NRL expansion club will boast fans both sides of the Nullarbor
New Perth Bears CEO Anthony De Ceglie visited the spiritual home of the club when he took his family to a game at North Sydney Oval on Sunday, declaring the new franchise is set up to be a winner.
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Two parochial fan bases on opposite sides of the country will deliver the Perth Bears a unique place in Australian sport, according to the CEO whose shock appointment was announced last week.
Anthony De Ceglie, new boss of the expansion club that will enter the NRL in 2027, was with his family at North Sydney Oval on Sunday as the yet-to-be-transplanted Bears took on the Dragons in the NSW Cup.
“I’m super excited,” said the former Seven News Media executive, originally from Western Australia.
“Perth people love their sport and they’re incredibly proud. North Sydney Bears fans are as well. The possibility of bringing these two very parochial supporter bases together will set us apart, and set us up for success.”
De Ceglie produced an NRL-quality sidestep as he declined to comment on his departure from Seven West Media, exit discussions with former boss Kerry Stokes, or the interest in his move from an AFL rights holder to a rival sport.
But he agreed with ARL Commission Chairman Peter V’landys that local knowledge of the Perth market will be an advantage he brings to the club.
“Perth can be like a foreign country to a lot of people,” he added. “It’s very isolated, it runs by its own rules sometimes and its people are parochial. But they’re also loving and passionate.”
North Sydney CEO Gareth Holmes said reaction to the Bears returning to the NRL via Perth had been overwhelming.
“Our bolted-on fans have waited 26 years,” he said. “They’ve kept the faith, kept this club relevant. They’ll go across the Nullarbor in droves to follow the Bears in Perth.”
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Originally published as NRL expansion club will boast fans both sides of the Nullarbor
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