Proud dad Wayne Pearce has heaped praise on son Mitchell on the eve of his 300th NRL game, declaring the Newcastle halfback's career is far from finished and predicting "his best is yet to come."
The 31-year-old playmaker will lead the Knights out on Sunday at McDonald Jones Stadium against his father's old club, Wests Tigers, in front of an expected sell-out crowd, becoming just the 42nd player in history to reach the milestone.
Among the 22,000-plus crowd expected for the game will be Pearce's private entourage of family and friends, including his father Wayne and mother Terri.
A Balmain and Kangaroos legend, Wayne Pearce played 193 top grade games for the Tigers during a decorated playing career spanning 11 seasons from 1980-90 before going on to coach the Tigers.
He says his son is on track to potentially play for two decades at the top.
"I only lasted 11 seasons and yeah, he's 15 and still going strong so he'll go close to doubling my career," Pearce said.
"Mitchell's a different style of player and a more skillful player than I was. And, you know, I personally think the best of him is yet to come."
In a wide-ranging interview for this week's edition of Toohey's News: The Podcast, Pearce opened up about his son's "disappointing" exit from the Roosters, why he chose the Knights over three other Sydney-based NRL clubs who chased his signature and his pride at how well the Knights halfback has owned his off-field mistakes and grown from them.
"There's plenty of hurdles along the way and that's what makes us," Pearce said.
"Mitchell's had setbacks, and yeah, it's whether you are able to negotiate the rough patches, and get back on track and then go on to bigger and better things. That really talks to what character is all about."
LISTEN: Full Wayne Pearce podcast interview
After winning a premiership with the Roosters in 2013, Mitchell was embroiling in controversy after a video of an Australia Day prank surfaced in the media. He was fined $125,000 and suspended for eight games by the NRL. It also cost him the Roosters' captaincy.
He was again in the headlines prior to this season when his wedding to fiance Kristin Scott was called off after the discovery of racy texts to a female Knights staffer.
Asked how he and his wife Terri had handled their son's off-field dramas, Pearce told the Podcast: "Well, I think like any parent would. There will be plenty of parents that are listening to this that have had a bit of grief from their kids at some particular point.
"You just stick by your kids. No-one is perfect. None of us are perfect. And, you know, it's nice to know that there's support there for you if you're prepared to acknowledge that you've made a mistake and you want to grow from that.
"He seems to be a bit of a whipping boy for a lot of media people. Some of the things that were alleged, haven't actually happened or have been blown out of proportion. But the good thing about him is if he has done something that's a bit untoward, he sticks his hand up, he owns the problem and goes about rectifying it."
On his son's treatment and exit from the Roosters after playing 239 NRL games for the club, Pearce said he harbors no grudges.
"There's no problem with any club wanting to go in a different direction. But only a few months earlier, they chased Mitchell to sign for an extra two years and within two or three months of him signing, they start negotiating with Cooper Cronk.
"It just didn't make sense. That was the only thing I was disappointed with. But he had a great time at the Roosters. He learned a lot about the game from some really good coaches there and the club really looked after him."
As for the decision to join the Knights, Pearce revealed it was he who suggested his son make the trip to Newcastle to at least talk to the club following a number of calls he had with former Knights advisor John Quayle.
"There were three other clubs that were interested in signing him and initially, there was a little bit of reluctance to go outside of Sydney," he said.
"But then I said, maybe just go up and have a chat and he was impressed with Browny [ex-coach Nathan Brown] and his philosophy and also Phil [CEO Gardner] and what they were hoping for the club going forward.
"He was very excited in the car on the way back and it pretty much made his mind up. He wanted to go after that one meeting. That excitement remains because he's really glad that he made that decision."
