McInnes close to agreeing terms with the Bears to be their inaugural captain

The Perth Bears are hopeful that they’ve found their biggest-name recruit to date, with off-contract Cameron McInnes expected to sign on for the Western expansion team to lead them in their inaugural campaign as club captain.

McInnes is widely considered one of the hardest men in rugby league, and has experience in NRL finals as well as State of Origin. He has been leading the Cronulla Sharks as co-captain in recent seasons. The Sharks are still interested in keeping him, but the Perth offer would see McInnes earn a pay rise, which should turn his head late in his career.

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While other clubs in the NRL and Super League are interested alongside the Sharks, it’s only the Perth Bears that have formally tabled a deal. Those close to the deal have been reporting that McInnes is now mulling a two-year contract.

Whether he would play on beyond that 2028 season is anyone’s guess at this stage, but McInnes has privately been telling Cronulla teammates that he feels like he could play well into his thirties. Right now, he’s 32, and would be 33 by the time he fronts up for the Bears’ preseason; the expansion club sees McInnes as proven experience rather than an aging veteran.

Teammate Siosifa Talakai has already signed with the Bears, too, which may help McInnes’ decision.

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McInnes would instantly make history as the first-ever Perth Bears captain, but he’s already in the books — the 32-year-old recorded the most ever tackles in a game when the Sharks battled the Panthers in 2023, tallying 78 through 80 minutes. The record before that had been held by Canberra’s Shaun Fensom, who made 74 against the Bulldogs in 2011.

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Confirmed Bears signings to date include Talakai, as well as key roster pick-ups like Toby Sexton, Tyran Wishart, Nick Meaney, Apa Twidle, Harry Newman, Sean Russell, Josh Curran, Scott Sorensen, and Josh Curran.

South Sydney’s Jamie Humphreys and Canterbury’s Jonathan Sua are also speaking to Perth officials.