The North Sydney Bears have been dealt a blow in their relationship with the Sydney Roosters, with the Bondi club confirming that they'll field their own team in the second-tier NSW Cup in 2023, directly impacting the existing feeder club arrangement with the North Sydney club.
Though only announced today, it's been revealed that the Roosters advised the Bears of the impending announcement a few weeks ago.
It's a big coup for the Roosters, who will finally have their brand represented at every level from Harold Matthews through to NRL for the first time since 2005.
While the timing is strange considering there is just one year left to run on the current feeder arrangement with the Bears, the North Sydney hierarchy of CEO Gareth Holmes and head coach Jason Taylor can see the upside to the new structure, with a new focus on developing talent and a better ability to build team cohesion.
The club had previously had a long-standing feeder arrangement with South Sydney that ended in 2018, months before the Roosters came on board.
“We'll still maintain a strong relationship with the Roosters,” Holmes said in a club statement.
“They've committed to supporting us, our season and our club in 2023, as they've done for the past four years. They'll still provide (some players) to us, and they'll still provide opportunities for our players to be part of an NRL program.
“It means we now – more than ever – will recruit our own players to ensure we have depth throughout the season and field a strong team week-in, week-out.
“It also means we'll develop our own players.”
Both Holmes and Taylor were keen to assure fans that despite the changes, the relationship would still be meaningful and functional heading into the new season.
“The relationship is really important,” Taylor said.
“First and foremost, our players need a pathway to the NRL, which remains with the Roosters for another 12 months.
“The opportunity for our players to train with the Roosters is a really big part (of the set-up) as well.
“What it means is we need to recruit more players as Bears-contracted players.
“We'll be getting less numbers coming back from the Roosters, which isn't perfect, but there's a real positive that comes with that - which is we now have more of our players who play for us on weekends training with us throughout the week.
“The positive is we get to train with our players who are going to play on the weekend more often, which will build better combinations and understanding of game-plans.
“From a coaching perspective it's going to be a bit easier, but the quality of players we get from the Roosters is still very important.
“I'm excited about the fact we're going to get to spend more time with these players.”
