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Why Voss backs Cheika for Bears' head coach
Nicholas Quinlan • May 9th, 2025 12:51 pm
Andrew Voss thinks the Perth Bears should consider former Wallabies coach Michael Cheika for the inaugural head coach position.
This comes after Peter V’Landys announced the possibility that the Perth Bears could share players from the Western Force to build the NRL side.
Speaking at the announcement press conference, V’Landys said that he had spoken to Western Force owner and mining magnate Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest about the idea.
“We’ve had talks with Twiggy Forrest in regards to the Western Force,” V’Landys said.
“There’s an opportunity here that may never have been done anywhere in the world where the two teams could be combined to a certain degree and can use each other’s players in specific matches.
“So we’re gonna look at that. It’s a novel idea, and who’s to argue with Twiggy Forrest, who’s a self-made man. We’ll look at it, absolutely.
“As anyone that knows me, we look at the things outside the square. That’s outside the square, and we’ll look at it.
“If it can help both games in Western Australia, why wouldn’t we do it?”
While at this stage it does appear unlikely that this will actually occur, it did give Voss an idea about a potential coaching hire.
Voss felt that if you were to somewhat merge the two sides, having a coach who has experience in both may be the way to go, which would be Cheika.
“One of the great man managers as a coach,” Voss noted on SEN 1170’s Breakfast with Vossy and Brandy.
“He has an itch he wants to scratch when it comes to Rugby League.
“I think that is the PR exercise, he’s a brilliant speaker. Would be able to build up momentum.
“I think Michael Cheika, that’s who I’m voting for.
“I’m serious, I cannot come up with a better candidate for this particular job…speak to someone like Mitchell Moses about it and what he experienced in the Lebanon side.
“He said he never had anything like this bloke.”
As mentioned before, Cheika does have coaching experience within Rugby League, having coached Lebanon to the quarterfinals of the 2021 RLWC (which was played in 2022 due to Covid).
He is also expected to coach Lebanon for the 2026 RLWC.
And considering that his contract with English Premiership Rugby side Leicester Tigers is not being renewed at the end of the season, his signature could be available.
But he will face tough competition as former Parramatta coach Brad Arthur continues to firm as the favourite for the position.
