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Lost in the debate about whether Mitchell Pearce should be the starting halfback for New South Wales has been a more pressing issue.
While I wondered if my article calling Pearce a pretender who should leave directing the team around the park to Todd Carney was perhaps a touch too harsh, he went ahead and reminded me that I have never been so correct about anything in my life.
To put my thinking into some kind of context, it takes a lot to take my mind off yet another insipid performance by the Newcastle Knights at Hunter Stadium.
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Well, kudos to Pearce. Not only did he take my mind off the Newcastle ‘Men in Tights’, he actually gave me a good old-fashioned Mother’s Day laugh.
Having witnessed Pearce score a try at the end of a Friday night game that required absolutely no skill, I figured that maybe he will finally do the job while wearing the sky blue No. 7 jersey. This would be on the proviso that Queensland have no forward dominance, Billy Slater drops bombs with regularity, and we’re already 20 points up with five minutes remaining.
Pearce was obviously so excited about finally contributing something to his team this season that he went on a big night out at Kings Cross.
At Kings Cross, that demure nightspot where nothing ever happens.
Just ask Ricky Ponting, Anthony Minichiello, Mark Gasnier, Todd Carney, Blake Ferguson and David Williams – nothing ever happens at Kings Cross.
So the smarter part of Mitchell Pearce decided to drink himself into a position requiring Police intervention after he apparently became rowdy at a location renowned for violent, drunken behaviour.
A location that has resulted in licensed establishments across Sydney now having to lock patrons out in the early hours of the morning due to alcohol-fuelled violence and fatalities.
Police were only involved for the purpose of asking Mitchell to leave a licensed premises. Given Pearce has previously had troubles involving the words ‘alcohol’ and ‘police’ during those lofty heights of partying that also involved the words ‘Todd’ and ‘Carney’, you would think Mitchell would have left his base and skedaddled.
Apparently not.
Police by all reports asked Pearce to leave, to which he decided that the only way he was leaving was under arrest and after charges had been laid. The police obliged.
Which brings me back to the original question: exactly how stupid is Mitchell Pearce?
Surely 10 days out from the naming of the 2014 Blues side, given he is the one of the few certainties to hear his name, you would think that he would just buy a case and celebrate at home.
He’s instead given haters like me even more ammunition, when our arsenal of weaponry to shoot him down is already bursting at the seams and requiring a second munitions shed.
I have previously had to rely upon how thoughtless he is on the field, but he has added the extra ingredient of being reckless and stupid off it.
If NSW are lucky, they will use this opportunity to put a good halfback in their side – Adam Reynolds, Tyrone Roberts, or even move Jarrod Mullen outside Maloney or Josh Reynolds. Maybe we will have a quality halfback who can kick and pass directing the team for the first time in years.
Pearce’s behaviour off the park is merely symptomatic of the player on the park. He has put himself in a position that puts himself and the game into disrepute.
Losing his place in any league for which side he is available for selection is a no-brainer.
And maybe a bit of time out of the game will make Pearce think about himself for a little. Maybe about where he can improve – starting with his behaviour, and more obviously his game.
The answer to the question, exactly how stupid is Mitchell Pearce, kind of answers itself.
A better question would be: how will Mitchell Pearce respond?
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