The Perth Bears are hoping more playing time will be the carrot that lures St George Illawarra young gun Connor Muhleisen over to the expansion side, with the team preparing a new signing offer.
ESPN Australia has been reporting that Mal Meninga and the Bears want to grab Muhleisen, who just came back from injury, for hooker depth alongside Tyson Smoothy.
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It may well be bad timing for the Bears, though, with The Sporting Base already understanding that Muhleisen will step into Damien Cook’s role from early 2027. He and Jacob Liddle — who was injured late this year — will work together in the rake role and split minutes through most games.
With that being said, that assumes that Connor Watson will play best as a replacement lock off the bench. With Muhleisen and Watson both available, it’s more likely the 25-year-old is asked to bide his time in NSW Cup.
That’s the exact selling point Perth is taking to him — though he hasn’t said anything in regard to actually wanting to move to Western Australia just yet.
Dean Young also rates the Thirroul Butchers junior quite highly, handing him several first-grade runs at the back of 2026 as the new Dragons helmsman figures out what his reshuffling roster will look like next year.
Liddle’s injury run will also help in his favour, but that would be a gamble for the youngster.
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