North Sydney Bears
| Club information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | North Sydney District Rugby League Football Club |
| Nickname(s) | The Bears The Shoremen The Mounties |
| Colours | Primary Red Black Secondary White (since 1992) |
| Founded | 7 February 1908 (Foundation Club) |
| Exited | 1999, formed joint venture with Manly Warringah Sea Eagles to form Northern Eagles, (Split in 2002) |
| Readmitted | 2027 as Perth Bears (Unofficially) |
| details | |
| Ground(s) | |
| Coach | Anthony Barnes |
| Captain | Jesse Marschke |
| Records | |
| Premierships | 2: 1921, 1922 |
| Runners-up | 1: 1943 |
| Minor premierships | 2: 1921, 1922 |
| Wooden spoons | 9: 1915, 1917, 1919, 1932, 1941, 1948, 1950, 1951, 1979 |
| Most capped | 285 – Greg Florimo |
| Highest points scorer | 1274 – Jason Taylor |
The North Sydney Bears are an Australian rugby league football club based in Cammeray on Sydney's North Shore. The club currently competes in the NSW Cup, having exited the National Rugby League following the 1999 NRL season after 90 years in the premier rugby league competition in Australia. At the end of the 1999 season, the club merged with the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles to form the Northern Eagles which only lasted two years and the license was reverted to the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles leaving the Bears without top flight representation. However, in April 2025, a deal to be based in Perth as the Perth Bears was confirmed coming into effect from 2027, thus gaining North Sydney representation in First Grade rugby league for the first time since 2001. The bid is a partnership and not officially considered a relocation.
The club was established in 1908, making it one of the original founding members of the New South Wales Rugby Football League, and one of Australia's first rugby league football clubs. They continued competing with some success in the first half of the 20th century in the NSWRL, and through the ARL and NRL premierships until the club created a joint venture with Manly Warringah Sea Eagles to form the Northern Eagles for the 2000 season. The partnership only lasted until 2001, when the licence reverted to the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles, although 2002 was played under the Northern Eagles name, with the Bears not returning to first grade and being represented in the NSWRL competition, the second-tier rugby league competition, where they continue to play today. The North Sydney club also field teams in the Harold Matthews Cup and SG Ball competitions.
North Sydney has had a partnership with many top-tier teams during their absence from the peak body competition, from South Sydney, the Sydney Roosters, and to most recently, the Melbourne Storm.
There had been on-going bids to resurrect the club in the NRL as either The Bears in Sydney, or as the Central Coast Bears, based at Gosford. However, in April 2025, after initially putting negotiations on hold, the NRL entered negotiations with the Government of Western Australia, and on 8 May 2025, an agreement was reached to admit the Bears into the competition in 2027 as the Perth Bears. The North Sydney Bears are expected to keep their headquarters in Cammeray.