The final day of 2025 has arrived, and clubs will be taking stock of their situation ahead of the resumption of pre-season training and negotiation hostilities.
Among those clubs are the NRL's newest outfit, the Perth Bears.
They have made seven signings to date, slightly short of the ten they publicly declared they wanted before Christmas.
Some of the players will undoubtedly slot into their first 17, while others may wind up on the fringes of the squad. Talks continue with a host of players, and the open market has plenty of talent left available.
RELATED: Perth Bears signing tracker
The signings to date
As mentioned, there are seven signings on the board so far.
The best of those are undoubtedly Penrith Panthers prop Liam Henry and former Canterbury Bulldogs, now Catalans Dragons, halfback Toby Sexton.
The duo will slot straight into the first run on side for the Bears.
Harry Newman, an English centre, could provide plenty if he managed to adjust to the NRL in a timely manner, while Sean Russell is also looking to live up to his potential.
After debuting with a hat-trick, he has struggled to live up to the level he should get to, but there is no doubt he has more to offer the NRL than what has been on display to date.
Fringe forwards Iszac Fa'asuamaleaui, Luke Smith and Emarly Bitungane have also all signed. The trio have all played at NRL level, and represent what could be an exciting part of the Bears' future, although what role they will play in 2027 remains to be seen.
Likely next signings
There will be little surprise if the Bears add a number of first-grade calibre players shortly after Christmas.
While rumours change like the wind in the NRL, it would appear they are on the verge of signing Josh Curran, Nick Meaney and Tyran Wishart.
The trio would add real first-grade experience and talent at the right calibre to their squad, with Bulldogs forward Curran on the outer, Meaney a great goal-kicking versatile outside back, and Wishart possibly shaping as Sexton's first halves partner.
Wishart in particular is a player the Bears must find a way to sign.
One of the best young players in the game, he is clearly looking for a way out of Melbourne at the end of 2026 with his progression to being anything more than a bench utility in the Victorian capital blocked by experienced representative players ahead of him.
His best position is five-eighth, and that's the jersey he should wear in the Bears' first game.
There has also been talk of the Bears going after Gehamat Shibasaki and Jesse Arthars from the Broncos, the former due to salary cap issues at Red Hill, and the latter due to him being put on the outer.
The rumour mill also indicates the likes of Jesse Colquhoun, Cameron McInnes, Jake Averillo and Hugo Savala are being targeted by the club.
There is also the play for Tino Fa'asuamaleaui still on the table.
Who else is left on the open market?
Apart from the group of players mentioned above, William Kennedy needs to be the priority signing for the Bears. It should be a straightforward one to pull off given the Sharks' salary cap position, but as yet there have been no serious rumours.
They also need a dummy half - it's a skinny market too, so a fast move for Sam Verrills needs to be on the table.
If they manage to land Tino Fa'asuamaleaui, it will take the pressure off for a big-name prop to lead the way, but they are still short on the edge.
You would have expected a play to be made for Shawn Blore, but all indications are that he wants to move back to Sydney, so potentially they could instead go all in for Siua Wong.
Scott Sorensen is a likely exit from Penrith and should be on the radar too, while the open market contains plenty of other first-grade calibre options they should be chasing.
From the back of the field forward, the likes of Tyrell Sloan, Selwyn Cobbo, Sione Katoa or Sam Stonestreet, Marcelo Montoya, Phillip Sami, Murray Taulagi, Will Warbrick, Rocco Berry, Jack Bird, Thomas Jenkins, Jesse Ramien, Jeral Skelton, Chris Vea'ila, Tyson Gamble, Te Maire Martin, Trent Toelau, Tanah Boyd, Jake Clifford, Kodi Nikorima, Jaxon Purdue, Zach Dockar-Clay, Jamie Humphreys, Freddy Lussick, Nathan Brown, Matthew Eisenhuth, Kurt Mann, Hohepa Puru, Hame Sele, Morgan Smithies, Emre Guler, Samuel Hughes, Jaiyden Hunt, Jaimin Jolliffe, Tui Kamikamica, Ata Mariota, Francis Molo, Toby Rudolf, Siosiua Taukeiaho, Angus Crichton, Luke Garner, Jack Gosiewski, Brodie Jones, Luciano Leilua, Ryan Matterson, Marata Niukore and Siosifa Talakai remain off-contract as potentially likely options.
RELATED: Full list of currently off-contract players at end of 2026 by position
Bears best-case 30-man squad
Most of the players the Bears have been rumoured to chase make sense, although there are probably too many backs in the mix, so we will leave Arthars and Averillo out of the best-case outfit. The only ones we won't include in the below squad are Colquhoun and Savala, who, frankly, are more likely to be re-signed by their current club.
Colquhoun has plenty of interest from Sydney too, so a move across the country seems unlikely, while Savala has indicated privately that he is considering wanting to learn from Daly Cherry-Evans for the next 12 months, even if that means sitting out of first grade.
From there, we are going to run through a host of players from the off-contract list not yet linked to the club - predominantly players who are on the outer and may struggle to land deals elsewhere, but also players who might be looking for the fresh start that Perth might provide on increased wages.
One of the off-contract Sharks wingers - Sione Katoa or Sam Stonestreet - is a must, while Sorensen is also a must for his experience.
Ryan Matterson has apparently hit the ground running at pre-season and could be a strong option for Perth, while finding a utility is tricky but not impossible - the club should be in talks with Te Maire Martin and Kodi Nikorima.
The remainder of the squad is depth, but they'll want players who can slot in. Travel and other issues mean the Bears may need to prepare to use their entire 30-man squad.
Jaimin Jolliffe provides experience, while Samuel Hughes provides youth and depth in the middle.
We have added Newcastle second-rower Brodie Jones and young Tiger Mavrik Geyer to provide depth on the edge, while Freddy Lussick becomes the back-up dummy half.
It's no secret that spine positions are a little short on numbers, but Tanah Boyd and Ronald Volkman could provide the back-up they need, while young Tiger Heath Mason and Cowboys first-grade experienced player Tom Chester, who is returning from an ACL injury this year, could also be on the list.
Not being able to offer Chester a starting role will likely end that conversation though, so instead, we are suggesting a pursuit of out-of-favour Dragons' speedster Tyrell Sloan.
Trent Toelau, who has moved from Penrith to Melbourne for 2026, rounds out our best-case squad, keeping in mind the Bears need a mix of experience and youth, and also have a salary cap to balance.
1. William Kennedy
2. Sean Russell*
3. Nick Meaney
4. Gehamat Shibasaki
5. Sione Katoa
6. Tyran Wishart
7. Toby Sexton*
8. Liam Henry*
9. Sam Verrills
10. Tino Fa'asuamaleaui
11. Josh Curran
12. Siua Wong
13. Cameron McInnes
Interchange
14. Kodi Nikorima
15. Iszac Fa'asuamaleaui*
16. Scott Sorensen
17. Ryan Matterson
Reserves
18. Harry Newman*
19. Luke Smith*
20. Emarly Bitungane*
21. Jaimin Jolliffe
22. Samuel Hughes
23. Mavrik Geyer
24. Freddy Lussick
25. Brodie Jones
26. Ronald Volkman
27. Tanah Boyd
28. Heath Mason
29. Tyrell Sloan
30. Trent Toelau
* - Confirmed signing
It’s impossible to guess, isn’t it ?
One criticism of the 30 man squad is that I have heard of _all_ of them.
That tells me that they have each got a bit / some / a lot of first grade experience.
That tells me that Perth won’t be able to afford them all.