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The rise and fall of Anthony De Ceglie as a rugby league administrator is complete after the former TV and newspaper executive stepped down from his fraught tenure as Perth Bears chief executive.<\/p>\n
Perth announced the departure of De Ceglie – former director of news and current affairs at Seven West Media after being editor-in-chief of the West Australian newspaper – in a press release on Friday evening.<\/p>\n
![\"Gone:](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/3bae89caedcae3ab859b68c7b8fd2c164a708126.jpeg\")
Gone: Perth Bears chief executive Anthony De Ceglie.Trevor Collens<\/p>\n
Several well-connected sources in recent months said that De Ceglie did not have the support of the board and that his tenure was not sustainable long-term, ahead of the Bears\u2019 entry to the competition in 2027.<\/p>\n
The Australian Rugby League Commission owns the Bears franchise and the body\u2019s chairman Peter V\u2019landys appointed De Ceglie.<\/p>\n
Related Article V\u2019landys was reported by News Corp to have given De Ceglie a virtual stay of execution in recent days, and time to solidify his position.<\/p>\n Bears coach Mal Meninga, who has worked as a commentator for Fox Sports, was bemused by the reports.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been an ongoing battle, it\u2019s him and I around who\u2019s going to get sacked next,\u201d Meninga told Fox Sports.<\/p>\n \u201cI know I\u2019ve got great support and Anthony has got great support, internally, so we just get on with our business.<\/p>\n \u201cWe can only control what we control and that\u2019s the internal things. We don\u2019t want to fight any external battles.\u201d<\/p>\n De Ceglie has ensured there will be no external or internal battles with his resignation as inaugural CEO, just weeks before the squad starts to prepare for the 2027 season.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m extremely proud of what the hard-working Perth Bears team has achieved in the past year,\u201d De Ceglie said in the club statement.<\/p>\n \u201cI have no doubt that the Perth Bears will continue to grow and grow, and become a behemoth of the national sporting stage.<\/p>\n \u201cThe club is in exceptional hands under the leadership of head coach Mal Meninga and assistant coach Ben Gardiner. Getting to work alongside both of them for the past year has been one of the greatest highlights of my professional life.\u201d<\/p>\n Perth\u2019s general manager of football Gareth Holmes will act as interim CEO, with the club to make public its future plans in coming days.<\/p>\n The appointment of a chief executive from a media background – before the club even had a board in place – was notable, given the NRL conceded it could face a battle for exposure in AFL-mad Perth.<\/p>\n De Ceglie had most recently been director of news and current affairs at Seven West Media, having been promoted after overseeing Western Australia\u2019s flagship newspaper.<\/p>\n It is understood that V\u2019landys and the then-NRL chief Andrew Abdo met with Seven West Media chairman Kerry Stokes on the eve of the announcement that the competition would be expanded to include the Bears.<\/p>\n Related Article De Ceglie went into the job knowing the NRL\u2019s 18th side had work to do.<\/p>\n The local Seven West-owned newspaper The West Australian has been critical of the venture, which has been backed by state government cash.<\/p>\n \u201cNormally if you\u2019re doing something right, you have a few critics along the way,\u201d De Ceglie said in June last year.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been totally blown away by the amount of messages of people who want to get involved in the Perth Bears \u2026 I\u2019m very optimistic this will be a huge success.\u201d<\/p>\n AAP <\/p>\n News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Friday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n![\"Perth](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/8c0bd18fa7084bae8ad8fc91f02efbcf24a72656.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Happier](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/673211569324e1d2a13395faba9857ada8a99600.jpeg\")
Happier times: Mal Meninga and Anthony De Ceglie on the Bear Walk in Perth in August.Cass Edwards<\/p>\n![\"Perth](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/74496b6870bb38f7642f9d675678a7223a5beb1d.jpeg\")
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