Seven’s paper bagged the Bears, now it’s old boss is the club’s CEO
He was considered to be Kerry Stokes’ right-hand man but soon Anthony De Ceglie will be at the helm of the Perth Bears, the very club Stokes’ media empire opposed.
NSW
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The NRL has poached West Australian billionaire Kerry Stokes’ key general to lead new club the Perth Bears in the heart of enemy AFL territory.
Channel 7 boss Anthony De Ceglie yesterday quit the network to take up the job as CEO of the newly formed Perth Bears NRL team.
Seven moved quickly to appoint current Perth news boss Ray Kuka to replace De Ceglie who will leave at the end of the financial year.
Australian Rugby League Commission chair Peter V’landys said De Ceglie was the right man to open doors for the NRL in the heartland of rival code the AFL. The deal to sign him was only negotiated and inked in the last few days.
“To succeed in Perth, you need a well connected local who knows how to get things done and has a can do attitude,” Mr V’landys said.
“Anthony is a brilliant operator with a proven track record and a genuine Western Australian, and I am excited about what he can do for us as we grow rugby league in the WA market.”
Until the shock move De Ceglie, 39, was considered Seven West Media boss Kerry Stokes right-hand man.
The appointment appears to put De Ceglie at odds with Stokes whose Seven Network signed a $1.5 billion deal to broadcast the AFL in 2022 and has used his media empire to oppose the Bears and stop the NRL getting a foothold in the west.
However it is understood Stokes is keen to be in the running for NRL broadcast rights when they are negotiated in coming months and had dinner with Mr V’landys and NRL CEO Andrew Abdo when they were in Perth last week to launch The Bears.
Officially Stokes showed no hard feelings saying at the loss of De Ceglie saying: “We thank Anthony for his contribution and leadership and wish him every success in his future role, which sees him return to Perth.”
De Ceglie was editor-in-chief of Stokes’ The West Australian before moving to Sydney last year to head up Seven’s news and current affairs where he wielded the axe on 150 jobs to save $100 million in costs.
Among those who lost their jobs were Sydney news director Neil Warren, Melbourne crime reporter Cameron Baud and popular Queensland newsreader Sharyn Ghidella, who posted about her axing on social media.
“When you work in TV for as long as I have, not a day goes by when you aren’t expecting the proverbial tap on the shoulder … after 38 years, my shoulder tap has finally come,” she wrote.
Privately De Ceglie is understood to have told friends that he is keen to move into a growing industry where he can spend money hiring people rather than firing them. He will be tasked with building the new club from the ground up
He told his team at Seven yesterday “It is every kid’s dream to run a sporting club and this is far too good an opportunity for me to pass up.”.
He told them he is happy that the new role leading a team built from its origins in North Sydney will maintain his links with the Harbour City with at least one home game a year being played here.
The move will also take De Ceglie and his young family back to Perth which was a key driver in his departure from his role as deputy editor at The Daily Telegraph to join Seven West Media six years ago.
But it will pit him against his former paper The West Australian which ran a front page last week announcing the arrival of the new NRL team with the headline “The Bad News Bears”.
Last week’s headline came the day after Premier Roger Cook announced $60 million in direct funding and further $5 million in match-day support and marketing for the new club, which will play its first game in 2027.
The coverage saying “rugby mad” premier Roger Cook “forces” WA taxpayers to pay “Sydney NRL rejects $65 million to play in Perth” prompted a piece on ABC’s Media Watch.
In response The West Australian’s Editor-in-Chief Christopher Dore issued a statement saying that “Rugby League is just not a thing in WA.
“There is no significant, profitable fan base in this town and nor is there likely to be one.”
Dore, a former editor of The Daily Telegraph, said the paper “does not have any beef” with the new NRL club but had “a problem with the State Government paying for it to happen”.
One of the first items on De Ceglie’s to-do list will be the selection of the team coach. The ARL Commission is understood to be conducting interviews for the role this week.
The three key contenders for the role are Kangaroos coach and rugby league immortal Mal Meninga, cross-code star Sam Burgess and former Parramatta coach Brad Arthur.
The coach will be expected to closely work with De Ceglie to shape the culture of the new club from day one.
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