NOVEMBER 21 2017 - 5:30PM Rugby League: Knights prepare $1 million-plus play for Mitchell Pearce
MITCHELL Pearce will become the Newcastle Knights first million dollar man if the club manages to entice the former Roosters’ Origin star out of Sydney.
Little more than 24 hours after Pearce was granted a release from the Roosters, the Knights met with his management on Tuesday to ascertain if the NSW Blues halfback is genuinely interested in a move to Newcastle.
The carrot – a million dollar plus payday, a change of lifestyle and the opportunity to take ownership of a young team on the rise in the NRL without the immediate pressure of leading them to a premiership.
But none of Newcastle’s rivals for his signature will be able to match the Knights’ financial clout.
Pearce was on $800,000 a season at the Roosters but third party agreements saw him pocket closer to $1 million.
He could potentially earn more than that at the Knights.
The club is believed to have a touch over $2 million left in the salary cap for next season with suggestions a $1.1 million a season deal for Pearce is not out of the question.
“He would be looking at a $1 million offer or even a bit more than that from the Knights,” one source said. “It’s unlikely any other club will be able to match those sorts of dollars. But as with all the players the club has spoken to since Nathan Brown became coach, Pearce will have to show he genuinely wants to come to Newcastle for the right reasons if negotiations are to go anywhere.”
For his part, Brown was giving little away on Tuesday when asked about the Knights chances of snaring Pearce.
“It’s no secret we are very interested in him and would like an opportunity to meet with him face to face,”he said.
“He is definitely a marquee player who would tick a lot of boxes for us.
“But what his plans are or what he is thinking I honestly don’t know.”
Knights recruits Shaun Kenny-Dowall, Aidan Guerra and Connor Watson, former teammates of Pearce, have all been in the halfback’s ear over the past few weeks, singing the praises of the club and the city.
Knights legend Matthew Johns, who played a part in enticing North Queensland gun Kayln Ponga to take a leap of faith at the Knights, has also had a number of private conversations with Pearce, spelling out the advantages that a move to Newcastle would bring.
Johns was reluctant to divulge what he and Pearce have privately spoken about but he didn’t hold back on his thoughts on Triple M radio on Tuesday.
“I’d love him to go to Newcastle – I just know how good it would be for Mitchell,” he told his Triple M Grill Team listeners.
“When you start winning up there, it is unbelievable. On top of that, Newcastle will pay him very well and the city will embrace him.
“To actually sign at a club like Newcastle where everyone watches and says what a difference he will make, I think people will go ‘good on you mate’.”
