-representative","tag-4891","tag-279106","tag-86766","tag-a-breakout-star","tag-a-cashed-up-team","tag-a-key-signing","tag-a-long-time","tag-a-long-term-investment-meninga","tag-a-new-club","tag-a-new-dimension","tag-a-real-impact","tag-a-season-it","tag-a-stack","tag-a-test-player","tag-a-two-year-deal","tag-a-group","tag-all-the-physical-tools","tag-an-outstanding-prospect","tag-an-80","tag-an-absolute-try-scorer","tag-an-immediate-impact","tag-an-inaugural-bears-player","tag-an-nrl-star","tag-apa-twidle","tag-athletic","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-and-queensland-state","tag-bears","tag-big-game-experience","tag-brisbane","tag-bulldogs-pathway-player-jope-rauqe","tag-double-signing-coup","tag-energy-and-excitement","tag-every-game","tag-every-round","tag-fiji","tag-forwards","tag-fox-league","tag-his-family","tag-his-radar","tag-his-state-and-country-and-score","tag-his-test-debut","tag-jasais-ah-kee","tag-just-1-broncos","tag-kayo","tag-kayo-sports-new","tag-last-year","tag-mal","tag-mason-barber","tag-melbourne-bears-coach-mal-meninga","tag-meninga","tag-meninga-said-rauqe","tag-much-needed-recruitment-boost","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-next-season","tag-next-year","tag-no-ad-breaks","tag-nrl","tag-nrl-club","tag-nsw","tag-origin-representative-gehamat-shibasaki","tag-our-backline","tag-our-squad","tag-outside-backs-shibasaki","tag-part","tag-perth-bears","tag-play","tag-premiership-winning-centre","tag-prospects","tag-rauqe","tag-shibasaki","tag-some-time","tag-sports","tag-success","tag-the-bears","tag-the-bears-outside-backs-depth-the-teenager","tag-the-club","tag-the-game","tag-the-likes","tag-the-more-experienced-players","tag-the-opportunity","tag-the-perth-bears","tag-the-premiership-season-live","tag-the-prospect","tag-the-season","tag-the-squad","tag-their-inaugural-top-30-squad","tag-young-players","tag-your-first-month"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/819177","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=819177"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/819177\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/819178"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=819177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=819177"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=819177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}