Premier Roger Cook says the WA government will continue to work with the National Rugby League's expansion plans, amid speculation the Western Bears bid has been rejected.
Premier Roger Cook says the state government will continue to work with the National Rugby League’s expansion plans for 2027 and beyond, amid speculation the Western Bears bid has been rejected.
On Tuesday, Sydney-based media quoted Australian Rugby League Commission chair Peter V’landys stating the Western Bears bid, chaired by Peter Cumins, had been formally rejected – and that the league would only work with the state government in order to explore an alternative business model for a prospective Perth-based side.
“At the NRL’s request, the state government has been working with a single private consortium (Western Bears) leading the bid for a Perth-based NRL team and provided them with significant support,” Mr Cook told Business News late on Tuesday.
“Only Western Australia can put the ‘N’ in NRL, and the NRL knows WA is the obvious choice for a new team.
“We will continue to work with the NRL on their plans to expand the competition.”
On Wednesday afternoon while addressing the media at a press conference, Mr Cook confirmed he had been in contact with Mr V’landys on the matter via text message and elaborated further regarding the present state of play.
Mr Cook also said he had not spoken with representatives from the Bears consortium since his dialogue with Mr V’landys.
“We continue to discuss aspects of the bid process,” he said.
“Obviously, the bids went in – I think ours (Western Bears) was the strongest but we need to obviously address some of the issues that the ARLC board had in relation to that bid.
“Look, there are a number of aspects of it. It goes to the structure of the bid and the nature of the finances behind it.”
Earlier this week, Mr Cook said that despite the state government not being involved in the consortium’s private bid, it did play a supporting role and its willingness to work with the NRL in growing the code across Western Australia was visible.
“I will stress, this is not our bid – it isn’t the WA government bid,” he said on Wednesday.
“It is a bid by a WA team, backed by NRL WA. And we obviously back NRL WA in that process.”
Mr Cook, a self-confessed advocate for WA rugby league, hosed down the speculation that WA’s chances of joining an expanded NRL competition were now ‘dead in the water’.
“I’d be cautious about making assumptions on the basis of the current discussions,” he said.
