There have been plenty of questions asked over the strength of Perth Bears’ squad ahead of their inaugural NRL season with one of their Super League recruits the latest to come into question.
Meanwhile, the club have also been encouraged to strengthen their forward pack with an England international among the names that the club could sign.
Perth will enter the NRL as the 18th team with their start date of next year looming ever closer but they’re still yet to sign a genuine superstar and they’ve been forced to look to Super League and even the Championship to recruit some of their squad.
Three Leeds Rhinos players will make the switch, two from London Broncos, as well as Catalans’ Toby Sexton and the recently released Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui.
Sexton is set to be a starting half and his quality has now been questioned by NRL analyst Scott Pride on the NRL Contract Show, stating: “I’m not sure Tyran Wishart and Toby Sexton are a halves partnership that are going to get you off the bottom of the table, particularly if they’re behind a forward pack that isn’t rolling forward.
“Sexton is a great controlling halfback if your forwards are on top. I’m not so sure about his abilities if you’re getting rolled, which I think the Bears will be most weeks based on the forward pack they have right now.”
Perth Bears advised to target Morgan Smithies
To help stop their forward pack from being rolled, Perth have been encouraged to sign more forwards, including England international Morgan Smithies who would become the fourth Englishman at the club, if he were to sign for the Bears.
Pryde explained that the club are in dire need of forwards and Smithies was one of three players he suggested the club could make a play for.
“They also need some more forwards. Junior Paulo would be a good pick-up for one year just to add some experience and starch in the middle third. Morgan Smithies has been really good at the Canberra Raiders. I’d like to see the Bears make a play for him. The other one is Luciano Leilua from the St George Illawarra Dragons.”
Smithies, who will turn 26 in November, is in the third year of a three-year deal with the Raiders, however, reports from The Canberra Times back in January suggested that a new deal had been signed, though that has not been confirmed by the club.
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