MARK ‘SPUDD’ CARROLL: Peter V’landys is determined to make the Perth Bears NRL team work

West Australians will learn the hard way that Peter V’landys punches hardest when he suffers the first blow.

And when he strikes, you end up with a bloody nose.

Those questioning his ability to turn the Perth Bears into an immediate force when they enter the NRL in the 2027 have obviously been living under a rock.

Or perhaps it’s the fact WA is a few hours behind the rest of the country that the locals are a bit slow to cotton on.

No one is suggesting the Bears will dominate the sporting landscape in the west.

It is clearly AFL territory and the Dockers and Eagles are the biggest shows in town despite being fairly average on-field.

But V’landys will relish the challenge of taking on Australian Rules on its own turf.

As he said at the launch of the Perth Bears: “We’re going to take some of their lunch and we eat a lot.”

PVL loves to bite off more than he can chew before devouring the whole lot.

Let’s take the game to Las Vegas?

Won’t work, they said.

Let’s set up a club in Papua New Guinea?

Can’t be done, they said.

Let’s revive the North Sydney Bears, give WA a team to call its own and take on the AFL at the same time.

You’re wasting your time, the prophets of doom are saying.

V’landys doesn’t listen to doubters.

When he’s under-estimated or told he can’t make the impossible possible, that’s when he’s at his most dangerous.

Just look at how he’s turned Australia’s horseracing industry on its head, positioning Sydney as the go-to destination over Melbourne.

PVL is an autocratic leader.

He doesn’t get paralysed by consensus or bogged down by think tanks and focus groups.

The way he goes about things reminds me a bit of Donald Trump, albeit with a better grasp on reality and greater approval ratings than the American President.

V’landys takes advice from those he trusts and respects, but a lot of his decisions are based on a gut feel and a genuine desire for the sport of rugby league to reach its true potential.

That’s why he’s keen to take up the fight to the AFL.

V’landys won’t cop the line that Aussie rules is the biggest game in the land when he boasts viewing figures that show rugby league is way out in front.

State of Origin is arguably the biggest annual event in Australian sport and rugby league has never been so healthy on the international front.

They are two areas which the AFL has tried and failed.

So, the anti-Perth Bears contingent can keep throwing all the punches they like.

They will soon learn this is PVL’s world and we’re just living in it.