NSW Blues halfback Mitchell Pearce is wiser and more mature and ready to raise the bar in Origin I

MITCHELL Pearce has a new found maturity that is set to see him have a big impact for NSW in State of Origin I.

"I'VE been selfish. I was self-centred, always worrying about myself. You get to a point in your career when you realise you can either plateau out and float around, or you can have the courage to step up and go to the next level. It's a harder school than people think - but that is where I want to be. There's only a handful of players who have done it."

That's Mitchell Pearce speaking this week, a few days into preparations for an Origin series that will define his career as a player but could also enlighten us about how far he's come as a man.

They're all saying it. How he's matured. He's grown up. They will tell you how he's buying furniture for his new place in Neutral Bay. Artwork, too.

Stop the press: he's even cleaned out his car.

"You would never get in his car because it was that filthy," jokes one of his Roosters teammates. "Now, it's clean."

It was always going to happen at some stage: Mitchell Pearce just grew up.

"Everyone says that I've matured and they are right," Pearce, 24, says. "My mum and sister, and my girl. And my dad."

Contrast this with the same period a year ago when the NSW halfback was splashed all over the papers with paparazzi images of him leaving nightclubs and getting into cars with Pussycat Dolls and Playboy covergirls.

It is raw ground that Pearce does not want to revisit in detail, not least because he has reunited with his long-time girlfriend Phoebe Carpenter. He credits her as much as anyone for his turnaround and newfound maturity.He knows one thing, though: he did not break team curfews or rules and bring a female into NSW camp in the lead-up to the second game of last year's series, as reported.

Mitchell Pearce

"That was bullshit," he says, although he does admit he barely resembles the person who has been spearheading the Roosters' renaissance this season.

"I don't know what I was thinking," Pearce says. "It was a weird year. I'm not proud of it. I broke up with my girlfriend at the time, but I'm back with her now. It's something I don't like talking about. It was pretty embarrassing for everyone."

Young blokes can do whatever they want, and Ricky Stuart never questioned Pearce's Origin preparations, but that period opened his eyes to the fact he's in control of the attention he attracts.

"A hundred per cent it did. I don't know what I was thinking. I was selfish, on the piss and not realising the position I was in."That said, Pearce doesn't believe he has an issue with alcohol. It just gets in the way sometimes.

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"I stayed off it for a while before and after Christmas," he says. "I'm not against alcohol. I don't think that's the problem. Far from it. I love a beer, and having a good time. But it's about having a balance."Given the steep trajectory of his playing career, simplicity and balance is something Pearce has struggled to find.

He turned 24 last month but is presently in the middle of his seventh season. In that time, he has lost a grand final, felt the pain of the wooden spoon, and made his Origin debut at the age of 19.

"I said he was too young at the time," says his father and former NSW captain Wayne. "He definitely went okay (in 2008), but a 19-year-old halfback being thrown into that environment and that much pressure was a pretty big call. It shows a bit of character from him to come back to where he is today."

Roosters coach Trent Robinson puts it this way: "Most guys get a period in lower grades to work out their best game. As a young halfback, Junior has had to carry teams straight away. He's had to learn on the hardest stage. But this is the calmest I've seen him. I feel really confident that he's ready for this series."

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In no small part, Robinson is the reason.

There was a synergy between the pair when Robinson was an assistant to coach Brian Smith in 2010, and it has only strengthened since he replaced Smith at the end of last year.Pearce is too respectful to criticise Smith, or even declare a personality clash had the potential to force him out of the Roosters.

"I felt sorry for Smithy, the way it all ended up," he says. "I didn't like how everything was in the media (about our relationship). I was never quoted in those stories."

Ask him if their relationship was a poisonous as many believed, he says: "It wasn't that bad, but we were sweet. It was one of those things that gets a bit of air and everyone jumps on top of it. There were a lot of different opinions around the club. Things are happier now, but that's nothing against Smithy. I'd like to see him back coaching in the NRL."

That said, there was a potential breaking point between Smith and Pearce that followed Origin II last year.

The Blues won game two - not least because of Pearce's performance - and shortly after the halfback turned up to a medical at his club with alcohol on his breath.

Smith ripped him to shreds. Pearce was in the wrong, but some considered it an overreaction.

We will never really know how close Pearce went to leaving, but after the Roosters board terminated Smith's contract late last year and installed Robinson, the prodigal son re-signed for four more seasons.

That's when chairman/godfather Nick Politis told him this: "I want you to break Ricko's record." In other words, surpass Luke Ricketson's record of 301 matches for the Tricolours. Pearce has played 141, and some would argue the best of them have come this season.

James Maloney arrived at the club a year later than hoped but at precisely the right time in Pearce's development as a playmaker.

Apart from declaring Pearce as the Blues halfback early to infuse him with confidence, NSW coach Laurie Daley opted for his clubmate at five-eighth to ensure there is more quality than quantity against the Queenslanders.

"It wasn't our intention for Mitch to play less, but we saw a good balance there between the half and five-eighth," Robinson says. "The kicking has changed. They're equal in their amount of kicks this season, but there's also a shared role in the running of the team as well."

Doubtless, if NSW fail, Maloney will be sharing the avalanche of criticism directed at the halves. Then again, nobody cops it in the neck like the halfback.

With the possible exception of when Pearce's boyhood idol Andrew Johns played, there is no tougher jumper to fill out than the sky blue No.7 jumper.

"It would be nice to have everyone's support," he says, before cracking up with laughter.

Then he gets serious.

"It hurts when you're getting hammered," he continues. "That's my biggest weakness that I need to change: caring too much what people think of me. That's a part of maturing.

"Last year, it wasn't the best feeling. I'm not na adive. I know you're going to get lined up if you don't win it. I understand the criticism. What hurts is when you are getting hammered and you feel like you're doing the right things.

"People can be ruthless. It annoys me when it's from people who don't understand what goes into it.

"But if you're on the big stage, that's how it is. Unless you win, and dominate, you have to expect that. I realise that now. I'm not going to win this series and hate on everyone who bags me. I just want to be content in myself."

That is Mitchell Pearce speaking. The one who just grew up.