Evers returned to his home rugby union club Emus mid-way through last year’s Blowes Clothing Cup after five-and-a-half years in Germany, where he scored several international rugby league caps. 

He also proved the old Sideshow Bob adage that no-one who speaks German could be bad at football, taking some games by the horns last season. 

Evers said he hadn’t missed league while playing with the Emus and only considered making the switch after an offer from the Bears.

“Blayney gave me a call and asked me if I was interested in making the switch so I tossed it up and thought ‘why not?’,” he said.

“If no-one had showed any interest from the league side I would have happily played for Emus again this year, it’s just the opportunity to try something a little bit different.”

He said he was looking forward to playing under new captain-coach Tim Mortimer and was optimistic the Bears could reverse last year’s form, where they were winless but did pick up a draw against Orange Hawks.

“They struggled a bit last year and me and some of the other boys have signed which is exciting,” he said.

“Hopefully we can come in and get some wins under the belt. It’ll be good to play under someone like Tim, he runs a good structure and knows what he’s talking about and very experienced.”

He will also line up in the halves alongside Orange City’s Keegan Harding, who has also made the switch from union to league to sign with the Bears.

The Bears have also signed Bathurst St Pat’s prop Brady Cheshire. 

“It should be good, should be a good challenge ... different sport to what I played last year, but I really enjoyed league over in Germany,” he said.

Evers said he was expecting to play in his natural position in the halves and said he could possibly slot into fullback, but is doubtful he’d change tack too drastically. 

He also said he was looking forward to entering a team full of new faces.

“I’ve played against Keegan Harding who’ll probably play in the halves with me, he’s a good player with good ball skills and good footwork,” he said.

“I’ve heard of a few of the guys and seen them play before …  it’s all new faces.”

Evers said his experience in Germany should help playing with different styles of players and structures and switching it up a little. 

“I’m looking forward to it, hopefully we can knock a few of the bigger teams off and sneak under the radar a little bit,” he said.

“I’m not really sure [what to expect], pretty open going into it to see how it pans out and just hoping I can play a role in getting a few wins.”

Pre-season starts mid-January and Evers said he was excited and would be ready, despite admitting he’d spent a lot of time on the couch over Christmas.