{"id":587975,"date":"2026-09-02T13:28:24","date_gmt":"2026-09-02T13:28:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/587975\/"},"modified":"2026-09-02T13:28:24","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T13:28:24","slug":"bulldogs-lose-winger-as-bears-strike-with-long-term-contract","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/587975\/","title":{"rendered":"Bulldogs lose winger as Bears strike with long-term contract"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Perth Bears<\/a> have landed signing number 28 for their inaugural season, locking down Jonathan Sua<\/a> on a three-year deal.<\/p>\n

The Bulldogs winger was first linked with a move to the west a number of months ago, and the deal has now been confirmed.<\/p>\n

In and out of the Bulldogs first-grade side this year, the rising star has been with the Bulldogs since he came through the Harold Matthews Cup<\/a>, and has progressed through every level since, making his NRL<\/a> debut for the club in the final round of 2024.<\/p>\n

He didn’t manage a first-grade game last year, but has played another six this year, including most recently the Round 25 game against the St George Illawarra Dragons<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Related Coverage<\/p>\n

Injuries have prevented him from playing more, and while there are areas of his game in need of improvement, he will be a solid addition for the Bears as they chase a well-rounded squad for their inaugural season.<\/p>\n

“This is a massive opportunity for me, and I can’t wait to get started. Being part of a brand-new club, building something from the very first day, isn’t something a lot of players get the chance to do. I want to make the most of it and show what I can do on a bigger stage,” Sua said.<\/p>\n

“I’ve worked really hard over the last few seasons to get to this point, and I feel like my footy is in a really good place right now. I know there’s still so much more improvement in my game. I’m ready to put in the work to become the best winger I can be.”<\/p>\n

\"NRLSYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – FEBRUARY 07: Jonathan Sua of the Bulldogs is tackled during the NRL pre-season match between Canterbury Bulldogs and North Queensland Cowboys at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium, on February 07, 2026, in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Jason McCawley\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Sua, who was a Top 30 player at Belmore for the first time this year, is noted for his finishing ability, and will be viewed as one of the key point-scorers when he heads west.<\/p>\n

Mal Meninga<\/a> revealed Sua has been on the Bears’ radar since early in their recruitment drive.<\/p>\n

“We’ve spent a lot of time building what we believe is going to form a competitive team,” Meninga said.<\/p>\n

“Jon was a player we targeted early in our recruitment drive and I’m very happy he chose to be a Bear. He has progressed well through the 2026 season and proven he can play at NRL<\/a> level. His effort levels playing on the wing have been excellent.<\/p>\n

“We know he is ready and wants to be a regular NRL<\/a> player, so the club is excited he is coming west.”<\/p>\n

As it stands, Harry Newman<\/a>, Sean Russell<\/a> and Nick Meaney<\/a> could all line up on the wing or at centre, while Gehamat Shibasaki<\/a> is a specialist centre for the Bears.<\/p>\n

Apa Twidle<\/a> is in the mix for the number one jersey but could also be shuffled out wide, while Chris Vea’ila<\/a> and Luke Laulilii<\/a> are the other outside backs locked up for 2027.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Perth Bears have landed signing number 28 for their inaugural season, locking down Jonathan Sua on a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":587976,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[111,139,69,213],"class_list":["post-587975","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\/587975","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=587975"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/587975\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/587976"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=587975"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=587975"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=587975"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}