Wishart wishes: Bears think they’ve found their first foundation half

The Perth Bears are getting more and more confident that Tyran Wishart will run out as their foundational halves star in 2027, with only the Melbourne Storm and Wishart’s junior club, St George Illawarra, standing in the way.

Wishart has just 12 months left on his deal with the Storm and has been a free agent since November 1.

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Craig Bellamy has been keen to keep Wishart, but the 25-year-old is looking more likely to leave to chase a starting role — like Jonah Pezet just did with his strange Eels-then-Broncos signing deal — instead of only really getting chances when first-choice pairing Jahrome Hughes and Cameron Munster are either injured or away on representative duties.

The fact that Bellamy may well be done in Melbourne’s hot seat after one final tilt at the title in 2026 would also be playing on Wishart’s mind; there’s no clear successor to the Storm’s supercoach helmsman locked in just yet.

The Bears just recently told Zero Tackle they’re very interested in signing Wishart in what would be an astute slice of business for the expansion team, akin to the Dolphins building their roster around Isaiya Katoa.

The biggest hurdles will be that the Storm do want to re-sign Wishart — and he may still be happy to stay as a reserve player — and the St George Illawarra Dragons are equally interested to bring home their junior. Should he join Shane Flanagan’s rebuilding team, he would likely be handed the halfback reins alongside Daniel Atkinson at six.

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The Dragons are also hoping they can use the father-son connection as a selling point; Wishart is the son of former Illawarra Steelers and St. George Illawarra Dragons winger Rod Wishart. He played his junior footy for the Gerringong Lions.

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Melbourne could sell Wishart on playing five-eighth for the Storm with Munster possibly moving back to fullback to cover the departed Ryan Papenhyuzen, but The Sporting Base understands Munster isn’t interested in that swap.

Wishart played 27 games for the Storm in 2025, and has made 82 appearances all up.

Beyond Wishart, reports also suggest the Bears are making a play for Jesse Colquhoun to play lock.