{"id":428482,"date":"2026-05-15T05:42:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T05:42:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/428482\/"},"modified":"2026-05-15T05:42:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T05:42:08","slug":"perth-bears-lock-in-star-player","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/428482\/","title":{"rendered":"Perth Bears lock in star player"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Perth Bears<\/a> have continued to build their inaugural roster, securing playmaker Jamie Humphreys<\/a> on a deal from 2027 in what shapes as another significant signing for the NRL’s newest franchise.<\/p>\n

Still just 24 years old, Humphreys has emerged as one of the more promising playmakers in the competition after making his NRL<\/a> debut with the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles in 2024 before joining the South Sydney Rabbitohs<\/a> the following season.<\/p>\n

The Daily Telegraph revealed the move on Friday morning, although the length and value of Humphreys’ contract remain unclear.<\/p>\n

While Humphreys is predominantly in the halves, his ability to comfortably slot into hooker gives Bears coach Mal Meninga<\/a> valuable flexibility alongside fellow utility playmaker Tyran Wishart<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The duo are both capable of playing in the halves or at dummy-half, allowing Meninga to potentially interchange the pair depending on injuries, form or game plans throughout the season.<\/p>\n

Across his 25 NRL<\/a> appearances, Humphreys has built a reputation for his sharp ball-playing ability and composed kicking game, traits that could prove valuable for an expansion side searching for stability and creativity in its opening seasons.<\/p>\n

The move also marks the first major casualty of South Sydney’s looming salary cap squeeze following the club’s high-profile acquisition of Payne Haas<\/a> for next season.<\/p>\n

Humphreys’ future at the Rabbitohs had appeared increasingly uncertain in recent months, with negotiations over a contract extension stalling shortly after Haas’ arrival was confirmed.<\/p>\n

Despite previously being viewed as an important long-term prospect at Redfern, the club’s cap pressures ultimately opened the door for the Bears to secure another young piece for their future.<\/p>\n

The Perth Bears<\/a> and South Sydney Rabbitohs<\/a> are yet to officially confirm the news.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Perth Bears have continued to build their inaugural roster, securing playmaker Jamie Humphreys on a deal from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":347176,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[111,139,69,213],"class_list":["post-428482","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/428482","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=428482"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/428482\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/347176"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=428482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=428482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=428482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}