Phil Gould suggests Mitchell Pearce needs to get professional help to get his life back on track
PHIL Gould helped save Johnathan Thurston. Now he has this message for the Roosters and Mitchell Pearce: Get him off the grog and get professional help.
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PHIL Gould helped save Johnathan Thurston from the sack as Cowboys captain. Now he has this message for the Roosters and Mitchell Pearce: Get him off the grog and get professional help.
Speaking exclusively to The Daily Telegraph, the man Thurston credits for turning him from a troubled tearaway into one of the greatest and most respected players of all-time delivered his verdict on what should happen to the disgraced Roosters co-captain.
Gould also revealed how he had reached out to Pearce’s father Wayne to offer support and advice.
While a 69 per cent majority of 21,000-plus NRL fans who voted on The Daily Telegraph’s online poll want Pearce kicked out of the game, Gould was adamant the length of the suspension was irrelevant.
“There is a lot of comment (about how long the penalty should be),” Gould said.
“He would be very embarrassed by it. Right at the moment he would be feeling as though his world has caved in and he has got to have people around him to pick that up.
“As to what the future holds and whether or not football plays a part of that, certainly he has to consider whether or not alcohol plays a part in it, and his ability to handle alcohol.
“But it is all part of his process now to get beyond this. You have to put him on a program. I have been down this road a number of times.
“Sometimes football is part of the rehabilitation, sometimes it’s not. He is probably at the point where he has to be denied some privilege. But how long is a piece of string.
“Do you really think it is going to make a difference if it is six weeks or a year or whatever? It is not my club, he is not my player.
“(But) I feel for him. I sent a message to Wayne saying I felt sorry for the family. And I hope someone is with (Mitchell) and I hope someone is looking after him and I hope someone is talking to him and saying it is not the end of the world and he can move on from this and be a better person.”
Gould also questioned why some players were still out partying in the early hours of the morning after a club sanctioned afternoon cruise.
“I get frustrated by the situation that led to it,” he added.
“This is at 1.30 in the morning. What were they doing all day prior to this that led to that? At what point could they have pulled out of it and made a good day of it and not made a mess of it?”
Asked what responsibility the club played, Gould did not point the finger directly at the club but delivered a warning to every NRL player.
“You can’t be with them 24 hours a day. That is the frustrating part, they keep finding themselves in this position,” he said.
“The other part of it is he is not in a public place and he is not out there belting (someone). I don’t want to go down that path but it is just frustrating that this kid is exposed (by someone recording the incident).
“But you constantly say to players your life is on camera. You can’t complain about your intrusion into your space because it is there, that is the climate.
“You dress for the climate. You have to be conscious of it the whole time. That is what I mean about controlling the environment you are in. That is what we all have to earn.”
Thurston makes no secret that the advice Gould gave in 2010 helped turn his life around. Gould said it was not too late for Pearce to make changes.
“He can bounce back from this,” Gould said.
“He has got a long way to go in life. That is the important part. He will be disappointed and embarrassed by this.
“You have to look after him first at the moment. But then you have to get him on the track so that he can resurrect himself.”
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