The NRL is set to welcome the newest franchise into the competition soon with an agreement in-principle reportedly reached between the game and the Western Australian Government.
The expansion effort will see the return of the North Sydney Bears, as the stroried club will up sticks and head across to the west for a new lease of life in Perth.
The joint bid comes with a host of questions, including whether the club will be called the Perth or Western Bears, what colours will they adorn on their jerseys and what are the early aims for the venture.
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North Sydney Bears Director provides latest update on expansion plans in Western Australia
"This is a unique propostion and we’ll be successful but there’s going to be a huge number of challenges," North Sydney Director Billy Moore told SEN.
"We are so excited about this opportunity but it is tough.
"When you formed the Dolphins off a very similar runway of time, you moved players from one side of Brisbane to the other into an existing club that had been going for 75 years.
"We’re going to be moving players from one side of Australia to the other.
"The whole operation is going to be set up in Perth," Moore continued.
"No one has ever done a merger between old and new, east coast and west coast in Australian sport."
Moore highlighted how he believed one of the main goals of the club was to build a viable pipeline of WA talent to bring into the fold.
However, he acknowledged how this would be a gradual progress with participation numbers currently sitting at around 6,000 youth players in the state.
"We’ll get that up to 20,000 in 10 years," Moore declared.
"Inside 10 years, we want to get five bonafide WA players in our top 30 squad. That will mean we will have done our job in pathways and production.
"We’ve got to make sure we do our part. I know WA is bursting at the seams and there is a truckload of young talent over there waiting for an opportunity.
"We’ll give them that opportunity and they’ll grow and develop."
What colours and logo will the Perth NRL franchise have?
Moore believed that the similarities between the Western Reds and North Sydney made for a relatively simple colour design for the jerseys.
"The red and black will always be the traditional colours of the Bears," Moore said.
"The Reds' colours were red, black, white and gold. So, they’re not a quantum leap apart.
"There will be an evolution and I suppose the marketing people will come into play and take part.
"Just think of Penrith last year when they won the comp in a pink jersey," Moore added.
"So, the colours will evolve but the foundation will always be the Bears and their traditional colours will always be red and black."
In regards to a possible logo design, Moore stated that this component was straightforward.
"Without trying to be coy about it, a bear is a bear," he said.
"The logo will be a bear - that’s guaranteed."
When will the NRL announce the Perth franchise?
"I don’t think it’s going to happen until around next week," Moore revealed about when fans can expect an announcement from the NRL.
"Then you’ll start to see some crystallisation of it all. It will move fast. There is no doubt it will move quickly."
When the club is confirmed to enter into the comp, the focus will turn to appointing the main figureheads to steer the ship.
Brad Arthur has been heavily linked to the position of head coach, while Peter Parr has also been spoken about to oversee the construction of the roster.
"We’re certainly not kidding ourselves about how hard this is going to be," Moore said.
"What this is all about is getting the right people in the front office with the coaching and administration."
However, one man who Moore didn’t expect to be involved in the nitty-gritty of the build was WA Premier Roger Cook.
"He’s been the engine behind making this work, especially from the WA side," Moore said.
"I think he’ll be the number one ticket holder and fan. But I think he’ll leave it to the people who have had years of experience in this.
"There’s rugby league and then there’s rugby league politics.
"When you’re dealing with player managers [and agents] you’re dealing with a certain level of shrewdness and I’m saying that in exclamation marks."