This was published 6 years ago
Mitchell Pearce out to write new chapter for Sydney Roosters in NRL semi-finals
By Chris Barrett
During Josh Dugan and Blake Ferguson's now notorious trip to the Lennox Point Hotel during State of Origin camp, about the only reading material on offer for the pair was the form guide. That daily tome wasn't, however, what every member of Laurie Daley's squad had their heads buried in when the Blues were away this winter.
Mitchell Pearce had a different kind of work occupying his attention during downtime when he wasn't in the gym, on the training paddock or going over the NSW game plan at their north-coast base in Kingscliff this year.
Deepak Chopra's The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success made enough of an impression on him that he tipped Blues front-rower David Klemmer into it as well.
Among its notable passages is this: "The past is history, the future is a mystery, and this moment is a gift. That is why this moment is called 'the present'."
Kicking on: Mitchell Pearce is intent on the Roosters going all the way this season.Credit: AAP
Pearce could easily let the past haunt him. Setbacks, he's had a few. The off-field drama and the stumbling blocks on it, notably as halfback of a state team that has been on the wrong end of a historic period of Origin domination.
Yet here he still is, the general of a Sydney Roosters side entering the semi-finals against the Brisbane Broncos at Allianz Stadium on Friday night, believing another premiership is in their sights.
He is not the first athlete to turn to spiritual and new-age guru Chopra to tackle the mind games of sport. Former Test cricket all-rounder Shane Watson, for instance, became a devotee of transcendental meditation late in his career, after reading another of the Indian author's books.
Pearce hasn't gone to those lengths. Like Watson, he's not one to ram his interest in a subject down anyone's throat. He doesn't volunteer it during an interview with Fairfax Media ahead of the Broncos clash this week, and even when it is raised he answers casually.
"I do read a few books like that," Pearce says. "I've always liked reading, I just enjoy it."
It's not that you'll find Pearce roaming the corridors of the fiction section at Waverley library – there is "no Roald Dahl, or anything like that" on his bedside table, he laughs.
But in a professional arena where everyone is endeavouring to be at their very best and trying to gain even the slightest jump on a rival, he has found another avenue.
"It's the same as everyone when they read. I just [try to] pick up a bit of an edge, try and learn a bit more, as much as you can," he says.
"I'm not there every night, but every now and then I enjoy reading just to calm my mind."
After the Roosters' thoroughly underwhelming season in 2016, it wasn't only Pearce conducting a bit of soul-searching. Having been minor premiers in the three previous years, including their title-winning season of 2013, Trent Robinson's team landed with a thud, with only six wins.
But while other powerful clubs of this decade, such as South Sydney and Manly, have experienced declines and found them difficult to arrest, it turns out the Roosters' bad year was a one-off. It may have also sown the seeds for their tilt at a third grand final appearance in eight seasons.
"It obviously wasn't the plan. You don't want it to happen," Pearce says. "But in hindsight, I think maybe sometimes it gives you more motivation going into the pre-season. We're always motivated, there is always a good culture here of training hard and pushing to win the comp.
"But I think after you lose, we had a great pre-season this year, everyone has got a point to prove. There is no doubt that adds to your motivation and last year probably added fuel to the fire."
The result, to this point, is qualifying for the finals behind Melbourne Storm, despite the fact their performances approaching September have not been entirely convincing.
Pearce, whose own form has not been what it was before the Origin series, saw their scratchy last-start win over Gold Coast Titans as "unacceptable", admitting silly penalties and forced passes had been "the story of the year even though we finished second".
There is optimism, however, for two reasons. One is that when they have been in a hole, they haven't resorted to running around like, well, headless chooks, and have been able to clinically close out matches. The other is that they have risen for big games such as their round-25 victory over Cronulla and the thriller against the Storm a fortnight earlier.
"That's the good thing. The Melbourne game, the Cronulla game ... there were still a few errors, but we've been playing well against the top-four sides. You'd be a bit worried if you weren't playing well against them," Pearce says. "The one thing about this team [is] we're making a few errors and we're quite ill-disciplined at times, but we still get the results, we still get the job done. We've been doing that for a long time as a club.
"This season we finished second and every time we play those top-four sides we go in there totally confident. We know we've got the team to win the comp and there is a lot of belief. We're ready to roll against the Broncos and whoever comes after that."