Knights are standing by Pearce

Newcastle hafback Mitchell Pearce isn’t going anywhere, according to his coach

Newcastle coach Adam O’Brien spoke to Mitchell Pearce on several occasions this week. His message? We’re in this together.

Pearce’s future has been the subject of endless speculation since Weekend Read revealed last week that the Knights were facing a big call over his contract.

We also revealed rumours that a player swap had been discussed — it later emerged that the other player at the centre of the rumours was Eels half Mitchell Moses.

Weekend Read chose not to mention Moses because we were assured the rumours were off the mark, something O’Brien confirmed during his discussions with Pearce this week.

Instead, O’Brien says the Knights will sit down with their captain at some point over the off-season to discuss an extension to his existing deal.

Pearce has one year to run on a lucrative contract that is due to pay him more than $1m in 2021.

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Chances are he will need to take a pay cut, but O’Brien is committed to his No.7 — and the feeling is reciprocated.

“The club is going to sit down with him — he is sorting his wedding out for the end of the year and when he gets back, I am sure we will sort something out,” O’Brien said. “I don’t want him to leave. I am happy with him. A lot of things happened this year that affected Mitchell more than anyone else.

“We had a lot of changes with our spine. I get it — halfbacks usually cop the brunt of it all — but I am happy with him and I don’t want him to go.”

Asked about statistics which suggest Pearce’s year was one of his worst for a decade, O’Brien said: “The statistics can be blown out of proportion.

“A lot of his missed tackles were at the other end of the field when he was coming out of the line looking to inspire the team.

“When there are constant changes to the team, and because he is so influential to the way we play, they send a lot of traffic at him.

“It doesn’t take a genius to try to take energy out of Junior (Pearce). The thing I was happy with him about all year was that he tried his backside off every week.”

“Put it this way, there are no swap deals and I am not looking to move Mitchell on.”

O’Brien was certainly caught off guard by the Moses swap rumours. So were Parramatta, because Moses remains firmly part of the Eels’ plans.

He was under the gun for a dip in form as Parramatta departed the finals last weekend, but what isn’t known is that he has been carrying multiple injuries through the latter stages of the season.

The most significant was a calf problem that restricted his ability to run the ball. Moses needs a good rest over the off-season.

On that front, he and Pearce are in sync.

Lodge is worth the risk

There is every chance Matt Lodge will be somewhere other than the Brisbane Broncos next season. Broncos coach Kevin Walters is undertaking a cleanout and Lodge appears to be on the chopping block, even if it means Brisbane have to pick up a large chunk of his salary for the next four seasons.

The easy option is to portray Lodge as the villain in all this. Some people have long memories and they will never forget the incident in New York five years ago that resulted in Lodge spending a night in Rikers Island prison.

For two years, he was prevented from playing in the NRL. Lodge has spent the ensuing years atoning for that mistake. He has barely touched a drop of alcohol since.

He is now married with two young children. He has done endless work in the community and become a leader at the Broncos. He has done everything he can to change people’s opinions of him.

For some, it doesn’t matter. They read about a player who apparently challenges authority and is now unlikely to be part of the new world under Walters. It fits the narrative of a player who, in the eyes of many, will always be judged by his past.

That view would be selling Lodge short. If there is a criticism of the Brisbane prop, it is that he takes the losses too hard. That he cares too much. Former coach Anthony Seibold was so convinced by Lodge he wanted to make him captain. He saw a player who could unite a dressing room split between older players and the younger generation.

He saw someone who went out of his way to help teammates.

When one player was struggling for cash and comfort in Brisbane, Lodge let him stay with him and his family. Another struggling player was also welcomed under Lodge’s roof and shown what it takes to become a first-grader.

Last month, Lodge posted images after undergoing surgery to repair a leg injury that troubled him all season. He returned early from a partially torn ACL and promptly tore his meniscus. He returned and played one game against South Sydney but the pain was too great.

Scans subsequently revealed he had been training for months on a fractured tibia. Lodge ignored the pain because he wanted to get back on the field and help a side that was struggling more than at any point in the club’s history.

Does that sound like the actions of a selfish footballer? Sure, on occasions he has asked questions about the way things are done. But it’s no different to Cameron Smith or Sam Burgess.

They want to see the reason behind the rhyme. Lodge isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. When Walters got the job, the sense was that Lodge would pay the price.

Walters is close to former teammate Gorden Tallis. Tallis and Lodge are sworn enemies. Walters wants to conduct a clean-out and Lodge appears on his way out. He will find a new home somewhere in the NRL. Brisbane’s loss will be another’s gain.

Origin’s golf battle

NSW will spend part of their State of Origin campaign at Magenta Shores on the NSW Central Coast, a resort renowned for being home to a world-class golf course.

The issue for Blues players is that they may not be able to use it. The Queensland squad is expected to be based at a resort on the Gold Coast, most likely at a venue that also is home to a golf course.

The restrictions north of the border are much stricter than those in NSW and as it stands golf may be out of the equation. The NRL wants the playing field to be level for both states.

If the Maroons are prevented from playing golf, there is a view that NSW should be as well. That would be heartbreaking for many of the Blues players, who are already agitating for some clarity on whether to pack their golf clubs.

“My preference is that they would be able to (play golf) given we have cases under control,” biosecurity expert associate professor David Heslop said.

“It hasn’t come up as a specific question, whether NSW, if they had that access, what would it mean for Queensland.

“If we can manage that from a biosecurity perspective, I don’t have a concern with that. It really comes down to what is fair and equitable for the teams.

“In the (Project) Apollo protocols, the principle is we’ve always tried to keep things equitable.”

Axe v the Tomahawk

Before they were opponents, Melbourne fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen and Canberra hooker Tom Starling were teammates.

The Hills District under-8s were quite the side and played a part in educating two of the stars of the finals series. Weekend Read has tracked down the end-of-year report from the team and the brief description of Papenhuyzen and Starling suggests they were bound for stardom at a young age.

Starling went by the nickname “The Tomahawk”.

“If my history is right the Indians used a tomahawk to scalp their victims,” it said of Starling.

“Our ‘Tomahawk’ scalped quite a few himself. In attack Tommy was our dummy half and was always there to distribute the ball quickly and was an expert at the dummy open and run blind on the last tackle. Trained hard, loved his footy and was an inspiration to watch and coach.”

As for Papenhuyzen, he was nicknamed “The Axe” for his “Gillmeister-style tackles”. Even at the age of eight, he was a flyer.

“Possesses great acceleration and speed, a great step and aggressive leg drive when in the tackle,” the report said. “Was one of our leading try scorers throughout the year and a go-to man when we were in trouble.”

More than a decade later, Starling and Papenhuyzen met in a preliminary final to decide which one would play in the grand final.
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