The Perth Bears are reportedly eyeing Tyson Smoothy after the Broncos premiership winner asked new club Wakefield Trinity for an early release from his contract. Smoothy helped Brisbane win the NRL premiership in 2025 before signing a three-year deal with Wakefield in the English Super League.
However the 26-year-old is keen to return to Australia for family reasons and has asked Wakefield to release him from the second and third years of his contract (2027 and 2028). The Daily Telegraph is now reporting that Mal Meninga’s Perth Bears are keen to snap him up if he gets his release.
Tyson Smoothy (L) is reportedly in he sights of Mal Meninga’s Perth Bears (R). Image: Getty
(Getty)
It’s unlikely that Brisbane would have an appetite to bring Smoothy back considering they’ve already res-signed Cory Paix and have young guns Blake Mozer and Cameron Bukowski waiting in the wings. A valuable utility man, Smoothy can play hooker and back-row and played a ‘Mr Fix-It’ role for Brisbane on their march to the premiership last year.
At one point he ended up playing in the halves when the Broncos lost Adam Reynolds, Ezra Mam and Ben Hunt to injuries. He’d be a valuable addition to Meninga’s team for their inaugural season in 2027, capable of playing a number of positions.
Tyran Wishart has reportedly been signed to play hooker, but could switch to the halves if Smoothy joins. The Bears are reportedly set to sign Souths No.7 Jamie Humphreys and have already landed Toby Sexton.
Tyson Smoothy (R) in action for Wakefield Trinity.
(Lee Parker – CameraSport)Wakefield coach speaks on Tyson Smoothy’s future
Wakefield coach Daryl Powell admitted this week he was unsure what Smoothy’s future looks like. “He had some family stuff for our last game with his little one, and I won’t expand on that,” Powell told BBC Radio Leeds. “I think Tyson’s settled and he’ll be here for the season.
“Whether he’s here after that, we’ll talk about that further down the track. But he’s here for the rest of the year, he’s pretty settled, he’s enjoying his time at the club, but we’ll see where that goes down the track.”
Smoothy has played 11 games for Wakefield this year, scoring three tries. He played 42 for the Broncos from 2023 to 2025 after making his NRL debut with the Melbourne Storm in 2021.