How the NRL killed the North Sydney Bears

Twenty years ago the North Sydney Bears played their last game against the North Queensland Cowboys.
We take look back at how the decision was made to cut the foundation rugby league club.
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[@justinbrookes76]

You’ve got to respect a team that has never given up trying to be readmitted to the National Rugby League.

[@robosborne5267]

I'm suprised the Bears havent tried to seek readmission to the NRL through the Australian courts. I dont know why the NRL has always wanted a Gold Coast team , a club since the Giants and Seagulls days that has always been doomed to failure . The powers to be say the Bears never dominated the comp like other foundation clubs like Souths,Balmain, The Roosters. Bullshit, that club had back to back premierships in the 1920's

[@robosborne5267]

I'm a warriors fan and I am grateful to have local kiwi team in the comp ,some say at the expense of clubs like the Bears and Balmain. BUT I know the NRL wants the Warriors in the comp because they are worth millions to them in revenue, in particular the Kiwi audience. The Warriors out sell most of the NZ Super rugby teams in jersey sales each . The NRL boots the Warriors and they then kiss goodbye to millions from the kiwi audience.

[@MERCURYSUNSET]

They never gave up on talking about being readmitted to the NRL but they haven't done anything about it . Why would the NRL allow a club back in that only averages 1,500 people a match in the Reserve grade comp . They only won 2 Premierships in First grade 100 years ago in 1921 -1922 and aren't even competitive enough to have won a Comp in Reserve grade in the last 20 years ?

[@concretedavidson]

​@@MERCURYSUNSET haven't done anything about it? What rock have you been living under? Like they didn't relocate and merge just to stay alive before Manly took the license and then put forth bid after bid with their original relocation plan on the Central Coast only to be glossed over for the Gold Coast.

[@MERCURYSUNSET]

@@concretedavidson North Sydney have done JACKSHIT in the intervening years since the merge . Stop living in the past and get real . If Norths wanted it bad enough they would NOT be pretending to want to be back , they would be back .

[@kenvessey7487]

Bring back the Bears ,a truly Foundation Club which still does so much for rugby league even though not an NRL competing team ; if this was to happen , thousands of supporters would come back to the game ; no better Oval to watch our game than North Sydney Oval ; I should advise that I am an avid South Sydney supporter but strongly believe the return of the Bears to the NRL would elevate our game tremendously .

[@blackrose.9927]

100% agree with you 😉 It's hard to understand or believe that the NRL can't see that ? Well I should take that back 🤔 They couldn't see anything 20-25 years ago so why would they notice anything now 😂 I mean a Bloody Vegas team in the NRL what the ??? So the NRL is doomed 😢 with that type of thinking in my opinion.

[@robosborne5267]

Manly crapped on the Bears . Manly , a club that has paid for glory since they joined the comp. Manly are like that Dad who becomes the coach so they can pick their son all the time

[@warntom]

They crapped on the bears after the bears supported Manly's entry into the back then NSWRL, and Manly started out with alot of ex Bears players, Manly are scum

[@coinspot4372]

I’m a South’s supporter, and I would love to see the Bears 🐻 come back.a club full of tradition .👍

[@beardan76]

Bring us back! Great little vid!!

[@stephen-ks8br]

Go the bears, no greater bear than Flo, still fighting today for them. What a legend.

[@afungula1]

We will never go away.

[@daboyeenumba1578]

The mighty bears will never die

[@concretedavidson]

I was a 13 year old Bears fan when the Northern Eagles merger happened. At the time I thought "This doesn't seem fair but I guess there's a lot I wouldn't understand." All these years later, the more digging I do into everything that contributed towards the Bears' exit from first grade, it's far bigger screwjob than I ever could have imagined.

[@mvvella2792]

Poor bears I doubt the NRL would re admit them Brisbane is the rage apparently I’d love to see the bears back as a panthers fan I like traditional teams

[@paulhopkins5051]

I’m a Bear forever. I left rugby league when they booted the Bears. If they come back in the Western Bears come back in the red and black I’ll be back, but if I can’t see the Bears in the strip then I’ll stay with rugby.

[@jasonlogie3863]

Go the mighty bears

[@clevelandwilliams5922]

I would’ve preferred Balmain Tigers & North Sydney Bears to merge. Both were foundation clubs and they wouldn’t have killed one another. Both share the same borders.

[@ponza6887]

Balmain Bears doesn’t sound too bad actually

[@clevelandwilliams5922]

@@ponza6887 They share both names North Sydney Balmain & Both Mascots are equally present with 1908 date

[@denisblades1375]

Now they are back!!

[@stephenhausheer8206]

Keep leading the fight Ross.....you are one devoted Bears fan!

[@lapalad]

Bring back the mighty Bears from a Souths fan.

[@GoldBawls]

Peter Louis got a promotion to the inner circle, Manly got some bargains on whatever players they wanted and the fans got shafted. Still room for the bears at Gosford.

[@mrbillhilly343]

Sponsorship with BBX (Business Barter Exchange) killed the Bears. Was great for buying boots & shirts; USELESS for paying players a living wage. If they had a sponsor paying them in legal tender & if they were allowed to play night games at North Sydney Oval, they'd have some cash. Home games were daytime only as neighbourhood didn't want night games. Hence why they took a gamble & tried to move to Gosford.

[@captainsleeman9787]

We've got to be a chance of the NSW cup this year. Up the Bears.

[@ceebee23]

was a very sad victim of the whole league war ... treated rather badly in the internal politics ...

[@kurtflahavin5994]

I would say they were the worst victim in the Super League war by a long way the North Sydney Bears were.

[@nathyatta]

I have never watched NRL since, except for the State of Origin.

[@mrbillhilly343]

I don't even watch State of Origin anymore. Sick of seeing games played in Melbourne or Perth on dirt where NOBODY cares about the game. SOO should be played in NSW & Qld. One year 2 games played in NSW (first in Newcastle/Canberra/Dubbo & third in Sydney) 1 in Qld. (Brisbane). Then the next year 2 in Qld. (first in Townsville/Cairns & third in Brisbane) 1 in NSW (Sydney); then keep that system going. Nobody in Melbourne cares about league. Oh & the way Mal Meninga imported Kiwis, Samoans & Sydneysiders to play for Queensland all because they had a credit card receipt in their wallet from buying a meal in Queensland & then saying "Oh you're a Queenslander now, come play Origin" was a SCAM! Melbourne Storm only exist because News Limited (Fox) own them & pay them money to stay afloat, same as the Gold Coast Titans. Abolish Melbourne Storm. Bring back the Bears to play at North Sydney Oval & Gosford. Bring back the Illawarra Steelers. De-merge West Tigers & abolish the Titans. If we're to have another Qld. team, have it on the Sunshine Coast.

[@thefastest_snail6708]

1:13 what’s the future like?

[@bigl8715]

LOL

[@tamataua4370]

Flo what a footballer... A big ball playing half

[@tiger832]

🐻😢

[@_S.E.J_]

Bring back the bears

[@22dropout20]

1:12 19994 -99 😳

[@DavidSkinner-vr1nn]

From a die hard Rabbitohs fan, bring back the Bears - Central Coast 👍 ……. Dolphins, WTF???

[@TwelveDeck]

4:35 Who is that guy?

[@RugbyLeagueHistory]

Ross Pittman, one of North Sydney's biggest supporters

[@petertancred3507]

Well man united doesn't believe in community? Flo summed it up, 'I am the Bears and The Bears am I'...

[@MERCURYSUNSET]

I would be surprised if the NRL would even consider bringing back North Sydney . Why would they rebirth a club that is lucky to pull 1,500 to their home games in NSW State Cup . Newtown Jets pull between 5 to 10,000 per home match if that gives you an indication of where Norths are with their fans. The Bears have had the last 2 decades in the Reserve Grade comp to show the NRL how much real support they have and the gumption to succeed and have failed on both .They have only made 1 Grand Final in all that time when they were Runners up back in 2006. In my humble opinion i don't think they offer much value at all , other than being a novelty act from the past . They had 90 years in the competition and won only 2 Premierships back in 1921 and 1922 . Not trying to be harsh , but Bears folk saying they will never give up is all fine & dandy , but when do you start trying to make things happen , as opposed to hoping things will happen ?

[@RugbyLeagueHistory]

A lot of that has to do with the differences between who run North Sydney and Newtown. I lived in Newtown for a long time and even though it's not a rugby league area at all, the people who run the club are very smart, very good at promotion, they know how to run a club. I have been to North Sydney Oval many times for the NSW Cup games when I lived in Australia, when you get out of the railway station and walk around you wouldn't even know a game was on. The games are not promoted at all to be fair. Even things like merchandising, Newtown do better, with North Sydney they had a volunteer doing the merchandising and then they sacked her because of political reasons. I have known a lot of ex North Sydney fans as well, I think the way things ended in 1999 and the whole Northern Eagles thing really made a lot of people either turn away from the game or made them very bitter about the whole thing. I was good friends with one ex Norths supporter who when they got kicked out, he began following Wests Tigers and never went back to North Sydney Oval even once for a NSW Cup game, and he used to attend every home match beforehand without fail.

[@MERCURYSUNSET]

@@RugbyLeagueHistory Thanks for responding . To add to the geographical aspect , the inner west -inner city suburbs of Newtown / Marrickville / Tempe etc have more of a catch and kill your own mentality .Of course , this ethos was a lot more pronounced when the Jets were in the big time up until their demise in 1983 . The inner city produced scrappers and those who struggled and i believe this mentality permeated through The Jets . The DIY aspect pulsed through Newtown Jets when they came back into the 3rd tier Metropolitan Cup in 1990 . I think that this "spirit " that lives within Newtown was and is revealed through the people birthed the club back into life and has continued to this day . And i believe this goes a long way to why the Jets are indeed better run and promoted better.

[@concretedavidson]

First off, as someone who was at every Bears home game this year, 1,500 for home games just isn't accurate. There's not much of a discrepancy compared to games at Henson Park and the Jets' highest draw was due to the Beer, Food & Footy Festival. Their brand offers a lot more value than taking a punt on any other new entity, and harsh to call them a novelty act from the past. That type of description is normally only used for short-lived clubs introduced in the mid-90's. They're a foundation club with as much right to be in the game as Souths, especially since they ranked higher in every metric on the survival criteria that forced the Rabbitohs out for only two years while the Bears were in a joint venture with Manly. As for "when do you start trying to make things happen?" the Bears did more to ensure their survival than any other club by being the only club who not only relocated but merged with another club, not to mention the multiple bid attempts to get back to their original plan to be based on the Central Coast that were heavily funded and had more financial members than a lot of NRL clubs at that time. People don't just say "Bring back the Bears" out of pure nostalgia, it's because their exit was unjust.

[@blackrose.9927]

You must support Storm or Roosters or perhaps even Manly.

[@Originalgangster890]

You have a point dreams are fake 🤥 reality is real only until things happen prospects are better I'm not to sure if NRL will bring the old clubs back or not it's about management with NRL who owns and runs the clubs money sponsorship without that nothing is possible without certain action the super league in NRL destroyed things up and had repercussions where most of the old clubs don't exist I think 🤔 💬 without super league most clubs could exist but die on there own if they don't have a good financial situation I think 🤔💬 north Sydney bears should of used a different home ground like Brookvale oval or manly oval instead of a far away move if they had money 💰 they should of created a new home ground

[@cameronhesketh6814]

2 premierships 1921, and 22, hardly successful.

[@mrbillhilly343]

Because they were always made to face Brisbane in the semi's & Brisbane were the "Melbourne Storm" of the 90s. A team of professional-foul cheats who could (figuratively) take a knife out onto the pitch, stab the opposition player & the opposition would get a penalty for it. The referees were BIASED & so many in Manly were Queensland Origin players. Bears were top of the ladder throughout the late-80s & throughout the 90s, but they were always made to play the Brisbane Boncos who would cheat like Melbourne does now & get-away with it. I turned-off rugby league since the Storm were brought into the game, nobody in Melbourne cares about the Storm apart from Queenslanders who live in Melbourne. The game should only be played in two states: NSW & Qld.

[@MERCURYSUNSET]

@@mrbillhilly343 No mate , because they had 90 seasons in the comp and only won 2 Premierships . They spent the last 77 years without winning a Title . Simply good enough .

[@blackrose.9927]

​@@MERCURYSUNSETYeah mate it's been so fkn good watching the NRL the last quarter of a Century and pretty much seeing Storm and Roosters Dominate it for pretty much the whole time , even when they don't win they are Super Strong every single year. It's always been hard to watch. And who owns those Teams Say no more ... I preferred it when the Teams weren't joint ventures and The Bears were still in the Comp and none of those Teams are my team. Murdoch and Co suck Balls !!!

[@rayloulach9376]

So what South's has won 1 title in 53 years ...Parramatta 4 titles in 77 years(all in a 6 year span)..Magpies,Balmain hadn't won in multiple decades until the merger and have done eff all since...Warriors none in 30 years...One of the greatest goal kickers that ever played in the nrl had his worst game in a final in '91 (a game they lost by 2 points to the eventual winners)Things happen but it's not like the bears were struggling to compete in the 90's,they could never get everything to align to enable them to win a comp...I miss the NSWRL ,I switched off the NRL in 2010 and the AFL has become the much better alternative...I still go watch my beloved Magpies at Lidcombe oval in the NSWRL(ironically)

[@danzigvssartre]

Bring back the Bears??? How about we get rid of more Sydney teams instead?

[@blackrose.9927]

What a Gimp !

[@Originalgangster890]

My opinion the super league destroyed everything when it came to nrl it wouldnt matter if you choose nrl or super league if your team went out if competition it would come to it nrl over expanded because they thought 💭🤔 they could expanded outside of sydney nsw just like afl outside of Melbourne vic and make more of a market but it backfired people got greedy and they were after money 💰 not the business and it destroyed a lot of jobs and futures for a lot of clubs when nrl did the cut down to the agree’d number of teams set out in the ARL/SL Peace deal 🤝 the 4 clubs responsible for that were adelaide rams hunter mariners western reds and gold coast chargers if super league never happened i think 💬🤔 most clubs would be around some would die if no one could come up with money 💰 to stay a float 🛟 its not just the clubs there was a lack of management in the nrl with who would be around and who would die for a club like north sydney bears 🐻 to never give up i think they deserve back in nrl like a lot of clubs that defunct bring them back if people have a interested in bringing them back dont worry about new clubs bring back history and heritage in nrl super league in nrl goes to show people that expansion and greed can destroy nrl just as much as anything else it is sad how north Sydney bears 🐻 and newtown jets and other clubs don't exist in NRL no more super league win the super league war by keeping 7 clubs losing 3 NRL kept 5 and lost 7 when it came to the super league war it goes to show how it effected the 22 clubs that had a lot to do with the super league war