By Adam Pengilly and Adrian Proszenko
The chairman of the failed Perth bid has broken his silence on having a proposal to enter the NRL rejected at the 11th hour, claiming his consortium couldn’t absorb a multi-million dollar licence fee but was still open to returning to the negotiating table.
As the fallout from the Australian Rugby League Commission’s decision to knock back the Western Bears’ bid continues, a shattered Peter Cumins insisted he wanted nothing more than a successful franchise based in Perth. For the NRL, it is a major stumbling block in its expansion plans.
The Perth consortium held a series of meetings with executives they’d handpicked to run the club in Sydney on Monday, ready to trigger conversations with prospective coaches and player agents.
But they were shocked when NRL boss Andrew Abdo rang Cumins to inform him the bid wouldn’t be accepted as the NRL’s 18th team in 2027.
ARLC chairman Peter V’landys was believed to be stunned when the consortium didn’t offer a licence fee as part of the proposal - they were asked if they would volunteer an amount - forcing the NRL to negotiate directly with the Western Australian government to rescue a $450 million funding pledge for a new Perth team.
On Wednesday, Cash Converters supremo Cumins defended the submission and claimed it was an “excellent bid”. He told this masthead: “Disappointed would be an understatement, and we’ve spent a lot of money for nothing.
NRL bosses Andrew Abdo and Peter V’landys.Credit: Nick Moir
“The frustration from our point of view is there has never been a licence fee paid by any club in the NRL, including the Dolphins. The Dolphins have been going for 75 years with $100 million worth of real estate and they’ve got all the facilities they need.
“We’re a start-up in an AFL state, so our start-up costs are massive. There’s a $16 million burn before you even kick a football. We’re bringing new eyeballs to the game to help with negotiating broadcast rights, new sponsorship dollars because we’re not competing with east coast sponsors.
“None of it commercially made any sense [to offer a substantial licence fee], which is why we elected not to.”
The Western Bears’ proposal included a formal partnership with the North Sydney Bears and had enticed Sydney Kings part-owner Paul Smith and former NRL executive Paul Kind to join the ownership group.
V’landys confirmed on Wednesday he wouldn’t abandon the Bears as part of any new affiliation and wants a decision on a new Perth franchise to be settled within weeks.
“North Sydney will be part of any deal that will be done,” he said. “But the business case has to stack up, and if we don’t have confidence in it, then how can we take it to our members?”
The North Sydney Bears remained tight-lipped in case they were still bound by a non-disclosure agreement.
“We still very much want to be part of expansion and are continuing to work with the NRL in regards to what that looks like,” said North Sydney Bears CEO Gareth Holmes.
It’s not all over for the Bears name returning to big time rugby league.Credit: Steven Siewert
It is unclear whether any new Perth franchise will include the moniker Western Bears after the trademark was lodged by Cumins’ consortium. It seems it would now require the NRL to obtain the trademark to resuscitate the name.
The Perth Bears trademark has also been taken.
Western Australian Premier Roger Cook said he had been in contact with V’landys and denied suggestions the state’s hopes for an NRL licence were over.
“No, I had a text exchange with Peter V’landys yesterday – we continue to discuss aspects of the bid process,” Cook said.
“Obviously, the bids went in – I think ours was the strongest – but we need to address some of the issues the board had in relation to that bid ...
“He’s keen to talk to us about the bid itself, how it would sit in Western Australia’s landscape, how it will obviously be a successful part of the competition.
“We understand that the NRL have a range of concerns that they want to work through. This is part of the negotiation process, it was entirely anticipated and I very much look forward to playing our role to support the WA bid.”
Cook said he was confident of arriving at a mutually beneficial outcome that would give Western Australia its first top-flight league team since the Western Reds.
“There’s a lot of considerations, but in my exchange with V’landys I made it very clear that the WA Government will continue to support a Western Australian bid,” Cook said.
“We believe that WA is the obvious way that they can expand their competition. Only WA can put the ‘N’ in NRL.”
Papua New Guinea is all but guaranteed to be one of the NRL’s new franchises after a $600 million funding commitment from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s government, but most focus will be on Perth as the NRL tries to capitalise on the game’s popularity across the Nullarbor.
“We’re all rugby league people and this was never about millions of bucks,” Cumins said. “I’m still a rugby league diehard from Perth and Cash Converters has poured millions of dollars into the grassroots game over many years.
“I still want to see a Perth team. I want it to be successful. I’m not going to be an obstacle. We’re still there if they want us.”
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