The NRL have taken a significant step towards appointing a head coach of the Perth Bears by conducting formal interviews with at least two candidates.
Sources with knowledge of the situation not authorised to speak publicly confirmed Mal Meninga and Brad Arthur conducted Zoom meetings with League HQ on Thursday afternoon.
Just hours after confirming Anthony De Ceglie, the director of news and current affairs at 7News and editor-in-chief at Seven West, as the Bears’ first CEO, Meninga and Arthur, who have both publicly declared their interest in taking the top job at the Bears in time for the start of the 2027 season, were stating their cases to the game’s powerbrokers.
The NRL are being proactive and want a coach in place quickly so he can start shaping a roster in time for the 2027 season. The Dolphins and Wayne Bennett were up and running with moderate success after 15 months.
Arthur spent more than a decade at Parramatta before taking over the Leeds Rhinos in the Super League, while Meninga, the current Australian coach, has been desperate to return to head coaching after working in advisory roles with the Gold Coast Titans and more recently his beloved Raiders.
While Arthur has more recent experience in coaching, Meninga has the profile to help league take off in the Western Australian market.
Mal Meninga has been interviewed for the Perth Bears’ coaching job.Credit: Getty Images
Meninga refused to confirm if he was due to be interviewed, but reminded this masthead on Tuesday he was still only 64, which “hardly makes me a dinosaur”, and said he was physically and mentally ready for the challenge of overseeing the NRL’s latest start-up.
Meninga also said he would consider the Papua New Guinea coaching job. The NRL and Federal Government struck a $600m deal before Christmas to launch a team based out of Port Moresby for the 2028 season.
“I’ve always wanted to scratch that itch when it comes to getting back into coaching in clubland – and at the end of the day, I want to win,” Meninga said.
“I haven’t been out of the game. I’ve been with the Titans five years, I’m now with the Raiders, and I’ve been coaching rep teams for 20 years.
“I’ve never really been out of the game. I’m also working in commentary and having to give regular opinions about things. I’m right up to speed with today’s game, I’m not a dinosaur, I’m a contemporary, and I still work with the elite players.”
Meinga said he was open to the idea of succession plans, with Sam Burgess and Willie Peters – two former players now coaching in the Super League – already floated as ideal assistant coaches who would eventually step into the top job.
Meninga is committed to coaching Australia until the 2026 World Cup, but accepted he might need to step down from that role if given the nod for the Bears.
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