Roosters coach Trent Robinson is under pressure to produce, writes Paul Kent

MITCHELL Pearce must wear blame for the Roosters’ loss to Souths but it’s coach Trent Robinson under pressure to produce. Live blog with PAUL KENT at 1pm.

Daily Telegraph Sport Columnist Paul Kent

OVERLOOKED in the post mortem of Sunday’s loss was the man in the corner, Mitchell Pearce.

Pearce walked into the dressing room and, as his teammates slumped with the effort of their exertion, he revealed the other cost of his Australia Day party.

Pearce carried the weight of the loss and rightly so.

He wears blame for the Roosters’ performance and the realisation that, suddenly, this Roosters outfit is vastly different from previous editions. At a time when every man is needed he has ruled himself out through his own actions.

Oh come on, the cynics sneer. No player is good enough to turn around a 32-point deficit all alone and if he is then surely his name is Johnathan Thurston and not Mitchell Pearce.

The Roosters got beaten in every facet they care to measure and several others they can’t. Souths had loads more enthusiasm, for instance, and hit much harder in defence.

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If Pearce was there it could have been different, though.

There was a moment early when Jackson Hastings, filling in for Pearce, rolled the ball in-goal and it went dead and the Rabbitohs took the tap and rolled upfield and scored and seemingly had the ball for the next 10 minutes.

Roosters Mitchell Pearce watches on against the Rabbitohs. Pic Brett Costello

By the time the Roosters drew breath it was 26-0.

Pearce has one of the longest kicks in the game and would have at least given the ball back to the Rabbitohs in poor ball territory.

That right there, better field position, might have changed events significantly.

Instead, the Rabbitohs came at them early with what they call good ball and dominated until the contest was gone.

This is the unacknowledged cost when players go rogue.

For all the conversation about the extent of what Pearce did, about his punishment and extent of remorse, the cost to his teammates is dear.

At a time when the club was trying to find a second playmaker following the departure of James Maloney, he left them without an established playmaker at all.

At a time when senior players Jared Waerea-Hargreaves and Boyd Cordner were sidelined with injury, he left them with one less.

At a time when the Roosters find themselves in a different place than in previous seasons, with plenty of young players in need of plenty of coaching, he left his team without the calm voice to lead.

Can anyone imagine Thurston doing this to his teammates? Or Cameron Smith?

For reasons nobody knows, though, the hard conversation is rarely held among teammates.

His Roosters teammates are disappointed he has left them a quality player short but have said nothing.

It is slightly strange given there is always such an emphasis on culture at every club and honesty and accountability are the cornerstone of any good culture.

Maybe they assume he just knows.

Pearce spoke to Robinson after the game and called him again on Monday. He clearly understands how his absence has affected the team.

Yet Robinson won’t use his absence as an excuse.

“If you make excuses to relieve pressure in the moment,” he says, “you won’t get what you want long term.”

And he knows the job ahead, long term.

There is some hard coaching to be done at the Roosters this season and the pressure is on Robinson to produce.

Round one revealed that.

They are not the same team as previous seasons.

Forget a fourth straight minor premiership, they are in a battle for the top eight.

Mitchell Pearce at Sydney Airport after his stint in rehabilitation in Thailand. Picture Gregg Porteous

So a lot depends on their start to the season and without Pearce even the top four will be difficult. And, so far, history shows you can’t win the title from outside the top four.

The Roosters’ sudden vulnerability has focused jealous eyes on Robinson, wondering how he will coach a team somewhat less than star-studded than what he is used to.

The size of the job will not scare him, though.

While Robinson did inherit a dream roster to begin his NRL career his pedigree is assembling spare part teams. He did it previously at the Roosters and Knights with Brian Smith and then as a head coach at Catalans.

Pearce’s absence just complicates the job.