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Canterbury boss Phil Gould has declared his opposition to the NRL offering salary cap relief to the Perth Bears as one of the new team’s board members indicated they were hoping to have strict rules on third-party deals relaxed for them.
Bears directors Daniel Dickson and James Bracey approached ARL Commission chairman Peter V’landys for assistance last week as concerns mount about the incoming club’s inability to attract marquee players ahead of their entry to the competition in 2027.
Bracey, who hosts Nine’s 100% Footy program on which Gould appears weekly, confirmed on the show on Monday night that the Bears had reached out for help.
“Just to make it clear, when you talk salary cap dispensation, it’s not about adding a couple of million bucks to the salary cap,” he said.
Asked what Perth were seeking, he said: “Maybe get a bit of help with third parties, that would be nice. [There’s a] bit of business over there - tap into that.”
Third-party agree agreements for players allow their earnings to be topped up but such deals have to be struck at “arm’s length” from clubs, who are forbidden from introducing would-be sponsors to players and their agents.
“Clubs can’t organise third parties,” Gould, the Bulldogs general manager of football, replied to Bracey.
“Maybe it would be nice if Perth could maybe do a little bit of that over there,” Bracey said.
The exchange continued as Gould made clear his position. “You shouldn’t be talking to the NRL, you should be talking to Perth. But you’re not allowed to do that,” the Bulldogs boss and Nine commentator said.
The 17 existing clubs agreed to the addition of the Bears on the basis that they would not be provided with a salary cap edge.
They are set to push for compensation if the NRL decides to provide dispensation to Perth to boost their efforts to build a competitive squad. The NRL owns the Bears and the PNG Chiefs, who will join the competition in 2028 and can offer their recruits tax-free salaries via a $600 million Australian government-funded package.
“What do you need help for? It’s not a charity mate, it’s a competition,” Gould told Bracey on the weekly NRL panel show.
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The NRL has declined to comment on whether it is considering coming to the aid of the Bears, who have announced the signing of 18 players.
But the issue is likely to be a major discussion point when club chief executives meet with NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo in Brisbane on Friday.
Unlike the Australian government-bankrolled Chiefs, which last month signed four-time premiership winner Jarome Luai, the Bears are on a level playing field with other teams.
However, they have not been in direct competition for players with the Chiefs for most of the time they have been recruiting and they have been plagued by internal conflict.
Bears general manager of football David Sharpe, a close ally of head coach Mal Meninga, resigned last month after falling out with chief executive Anthony De Ceglie.
There have reportedly also been strained relations between Meninga and assistant coach Ben Gardiner, who will succeed the rugby league Immortal in Perth in 2029.
In an interview with this masthead, Meninga said he had no complaints about the lack of assistance from the NRL to attract top talent.
“I’m more concerned with setting up the foundation pillars and the cultural bit where it creates a sustainable business,” Meninga said.
“The only thing I want to add is that when they sign a player – and they have some wonderful concessions, don’t get me wrong, it makes you jealous at times, I’m not going to deny those feelings – that it’s at market value.”
There has also been frustration at the NRL that Meninga has continued to be based in Canberra and that he had not yet relocated to Perth, sources not authorised to comment on the matter said.
This masthead revealed this month that Perth had brought in a pyschologist with expertise in building stronger cultures as it attempts to deal with friction behind the scenes.
The Western Australia government has committed $65 million over seven years to the Bears and grassroots rugby league in the state.
