Newcastle skipper Mitchell Pearce dazzles against his former club in classic Knights victory

The Mitchell Pearce Origin talk can be saved for another day. But the former Rooster taking revenge on his former club? There can be no better time to bring that up.

Newcastle's Mitchell Pearce scores a try during the Sydney Roosters v Newcastle Knights NRL match at McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle. Picture: Brett Costello

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Mitchell Pearce for Origin?

Nah, this yarn is a personal one.

Specifically, Pearce versus the Roosters.

The ultimate, err, cockfight.

For on a night when the reigning premiers decided to rest megastar No.7 Cooper Cronk -- and more on that soon enough -- it was Pearcey, the fella exiled to squeeze him into the club, who starred.

Outstanding with Steeden in hand.

Dogged defensively, too.

Alongside Newcastle No.1 Kalyn Ponga, the most dangerous combination outside Smith & Wesson.

Pearce was terrific again for the Knights. AAP Image/Darren Pateman.

And just on Ponga, Pearce rated him afterwards: “The best player I’ve ever seen”.

No small thing considering the players your eyes meet across 12 years, 264 games and seven Origin series.

Still, this is a yarn about Pearce.

So good against the club who let him go, Knights coach Nathan Brown hailed him the game’s most inform player.

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While old coach Trent Robinson not only credited him as the spark for superstar No.1 Ponga, but a Novocastrian revival now stretching five straight victories.

“First game Newcastle won (against Parramatta), Mitchell just wasn’t going to let them loss,” Robinson said. “He bossed the game.

“His side was still out of form but he bossed the game and they won.”

And since?

For five consecutive weeks, Pearce has scored tries.

Orchestrated countless more.

Pearce has scored five weeks in a row. Picture by Brett Costello.

And when scoring on halftime in this one ... well, that most polarising of playmakers grabbed emphatically at the Knights emblem on his jersey.

Asked about the gesture afterwards, Pearce said: “This is my home now.

“I love this place. So that was just a sign of thanks to the fans who have shown me so much love.”

And, sure, given Cronk got the Roosters that NRL premiership in year one, his signing will always be right.

But in this one, Pearcey proved his decision to walk was bang on too.

Remembering that when the Tricolours scored Cronk’s signature, the fella he shafted was told to stay and play utility.

Or maybe dummy-half.

And c’mon Pearcey, think about how much you could learn, right?

About which time, he headed up the F3.

Right now, part of a Knights side on a run of five straight.

Pearce is in some of the best form of his career. Picture by Brett Costello.

“He’s been as dominant as any player in the comp,” Brown said afterwards. “His on-field leadership too is first class.

“Obviously he’s working hard at his off filed stuff and we all acknowledge that. But his on-field stuff, the way he drives the boys and the way they respond to him is first class.

“His commitment to this team is one of the big things that has turned us around.”

So say what you like about the Knights skipper.

Plenty do.

But right now, Pearce is the best performed halfback in the NRL.

Indeed, on a night when his mob started outsiders, the 30-year-old looked every inch a bloke who, coming into this Friday Night Football blockbuster, had polled 12 Dally M points in four weeks.

A stunning haul which, even those of us with a Maths in Practice background realise, is four straight three-pointers.

And, no, it likely won’t be enough to resurrect his Blues career.

But as we said, this yarn is a personal one.

Originally published as Newcastle skipper Mitchell Pearce dazzles against his former club in classic Knights victory