Knights general manager of football Danny Buderus expects halfback Mitchell Pearce to remain at the club, but his future as captain appears doubtful.
While Pearce wasn’t present when Newcastle resumed pre-season training after the Christmas break on Monday, the off-contract 31-year-old’s name was a hot topic following a recent off-field incident.
Buderus said it was “a private matter between two parties” and declined to go into great detail. Pearce was reportedly caught texting a female club employee whose partner has friends in the NRL squad.
“I think Mitchell will be a player in 2021 at the Newcastle Knights. At this stage, there’s nothing for us to say he won’t be a part of us in 2021,” Buderus said after confirming the club want to keep Pearce.
However, the latest drama could mean Pearce’s time as skipper – a position he has held since moving from the Roosters in 2018 – is over.
“For several months we’ve been addressing and looking at our leadership model within the club,” Buderus said.
“[Coach] Adam O’Brien’s a big believer in strong leadership, group leadership, and we need to hone down into that and work it out. We’re still to really finalise those decisions and which way we’re going to go with the leadership. We’re going to take our time and roll it out.
“But we have got some good candidates for leadership within that group. That will be for Adam and his team, more importantly, to work out which way that captaincy will go.”
Source: NRL.com