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Sport Nation
Will the Perth Bears sign a marquee player?
Sam Kosack • September 17th, 2025 4:30 pm
Perth recruitment manager Dane Campbell has opened up on the difficulty the Bears face in the lead-up to November 1, given the headstart clubs have when retaining their players.
Come November 1, several big-name players will be allowed to negotiate with rival clubs, including the Perth Bears.
As clubs cannot talk to rival players until November kicks off, it means their current clubs have roughly six weeks to begin talks and re-sign talent before other teams can weigh in.
For a foundation club like the Bears, who are building from a blank canvas, it means strategising around how to construct a roster becomes particularly difficult.
“We'll probably have to wait till November to see who's still on the list,” Campbell told SEN 1170 Mornings.
“As we sit here today, there's obviously a number of high-profile players that are technically off contract at the end of 2026 that, come November 1, we might be able to have a chat too.
“But whether they're still on that off contract list come November is the other part.
“Whatever we may think on a piece of paper or a whiteboard right now around who may be available might change considerably in the next six weeks.
“They're the ones that have obviously been publicised, whether it's Tino (Fa’asuamaleaui) or Cameron (Munster) that’s been mentioned in the media.
“Harry's (Grant) off contract down at the Storm, but in all of those instances, the current clubs are in a really strong position to be able to negotiate with those guys well before the weekend.
“For us, it's not necessarily being bogged down by… that's a particular guy that we have to go and have a chat to, because that might change considerably in the next 6 weeks.”
Campbell was the head of recruitment for the Brisbane Broncos but recently informed the club he would be leaving to oversee the construction of the Bears’ roster.
Several big names are off contract come November 1, including Tino Fa’asuamaleaui, Harry Grant, and Tom Trbojevic.
Much has been raised around the potential difficulties the Perth club will face convincing players to move across the country, particularly marquee players.
The Dolphins found similar issues when they entered the competition in 2023, struggling to attract top-end talent despite highly publicised discussions, including with players like Cameron Munster and Brandon Smith.
The wider consensus is that marquee players will help attract lesser-known players, but Campbell revealed the Bears are still considering a number of strategies when recruiting their inaugural side.
“We had a really good catch up yesterday with the coaching group and the football department and we spoke about… you know, is it one marquee… or is it three of high repute and you build around that, or is it 5?," Campbell said.
“Does it have to be any?
“Everyone from the fans' perspective like the idea of a big name to build around, but at the same token, I would argue that there's always rises, there's always guys that may be not the repute of some of the others already, but in the next year or two, they may well be.
“What we consider internally as a marquee might be different from what the general public thinks a marquee is.”
