After reports emerged that playmaker Mitchell Pearce will leave his current club the Catalans Dragons at the end of the season, there has been an update on his future.
With his future unknown, there has been plenty of speculation on where Mitchell Pearce will end up next year.
News Corp understands that Pearce is likely to retire instead of re-joining the NRL next season as he will be available on the open market as a player. However, this will not rule him out of working in a potential coaching job, whether as an advisor or assistant coach.
Earlier this season, Sydney Roosters head coach Trent Robinson previously stated that Pearce could eventually find himself back at the club in some capacity, if not in a playing role.
"He is obviously a lifelong Rooster and we are obviously supporting him from afar. Catalans are playing good footy. They are on a bit of a roll over there with lots of ex-Roosters," Robinson said.
"He will be back at the Roosters doing something at some point, so we are looking forward to that when he is done at the Catalans."
Pearce played the first 238 games of his career for the Sydney Roosters before going past the 300 NRL game mark with the Newcastle Knights in a four-season stint. The halfback would ultimately request a release to move around overseas at the end of the 2021 season to join the Catalans Dragons in the Super League.
He would also appear in 19 State of Origin matches for New South Wales but never represented Australia in an era that included Johnathan Thurston and Cooper Cronk.
Earlier this season he was linked with a move to the Sydney Roosters and Wests Tigers, having confessed interest in a return back to the NRL.
“I'm still open (to coming back), I'll wait and see what happens.” Pearce told SEN 1170 Breakfast at the beginning of May.
“Obviously (I'm) getting older so you get to appreciate every season you playing at this stage, you enjoy it, I still feel like I've got some footy in me, I'm committed fully to this season and I'll see what happens after that.”
News Corp has also reported that the Roosters were always planning to leave a free spot on their top 30 roster for Pearce just in case he wanted a farewell swan song back at the Roosters and in the NRL. While he wouldn't have been the primary halfback at the club, there was a plan in place to use him coming off the interchange bench.