Former SAS commander turned politician Peter Tinley ready to lead Bears in Perth
Former SAS commander turned political heavyweight Peter Tinley has put his hand up to lead the new Bears franchise after being linked to the chairman’s position.
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Former SAS commander turned political heavyweight Peter Tinley has put his hand up to lead the new Bears franchise after being linked to the chairman’s position.
It comes as the NRL and Western Force consider a historic partnership which would see the Bears and Force share backroom staff which could lead to a monster million dollar cost savings.
The NRL are in the process of working with the WA government to finalise its seven person board. Four representatives will come from the NRL – which could include a North Sydney flavour – while the remaining will be WA-appointed.
The NRL has already indicated the chairman and chief executive will be from WA. Tinley’s name was dropped during the historic press conference on Thursday and the former Labor MP has worked closely alongside WA Premier Roger Cook to bring the Perth Bears concept to life.
Tinley has already played a leading role in helping establish the club but now the Bears have been given a formal licence he wants to formalise that position.
“I was deeply flattered to be mentioned on Thursday,” Tinley said. “I have been on this journey for 15 years since I entered parliament.
“I haven’t been asked to join the board but I would be humbled to serve.”
Tinley, who retired from politics ahead of this year’s state election, said there had been a few false dawns in recent seasons but now was the right time for a top flight rugby league team to return to Perth. He also met with Brad Arthur last year after Arthur was sacked by the Eels.
Tinley hitout at the negative headlines the government and the NRL had received since the announcement.
“This has been a culmination of 30 years of work since the disbandment of the Western Reds,” Tinley said. “Many have gone and tried. How can you have the NRL without the richest state in the country? The NRL’s leadership saw that. Anyone in WA who doesn’t understand that this is a good thing isn’t thinking about the state.
“WA is not an AFL state. It’s culturally connected to AFL but on any weekend there are three million people who aren’t watching or playing Aussie rules. They are playing and watching other sports. Why shouldn’t rugby league be included in that?”
While the leadership positions remain under consideration the NRL are also exploring the prospect of creating a partnership with the Western Force. The prospect of sharing players remains highly unlikely but the two football clubs may look to share backroom staff including high performance units, media and marketing departments which would be a first in Australian sport.
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Originally published as Former SAS commander turned politician Peter Tinley ready to lead Bears in Perth
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