NEWCASTLE Knights fans know there will never be another Andrew Johns.
But for a brief period back in 2019, they were entitled to believe that Mitchell Pearce was performing an uncanny impersonation of the eighth Immortal reincarnated.
The Knights started that year in underwhelming fashion, losing five consecutive games after a memorable, season-opening triumph against Cronulla.
Languishing in second-last spot on the competition ladder, pressure was mounting on then coach Nathan Brown and his players as long-suffering supporters queried why a team boosted by off-season recruits David Klemmer, Edrick Lee, Kurt Mann, Hymel Hunt and Jesse Ramien was apparently sliding backwards.
It's in situations like these that great leaders show their true colours.
And as Newcastle captain, Pearce did not shirk his responsibilities.
Over the next six weeks, the Knights beat Parramatta (28-14), the Warriors (36-18), Canterbury (22-10), St George Illawarra (45-12), defending premiers Sydney Roosters (38-12) and South Sydney (20-12), and Pearce was man-of-the-match in all six games.
As coach Brown said at the time: "He's probably been as good as any player in the comp, I'd imagine, and as dominant and as good as any.
"Obviously there's some sides that have got some blokes that are playing well out there, but obviously Pearcey's been quite influential on our team ... the way he drives the boys, and the way they respond to him, is first-class.
"His commitment to the team is one of the big things that's turned us around."
That six-week period will be my main memory of Pearce if, as expected, the Knights confirm in the near future that he has been released to accept a three-year deal with Catalans Dragons in Super League.
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Perhaps the highest compliment I can pay him is that even Joey, at the peak of his powers, could not have played much better than Pearce did midway through 2019.
The former Roosters playmaker was similarly influential when he first arrived in Newcastle a year earlier.
He finished the 2018 campaign just six points behind Dally M gold medal winner Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, despite missing nine games with a ruptured pectoral muscle. In other words, had Pearce stayed injury free that season, he may well have been acknowledged as the NRL's No.1 player.
To put that in context, only two other Knights have ever won the Dally M: Johns (1998, 1999 and 2002) and Danny Buderus (2004), both of whom have since been inducted into rugby league's Hall of Fame.
That's how crucial Pearce has been for the Knights, as both a skipper and a player.
With the benefit of hindsight, however, perhaps Pearce's 2019 heroics were a tipping point in his career.
The six-game winning streak he inspired earned him a recall to the NSW Origin side and, having played in seven series defeats, his joy after helping the Blues win the decider 26-20 was understandable.
But I also wonder if that game was the summit of Pearce's career.
In 2020 and 2021, he steered the Knights into back-to-back finals series, something they had not achieved for 18 years.
But their No.7 did not appear the same irresistible force.
He continued to have an impact - of the 12 games he played last season, Newcastle won eight - but there is only so long a player can keep fending off Father Time.
In certain games last season, in particular Newcastle's season-ending 16-10 loss to Parramatta in the finals, Pearce's performances attracted scrutiny.
He didn't necessarily play badly, but nor was he taking games by the scruff of the neck.
With that in mind, it's not hard to see why Pearce has been tempted to say bon voyage and finish his career in the south of France.
He turns 33 in April and has played in a remarkable 309 first-grade games since debuting for the Roosters in 2007, three weeks before his 18th birthday.
In the process, he has ticked every box except emulating his famous father, Wayne, by wearing the green and gold.
Mitchell's path to the Kangaroos was blocked for most of his career by champions Johnathan Thurston and Cooper Cronk.
Perhaps the closest he came was in 2018, when Australian coach Mal Meninga chose Daly Cherry-Evans for the end-of-season Tests against New Zealand and Tonga, even though Pearce's form that season overshadowed his Manly counterpart's.
Along the way, there have been well-documented off-field incidents that have earned Pearce harsh sanctions and criticism.
It's fair to say that at times Mitchell has been his own worst enemy .... as was the case with Johns, back in the day.
But what I find admirable about Pearce is that whenever he's made mistakes, he's always owned them and accepted the repercussions without complaint.
He might have a reputation as a loose cannon, but I'd be surprised if you could find a teammate with a bad word to say about him.
It might not be until after Mitchell Pearce has left the Knights that fans realise how lucky they were to have him at their club.
