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MITCHELL Pearce has broken his silence about suggestions he wanted out of the Sydney Roosters at the end of last year and confirmed his commitment to the club.
After a superb second season in the NRL, when he was handed a NSW jumper, Pearce was crowned the Roosters' player of the year.
But his joy ride was brought to a sudden halt amid suggestions he had held secret talks with premiers Manly last October.
"I remember reading it at the time and just thinking, 'where has this come from?' It was just rubbish,'' Pearce said.
"I hadn't said anything like that. I love the Roosters and I'm thankful for the opportunity they've given me. I'd like to stay around.
"At the moment, I just want to start the year well and I suppose all the other stuff will fall into place.''
Suggestions emerged that Pearce wanted out of the Roosters after he had a chance meeting with former Manly sponsor Robert Melhem, who is a friend of his manager Mike Newton.
"I was with my manager at the time and he said g'day to one of his mates and that was it,'' Pearce said.
"Somehow it got turned into that I wanted out of the club and wanted to go to Manly.
"Freddy (Brad Fittler) asked me if it was true and I just told him it wasn't. I've never spoken to them and I'm not unhappy at the club, I love the Roosters.''
On the field, Pearce's passing and kicking skills were enough to get him fast-tracked into the NSW halfback hotseat last year.
This season, Pearce plans to try to run the football more as his game develops.
The 19-year-old has worked closely with Matthew Johns and Roosters coach Fittler to ensure his game continues to evolve.
"I'd like to improve my running game a little bit more, but none of that happens unless we're all working well as a team,'' Pearce said.
"Freddy has spoken to me about making a few less tackles and trying to save myself a bit more for attack,'' he said.
"I've been working with Matty Johns. We've been doing a lot more ball work and concentrating on trying to run better lines,'' he added.
Fittler confirmed asking Pearce about the rumours surrounding Manly and the supposed meeting.
"I asked him if there was anything in it and he said 'no', so I just left it at that,'' Fittler said.
"I trust him, he's not the type of bloke who would tell you a lie. He hasn't got that in his character.''
On the representative front, Pearce wants to keep his feet on the ground.
After being catapulted into the State of Origin arena for the series decider last year, the Roosters halfback says that he wants to focus solely on club football to start the year.
"The biggest thing I learned was after the Origin period when at the Roosters we started to struggle as a team,'' Pearce said.
"We dropped off a bit.
"That's something we want to try and fix this season, being more consistent at the back end of the year,'' he added.
"The whole year was great experience so hopefully I can learn from it and improve again.''
MITCHELL Pearce has broken his silence about suggestions he wanted out of the Sydney Roosters at the end of last year and confirmed his commitment to the club.
After a superb second season in the NRL, when he was handed a NSW jumper, Pearce was crowned the Roosters' player of the year.
But his joy ride was brought to a sudden halt amid suggestions he had held secret talks with premiers Manly last October.
"I remember reading it at the time and just thinking, 'where has this come from?' It was just rubbish,'' Pearce said.
"I hadn't said anything like that. I love the Roosters and I'm thankful for the opportunity they've given me. I'd like to stay around.
"At the moment, I just want to start the year well and I suppose all the other stuff will fall into place.''
Suggestions emerged that Pearce wanted out of the Roosters after he had a chance meeting with former Manly sponsor Robert Melhem, who is a friend of his manager Mike Newton.
"I was with my manager at the time and he said g'day to one of his mates and that was it,'' Pearce said.
"Somehow it got turned into that I wanted out of the club and wanted to go to Manly.
"Freddy (Brad Fittler) asked me if it was true and I just told him it wasn't. I've never spoken to them and I'm not unhappy at the club, I love the Roosters.''
On the field, Pearce's passing and kicking skills were enough to get him fast-tracked into the NSW halfback hotseat last year.
This season, Pearce plans to try to run the football more as his game develops.
The 19-year-old has worked closely with Matthew Johns and Roosters coach Fittler to ensure his game continues to evolve.
"I'd like to improve my running game a little bit more, but none of that happens unless we're all working well as a team,'' Pearce said.
"Freddy has spoken to me about making a few less tackles and trying to save myself a bit more for attack,'' he said.
"I've been working with Matty Johns. We've been doing a lot more ball work and concentrating on trying to run better lines,'' he added.
Fittler confirmed asking Pearce about the rumours surrounding Manly and the supposed meeting.
"I asked him if there was anything in it and he said 'no', so I just left it at that,'' Fittler said.
"I trust him, he's not the type of bloke who would tell you a lie. He hasn't got that in his character.''
On the representative front, Pearce wants to keep his feet on the ground.
After being catapulted into the State of Origin arena for the series decider last year, the Roosters halfback says that he wants to focus solely on club football to start the year.
"The biggest thing I learned was after the Origin period when at the Roosters we started to struggle as a team,'' Pearce said.
"We dropped off a bit.
"That's something we want to try and fix this season, being more consistent at the back end of the year,'' he added.
"The whole year was great experience so hopefully I can learn from it and improve again.''
Well that's good. Those idiots at school can no longer go on and on to me about it. Just don't get them onto that subject," Mitch Pearce is going to Manly!" "Manly went to see Mitch Pearce and said," Let's talk money!" and Pearce said," I'm listening, I'm interested"" "Next season Mitch Pearce wil be holding Manly's premiership cup up!" "Mitch Pearce has always loved Manly!"
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