James Graham says Perth Bears should raid Wigan for talent

Former England international James Graham believes the incoming Perth Bears should aggressively pursue top Super League talent, naming three Wigan Warriors players as prime targets for the 2027 NRL expansion team.

Speaking on The Bye Round Podcast, Graham said the new franchise should use its financial advantage and Australia’s growing appetite for English talent to lure some big stars from the Super League.

“You [have to] exploit the current situation of the Super League,” Graham said on Sunday. “In terms of the dollar that we can offer and the situation that Super League finds itself in, I think no player would be off limits there.

“Even with players under contract, I think that money would talk and every player would be available for a transfer fee which the NRL would be willing to front up and pay.”

With the Perth Bears set to join the NRL in 2027 and a Papua New Guinea-based team currently expected to follow in 2028, the demand for quality players is climbing.

English based players, long courted by NRL clubs, could soon be in even greater demand.

The former St Helens man singled out Wigan’s Junior Nsemba and Harry Smith as two players he thinks would be solid additions to the Bears’ first roster.

The 39-year-old also mentioned former Canterbury Bulldogs forward Luke Thompson, who recently returned to the UK and joined Wigan.

“I’m looking at players like Luke Thompson who came over here and played with the Dogs then went back to England,” Graham said. “That Wigan team that is so successful now, Junior Nsemba who has got a ridiculously long-term deal is somebody that I think we could attract.”

While Aussie co-hosts of the podcast Michael Chammas and Charlie White built a hypothetical Perth lineup using only off-contract NRL players – including marquee names like Herbie Farnworth and Joey Manu – Graham consistently steered the conversation back towards English talent.

“We’ve not really spoke about any Super League players,” he said, “but there are a couple of players I think that they would look to go after and provide them an opportunity to play in the NRL. Players like Nsemba and maybe Harry Smith.”

When Chammas suggested the inclusion of Bevan French, another standout from Wigan, Graham was sceptical: “I don’t know if we could afford him. I don’t think we’d get the Aussies that have gone and done well but I think you could get the English players.”

“You’d probably have to pay them decent money but I think there are some top targets there. You look at a Kai Pearce-Paul who has come over.”

England’s unofficial NRL team

Rugby league journalist, Chammas, pushed the idea of Perth aligning with England, given its ever growing population of British expats.

“I think we [Perth] need to be England’s club,” Chammas said. “We need to sell the 16-hour direct flight to London and we need to pick the best players out of Super League.”

“We know there’s a shortage of players with the expansion and more teams coming in so [they should] have one eye on becoming England’s club.”

Once a head coach is appointed, the Bears are expected to put together a draft roster and will be able to begin official negotiations with players from November 1.

This comes after Perth officially named the clubs chief executive officer on Saturday.