Rising Eels star Apa Twidle has made the shock decision to join the Perth Bears, signing a three-year deal to join the NRL’s newest franchise.
According to Code Sports, the 21-year-old considered the Bears’ offer too good to refuse, becoming the 18th player to sign on to play under Mal Meninga.
As it stands, Twidle is reportedly in his 10-day cooling off period, meaning the Eels can still make a play to retain his services.
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His preference was reportedly to remain at the club, however Parramatta powerbrokers were only able to table an $80,000 development deal for the 2027 season.
The offer of security in Perth was difficult to ignore for the rising star, who caught Meninga’s eye after scoring a double inside three minutes of his NRL debut on Easter Monday.
The Bulldogs were also reportedly interested in Twidle’s services, being a versatile star with the ability to play all across the backline and in the halves.
Therefore, Twidle could be a starter in the outside backs or provide back-up for Meninga’s current first-string halves pairing of Toby Sexton and Tyran Wishart.
Twidle has played 21 NSW Cup games to date, having scored 12 tries.
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With just under half an NRL roster to fill, Mal Meninga made it clear his franchise are willing to “have a crack at people we want”.
“We won’t be having a crack at just anyone,” he said.
“We have our pillars and the type of player we want because that’s what we will build our foundations on.
“We have some standards we want to uphold, so we won’t have a scattergun approach and throw big money around willy-nilly.
“We’re set on players that we believe are going to fit the DNA of the Perth Bears and we’ll go from there.”