New NRL club Perth Bears are continuing to build for their debut season next year by signing a fifth Test player.
Polish-born England international Mikolaj Oledzki has been signed to a three-year deal.
Born in Gdansk, Poland, he has played 199 first class games for Featherstone Rovers, Bradford Bulls and Leeds Rhinos in the English Super League.
The 27-year-old migrated to England when he was nine and played nine times for England, most recently in the 2025 Ashes series.
Bears coach Mal Meninga describes Oledzki as a “dynamic” prop.
“I’ve admired his game for a long time,” he says.
Oledzki is the third England Test player to sign with the Bears; he joins Rhinos teammates Harry Newman and James McDonnell in its 30-strong squad.
“It’s been an ambition of mine to test myself in the NRL, and I am delighted to have the opportunity,” Oldezki told the NRL’s website (www.nrl.com).
“The roster is starting to take shape. It’s exciting to think about playing in front of our fans in Perth (but) most of all, I’m excited about the opportunity to bring my family to Western Australia.”
Bears General Manager of Football David Sharpe says his signing adds more firepower to a forward pack that already boasts three Test players.
“Mik is a devastating ball runner and exceptional defender …,” he says.
Sharpe also announced the launch of an academy in WA this month and other initiatives with the North Sydney Bears and the Brisbane Tigers.
OTHER SIGNINGS
The Bears earlier announced two other signings: NSW Origin and Tongan Test player Siosifa Talakai and NZ Test player Scott Sorensen.
Talakai, 28, signed for three years and played 133 games for South Sydney and Cronulla as well as two games for NSW in Origin and for Tonga in the Rugby League World Cup.
“Sifa is a dynamic player that will provide us a real X factor in both attack and defence,” Meninga says.
“He always punches through the line and has a fantastic off load. He also offers us versatility with the ability to play out wide in the centres and in the middle.”
Talakai says the chance to relocate his family to Perth and the chance to become a club’s foundation player were the main reasons for becoming a Bear.
“Perth is the perfect place to raise a family …,” Talakai says.
• New Zealand Test player Sorensen, 32, joins the club on a two-year deal and has won four NRL titles with Penrith among his 139-game career.
“Scott is a natural leader who had great success at club and international level,” Meninga says.
“He has great skill with the ball and really sets the tone with his defence. Above all, Scott is a selfless person who other players want to play with.”
Sorensen is looking forward to playing in Perth.
“Perth is a fantastic city. My wife is from Perth so I know there is a lot of excitement
about the Bears coming into competition from people in Western Australia.”
Other signings include Luke Laulili, James McDonnell, Chris Vea’ila, Tyran Wishart, Nick Meaney, Josh Curran, Sean Russell, Liam Henry, Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui, Tanzanian-born Emarly Bitungane, Luke Smith, Toby Sexton and Harry Newman.
PERTH CLUB BOOSTS CODE
The NRL also claims junior rugby league registrations across WA have skyrocketed due to the new club.
It says new NRL WA figures show player registrations rose 23% in the 13-15 years age bracket year-on-year for the 2026 season; overall numbers for 6-18 year-old players rose 17% with total registrations (including adults) up 9%.
The NRL WA says three new clubs will boost their competition to a total of nine clubs this season: Kwinana Titans, Kalamunda Bulldogs and Ellenbrook Rabbitohs.
NRL WA General Manager John Sackson says the Bears launch has had a marked impact on rugby league in the state.
“We were always confident that the introduction of a Perth NRL team would generate greater interest and engagement in our sport and trigger significant growth in participation,” he told nrl.com.
“The Perth Bears have to provide these young players a pathway to the NRL and it’ll be great to have our first WA-born player putting on the red-and-black jersey.”
The WACA will serve as the Bears ‘den’ in 2027 with the WA Government to spend $12.9 million on upgrading the ground.
OTHER BEARS NEWS: Perth gets 18th NRL club
