Why the Bears must make Cameron Munster and Tino Fa’asuamaleaui their priority targets

If the NRL’s newest team is to make a recruiting splash they need to attract some marquee talent and that’s why they need to break the bank for Cameron Munster, writes David Riccio.

Mal Meninga is at a point where he needs to start making the dominoes fall.

And it all begins with making Cameron Munster the game’s first $2 million player.

It’s been six weeks since Meninga smiled down the cameras, while also offering a surprising impersonation of a bear, during the NRL’s press call to announce the 13th Immortal would be Perth’s inaugural coach to lead the Bears into the competition in 2027.

Six weeks doesn’t seem that long to be in the job.

In rugby league, it’s a lifetime. Over that same six-week period, every other club in the game have announced re-signings either until the end of 2027 or beyond.

Every other club is working 24/7 to build a roster for their future, yet the Bears still haven’t moved.

Just 19-months away from their first official NRL game, Meninga and his newly-appointed head of recruitment Ezra Howe can’t afford to waste a minute. The Bears will hold their first official board meeting next month and it can’t come soon enough.

Maroons duo Tino Fa'asuamaleaui and Cameron Munster would be key recruiting drivers if the Bears cold land their signatures. Picture: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

Ask any GM of football or head of recruitment at a rival club and the majority will show you a spreadsheet and forecast model of what their NRL side will look like in 2027.

The Bears don’t have a single player.

Which is exactly where Munster and so too, Titans captain Tino Fa’asuamaleaui, enter the discussion as priority targets for the Western Australian franchise.

Munster is contracted to the Storm until the end of 2027 and would require permission from Melbourne to negotiate with the Bears.

I’d be stunned if Melbourne stopped Munster, given what he’s achieved for the club, from at least having a conversation with Meninga.

Undoubtedly, Melbourne would want to keep Munster, who reaffirmed himself as one of the most bombproof playmakers in the NRL, with undeniable mental steel, following his extraordinary leadership in guiding Queensland to an against-the-odds State of Origin series win over NSW.

Perth Bears head coach Mal Meninga. Picture: Matt King/Getty Images

The problem for the Storm is - and why they may consider extending Munster that permission - is they also have hooker Harry Grant (2026) and Ryan Papenhuyzen (2027) entering a negotiation phase, on top of the anticipated re-signing of Jahrome Hughes (2026).

Making the call on Munster even more interesting, is that the Storm also have talented rookie half Jonah Pezet waiting to see how long Hughes extends for, with flexibility in his contract to exit his 2029 deal.

Turning 31 in September, Munster’s age is a non-issue when you consider Adam Reynolds at 35 is contracted to the Broncos next season and Daly Cherry-Evans at 36, is about to continue his NRL career beyond this season with the Roosters.

The Bears will also have the ability to use Munster and Fa’asuamaleaui as their franchise flag bearers, not just up on billboards, but in the salary cap as their two highest-paid players.

ARL chairman Peter V’landys is back from the US, where he carried a dossier of metrics about the great game into meetings with broadcast heavyweights that showcased the record number of viewers the NRL attracts every week.

As a result, when the new broadcast deal begins in 2028, the salaries on offer to players are about to skyrocket.

The highest earners will be raking in closer to $2 million a season. Maybe more.

Like it or not, there will be a large portion of players that aren’t interested in either leaving their friends and family or needing to uproot their family to Perth.

Munster in how close he came to signing with the Dolphins in 2024 and Fa’asuamaleaui in his move from the Storm to the Titans has shown they aren’t afraid of change.

What’s imperative is that the Bears land a ‘big fish’ to build momentum through their roster build.

If they were able to convince Munster or Fa’asuamaleaui - who has a clause in his current contract that allows him to leave the Gold Coast at the end of 2026 - the influence on other players suddenly wanting to join the Bears would be undeniable.