The Perth Bears have announced the double signing of talented playmaker Zac Herdegen and international edge backrower Zac Lipowicz.
The duo will make the switch to Perth on development deals as the club closes in on completing its Top 30 squad ahead of their inaugural NRL season.
Herdegen will join the club on a one-year deal, with a colourful junior representative background including captaining the Queensland Country under-17s in 2023 and a year later making the Queensland under-18s Emerging squad.
Last year, the 20-year-old made the Queensland Under-19s emerging squad and will now continue to build into a quality playmaker through the Bears system.
He has since been embedded with the Cowboys in the past two years, where he has made 34 appearances for the Northern Pride in the QLD Cup since 2025.
Herdegen finished this year's season as the Pride's top point-scorer with 114 points in the five-eighth jersey.
The in-bound Bear is excited at the opportunity that awaits at the club.
This is a big opportunity for me to prove myself at the top level with the newest team in the NRL," Herdegen said.
"Getting to do that under a coach like Mal Meninga makes the opportunity even more attractive.
"I've grown up playing my footy in the Queensland system and I think that's given me a really strong foundation.
"Now I just want to keep adding to my game, learn off the experienced players, and repay the faith the club has shown in bringing me over."
Meanwhile, Lipowicz has had a different journey to the West Coast.
He is a product of the Penrith Panthers' elite pathways system, which constantly churns out elite talent with great representation across the NRL.
The 24-year-old second rower made his NRL debut for the Panthers in 2025, before taking his talents to the Super League this year, playing 25 top-grade matches for Catalans Dragons, crossing the white stripe six times.
Wakefield picked him up in a mid-season transfer, playing two matches so far and is set to play in the Super League finals series as they look to claim their first title.
Lipowicz, who has represented Poland at Test international level, also signed on for a one-year development deal.
"I'm just grateful for the chance to be part of this squad. I want to come in, learn from the group, and do whatever I can to help the team,” he said.
Before his NRL debut in 2025, Lipowicz balanced working as a tradesman full-time while playing NSW Cup for the Panthers to fight for his dream of becoming an NRL player.
Bears coach Mal Meninga credited both of the rising players in their respective journeys to Western Australia.
"Zac Herdegen and Zac Lipowicz are two young men with plenty still ahead of them, and both have had to find their own way to get where they are," Meninga said.
"Herdegen has come through a strong Queensland pathway system and Lipowicz's story speaks for itself. Not many blokes go from working full days on the tools to playing first grade and Test football.
"We think they'll both fit straight into the standards we're building here."
They will make the move to Perth to undergo a massive preseason over the summer for an opportunity in the NRL's latest franchise.
