Perth given local power in long-awaited NRL return

Their arrival will headline the league's biggest expansion period since the mid-1990s, with Papua New Guinea already confirmed for the 2028 season.

The news will be met with joy on both sides of the country, ending North Sydney's 25 years out of the game following their doomed merger with Manly in 2000.

For rugby league fans in Perth, the wait has been equally as agonising.

First brought into the competition in 1995, the Perth Reds were victims of the Super League war and one of the first to go upon the unification of the NRL in 1998.

The state's return was first put back on the cards in 2007 when they entered the third-tier Ron Massey Cup, before several expansion pushes in the past 13 years.

Twice in the past nine months the hopes of expansion were put on the backburner, when negotiations broke down with a consortium and the WA government.

But Thursday's announcement will confirm details around the Bears' entry, with the team expected to play the majority of home games out of HBF Park.

"We've secured a new WA NRL club for Western Australia!" Premier Roger Cook said in a statement on Wednesday.

"This is a great day for sports fans and a great day for the WA economy.

"Perth will now join Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne as cities that host both NRL and AFL sides, and I'd back us to compete just as hard at NRL as we do at AFL.

"So, now let's get behind our new NRL side as we put the 'national' in NRL!"

It's understood the NRL have agreed to have a West Australian to be the first chair of the club, while the seven-person board will comprise of at least three locals.

That board will make key decisions around club management and the appointment of a maiden coach, who will begin signing players from November.

Brad Arthur is already the favourite for the job, while Sam Burgess has also shown his interest and has high-profile support.

The NRL will hold the license for at least the first five years, before the Bears transition into a member-owned model.