As the countdown continues to their debut season, Perth Bears coach Mal Meninga has been diligently securing impressive signings.
Among those confirmed are seasoned NRL players such as Tyran Wishart, Nick Meaney, Toby Sexton, Scott Sorensen, and Siosifa Talakai, all of whom will bring invaluable experience to the club's early days.
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Additionally, promising young talents like the Laulilii brothers, Apa Twidle, and Emarly Bitungane are set to join the roster, contributing to a robust core of athletes that aim to challenge NRL teams, despite external doubts.
The 13th Immortal has pointed out that the emphasis is not only on the athletes' performance but also on their character off the field.
"We've just come out of a recruitment meeting, actually," Meninga shared with a grin when asked about the remaining roles to fill in his inaugural line-up," Meninga told us.
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"We're going really well. We've obviously copped a bit of flack externally, but internally, we're really happy where we are with the recruitment and the recruitment strategy. Very happy with the quality of the person and the (players) coming to us as well.
"So we're around that 21 (players) mark, so to be honest with you, we've got to be a bit more patient with the way we do things. We've gone out and we've done really well initially."