Perth have signed Canberra toiler Morgan Smithies, but a marquee foundation player continues to prove elusive for the NRL’s 18th team. Smithies has inked a three-year deal and becomes the fourth Englishman to join the Bears for their return to the competition in Western Australia next year. “The opportunity to make history and be a part of the Perth Bears was too good to refuse,” Smithies said in a statement. Smithies played 114 games for English side Wigan before his 67 at the Raiders and featured for England in last year’s Ashes series loss. He joins Penrith premiership winners Liam Henry and Scott Sorensen in Perth’s inaugural forward pack, with Canterbury’s Josh Curran shaping as another key man.