Eels Blogs

Apa Twidle signs with the Bears

Posted by Muttman on April 22, 2026 at 8:11am

Rising Apa Twidle will leave the Parramatta Eels at the end of 2026 after agreeing to a three-year deal with the new Perth Bears (joining in 2027).
The deal is in a cooling-off period, but he’s expected to go ahead with it because the offer is significantly better.
Twidle burst onto the scene with a standout debut (2 tries in 3 minutes), which attracted strong interest from multiple clubs.
Parramatta reportedly only offered a low-value development contract (~$80k), while Perth provided better financial security and opportunity.
A key factor: the Bears are offering him a chance to play in the halves, rather than being used as a utility/backline option.
He becomes one of the early signings helping build the Bears’ inaugural squad under coach Mal Meninga.

Bottom line:
Parramatta unearthed a serious talent, but underpaid and under-positioned him—Perth stepped in with money, role clarity, and long-term security, and likely pinched him.

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- - - - LB > Cʜɪᴇғy Mclovin🐐 - Mark O'neill's 🪓 April 23, 2026 at 12:04pm
        
        Now the difference to Tuivaiti is we've seen him perform in FG consistently and is ear marked to replace Paulo. His path is not blocked.
        
        LB > Cʜɪᴇғy Mclovin🐐 - Mark O'neill's 🪓 April 23, 2026 at 12:07pm
        
        Right, and Ryles doesn't say yes or no? You know Ryles has a say right?
        
        If Ryles badly wanted Twidle, he would have been offered top 30.
        Not saying MON is perfect but come on.
        
        LB > Muttman April 23, 2026 at 12:06pm
        
        $650k for a Centre is for rep level Centre's. Russell, though good, is not rep level. Stop kidding yourselves.
        
        Right so you believe we should have offered Brown $1.4mil? The options were a joke but $1.4mil?
        
        JC > LB April 23, 2026 at 12:46pm
        
        I agree, Russell is nowhere near a $650k player, he is closer to $450k than $650k.
        
        LB > JC April 23, 2026 at 1:45pm
        
        The only Centres that could comfortably garner $650k would be Crichton, Staggs and Herbie.
        
        JC > LB April 23, 2026 at 4:11pm
        
        I would pay herbie $800k, probably more, he is that good, offers as much in attack as the best 6's and 1's and his defence is top 2-3 for a centre.
        
        Casey Mclean is another worth $650k.
        
        Nightmare Off-Season > JC April 23, 2026 at 4:22pm
        
        X2 on Herbie (and McClean).
        
        LB, did Russell get 650k to go to Perth?
        
        EA > JC April 23, 2026 at 4:22pm
        
        I would be happy to pay Herbie that for sure. I rate him more than Crichton.
        
        mongolian trotting duck > LB April 23, 2026 at 5:14pm
        
        they are both on close to a mill
        
        Muttman > LB April 24, 2026 at 8:45am
        
        You're missing the point entirely.
        Our club fucked the Brown contract so badly that everyone involved should have been fired. Brown had options IN HIS FAVOUR. That's the key point. The club stupidly convinced itself that Dylan was all locked up until 2029 when in fact he was already off contract because he had options IN HIS FAVOUR. We told players below him that their paths were blocked. We didn't secure Brown when we had the chance prior to his November window. We naively assumed he was staying. Brown should still be here. He should never have been made available to the market. He should have renegotiated to have his options removed (just like we finally did with Moses after learning the fuck up via Dylan) prior to him being available to talk to other clubs. $1.4m would never have been on the table.