{"id":206269,"date":"2025-12-29T06:46:07","date_gmt":"2025-12-29T06:46:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/206269\/"},"modified":"2025-12-29T06:46:07","modified_gmt":"2025-12-29T06:46:07","slug":"keary-identifies-key-recruitment-targets-for-perth-bears-nrl-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/206269\/","title":{"rendered":"Keary identifies key recruitment targets for Perth Bears – NRL News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Former NRL<\/a> premiership winner Luke Keary<\/a> has outlined how the Perth Bears<\/a> should approach recruitment as the league’s 18th franchise continues to build toward its NRL<\/a> entry.<\/p>\n

Since the signing window opened on November 1, the NRL<\/a> expansion outfit, led by Mal Meninga<\/a>, has made seven signings, headlined by former Canterbury Bulldogs<\/a> halfback Toby Sexton<\/a> and Leeds Rhinos<\/a> centre Harry Newman<\/a>.<\/p>\n

With more than 20 roster spots still to fill, Keary believes the recruitment of Newman highlights a clear and logical strategy, pointing to the Super League<\/a> as a fertile market for players eager to prove themselves in the NRL<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey’re going to have to think outside the square, and the Super League<\/a> is a logical place to go,\u201d Keary said on Boys of Summer.<\/p>\n

\"SYDNEY,SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – MARCH 16: Toby Sexton of the Bulldogs kicks during the round two NRL match between Canterbury Bulldogs and Gold Coast Titans at Belmore Sports Ground, on March 16, 2025, in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Jeremy Ng\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of those English boys want to come to the NRL<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cPerth isn’t as far for them as Sydney or Brisbane, and it’s a great opportunity to get into the competition.\u201d<\/p>\n

Keary acknowledged that while Newman may not arrive with the same reputation as Australia’s elite centres, the move gives him a genuine platform to grow.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe’s a steady centre, he gets an NRL<\/a> pre-season, gets experience, and we’ll see how he goes,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

However, Keary also believes the Bears must balance upside signings with hardened experience, pointing to the blueprint used by the Dolphins<\/a> in their inaugural season.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat the Dolphins<\/a> did was really smart, bringing in Felise Kaufusi<\/a> and the Bromwich brothers to hold them up through the middle,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"QueenslandGOLD COAST, AUSTRALIA – JUNE 06: Felise Kaufusi during a Queensland Maroons State of Origin training session at Sanctuary Cove on June 06, 2022 in Gold Coast, Australia. (Photo by Chris Hyde\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

That approach has led Keary to suggest several veteran targets who could provide immediate leadership and toughness, including Cameron McInnes<\/a>, Kurt Mann<\/a> and, as a left-field option, Matt Burton<\/a>, despite Burton being contracted until 2027.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe’ll teach them how to be first graders. He’ll be great for them,\u201d Keary said of McInnes, while adding that players in that mould would help set standards across the squad from day one.<\/p>\n

The Bears are expected to complete their roster ahead of their first NRL<\/a> campaign, with recruitment set to intensify as the 2027 season draws closer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Former NRL premiership winner Luke Keary has outlined how the Perth Bears should approach recruitment as the league’s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":206270,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[111,139,69,213],"class_list":{"0":"post-206269","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-new-zealand","9":"tag-newzealand","10":"tag-nz","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206269","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=206269"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206269\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/206270"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=206269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=206269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=206269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}