Canterbury boss Phil Gould has announced his opposition to the NRL granting a salary cap waiver to the Perth Bears as one of the team’s board members indicated they were hoping for stricter rules on third party contracts to be relaxed.
Bears directors Daniel Dickson and James Bracey approached ARL Commission chairman Peter V’landys for help last week. with concerns growing over the incoming club’s failure to attract club players ahead of their entry into the competition in 2027.
Bracey, who hosts Nine 100% Leg show that Gould appears on every week, he confirmed on Monday night’s show that the Bears had come to help.
“Just to be clear, when you’re talking about salary cap relief, it’s not about adding a couple of million bucks to the salary cap,” he said.
Asked what Perth was looking for, he said: “Maybe get a bit of help with other people, that would be good. (There’s) a bit of business there – tap into that.”
Tripartite agreements for players allow their income to be increased but such agreements must be kept at “arm’s length” from clubs, which are prohibited from introducing potential sponsors to players and their agents.
“Clubs can’t organize third parties,” Gould, the Bulldogs’ general manager of football, told Bracey.
“Maybe it would be nice if Perth could do a little bit there,” Bracey said.
The conversation continued as Gould made his position clear. “You shouldn’t be talking to the NRL, you should be talking to Perth. But you’re not allowed to,” the Bulldogs boss and Nine commentator said.
The 17 clubs present agreed to the addition of the Bears on the basis that they would not be given the salary cap.
They are set to push for compensation if the NRL decides to pay Perth to increase their efforts to build a competitive squad. The NRL owns the Bears and PNG Chiefs, who will join the competition in 2028 and can release their wages tax-free through a $600 million package funded by the Australian government.
“What do you need help with? It’s not a charity partner, it’s a competition,” Gould told Bracey on the NRL’s weekly panel show.
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The NRL has refused to comment on whether it is considering coming in to help the Bears, who have announced the signing of 18 players.
But the issue is likely to be a major debate when club executives meet NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo in Brisbane on Friday.
Unlike the Australian government-signed Chiefs, who 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 Chiefs for most of the time they have been signing them and have been suffering from internal conflicts.
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 is also said to have been a strained relationship between Meninga and assistant coach Ben Gardiner, who will take over from Immortal rugby league in Perth in 2029.
In an interview with this legend, Meninga said he had no complaints about the lack of support from the NRL to attract top talent.
“I am more concerned about establishing the core pillars and the cultural part 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 a good deal, don’t get me wrong, it makes you jealous sometimes, I won’t deny that feeling – that they are in the market value.”
There had also been frustration in the NRL that Meninga had continued to live in Canberra and that he had not yet moved to Perth, sources who were not authorized to comment on the matter said.
This celebrity revealed this month that Perth had brought in a psychologist with the skills to build stronger cultures as it tries to deal with friction behind the scenes.
The Western Australian Government has committed $65 million over seven years to the Bears and grassroots rugby league in the state.
Chris Barrett is a senior sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald. He is a former Southeast Asia correspondent for the Herald and The Age.Connect through X or email address.
