Mitchell Pearce must be banned from Origin

No Dr Yes, you are wrong. In the Salem witch hunt trials, if you were ACCUSED of being a witch you were tied to a chair and then dipped in the river. If you lived, then it proved that you were a witch and you were burnt at the stake. If you drowned then you were obviously innocent and your family was free to take your body away and bury you in the church grounds – some justice. In the Ben Te'o case, he was ACCUSED of striking Katie Lewis at the home of former Brisbane team mate Corey Norman but Queensland police and the NRL Integrity Unit CLEARED him of any wrongdoing. As a New South Welshman I'm not all that concerned with what the QRL feels is an acceptable level of behaviour from their players but the fact remains, he wasn't charged with any wrongdoing, ergo - no crime, no punishment. Mitchell Pearce on the other hand was ARRESTED and taken to Kings Cross police station where he was given an INFRINGEMENT NOTICE for failing to leave a licensed premises. As I said, I'd like to see the NRL Integrity Unit (NRLIU) penalise him for bringing the game into disrepute by not allowing him to play game 1. I'm not calling for the end of his football career. If this was his one and only drink of the year, why the hell did he choose to do it two weeks out from Origin and what possessed him ti think it a good idea to hit the Cross after he'd been ejected from the Clovelly Hotel. If these young blokes these days can't keep themselves in check then perhaps they need babysitters.

"I’m not suggesting that the NRL use the old Salem witch trials justice system where they tied accused witches to a chair and dipped them in the river" Actually, that IS what you're suggesting, given you can't find anything of significance he could be charged with. Just as the police found. Justice is about making the penalty match the crime. Pearce's crime was (a) tapping a girl for attention (or nearly doing so), which could be considered pestering, but happens dozens of times per night in any busy night club and (b) not leaving when originally asked to. Compare that to the incident where Ben Teo and another Qld player brought a very drunk girl back to a private room, where she obtained severe bruising to the face - and he then played Origin a few weeks later. Next you'll say Pearce should be banned from the game for visiting the Cross - on his one and only drink of the year. Which would be ridiculous. $20K + a one game ban is already over-the-top for Pearce.

I can never understand how people can say that when they haven't actually seen Reynolds or Hodgkinson play and given the same opportunities as Pearce in the Origin arena. While he may be a good first grader he has not performed at Origin level. You say his kicking game us the only area lacking but the problem is that is a fundamental skill for his position and crucial at Origin. How many times have we seen Cronk or Thurston relieve pressure with a great kick when Qld are under pressure. Secondly it's also not true, Pearce' passing was crap throwing fwd passes and his creativity and organising skills are also lacking with poor options at times.

Great comeback there Chappy.

Chappy - All aspects, bar his kicking game are far greater than any other NSW 7 and this is why he is in the team.As a Roosters supporter i would be happy if no Chooks make the team but this won't happen.It doesn't bother me to read opinions like yours but i can't cop the garbage the Pearce haters dish up.Bottom line is it's cowardly, cruel and unnecessary.

Spot on Chappy.Pearce is fine player but simply lacks the skills associated with top halfbacks. His kicking game is mediocre at best, and for every time he hits a runner in a hole, he delivers about 4 hospital passes. As for his drunken acts, I think the punishment he has copped is sufficient.

I like to wonder, in this situation. What would Mal do? Would the big mon accept his gun half back out on the rantan a few weeks before Origin is due to start? We all know young Mitchell isn't very popular with the punters, his club form is a bit iffy, depending on who you listen to. But the simple fact is that we are 8 nil down going into the first game, and he seems to take it all so casually. Where's his pride? For that matter where is the pride and passion of the selectors? To pick young Mitchell under these circumstances is wrong and it wouldn't happen under Mals watch. That is one reason we are down 8 zip.

The truth is Muzz, he has some talent. But those 4 Rooster forwards you named are the best hole runners in the game. No other forward in the Nrl except for Ryan Hoffman hit holes as good as those forwards. And yes Pearce can pass a flat ball and defend really well, but that's as far as he's talents go. He can't think off the top of his head, execute under pressure or build pressure with a great kicking game. That's the truth, you and Lozza and Bob Fulton need to accept it and move on. Not try to find a 5/8 who can do his own job and Pearce's so NSW can win a series.

Well you got that one wrong,Chappy.Have a look at last years stats.He's the one putting Cordner, SBW , Guerra, Aubusson through holes not the other way round as you have suggested and does more organising than Maloney.This is one part of his game that he excels in.How many Roosters games did you watch last year? Take the time to have a look at some highlights.

Agreed. While Pearce was an idiot and should've gone home once the Cloey punted him, I think this is a wild opinion

Muzz, I put Mitch Pearce grand final win in the same category as Shane Perry from Brisbane's 2006 grand final win. A mediocre player, with minimal skills, surrounded by Class Origin and International players and a great 5/8 who does all the organizing and kicking in the red zone.

haha improved? really ? 41 miss tackles this season. 3rd highest in the league.

You just made my point for me J Barrett, the article you point to is dated 19 Mar 2011. Gees Louise, mate.......couldn't you find something more recent, there have probably been a hundred newspaper stories on NRL boys behaving badly in the three years since that article was written. Really not a good example to prove your point that the AFL guys play up as much as their NRL counterparts.

Muzz, you are fighting a losing battle...the pitchforks are out. He's only just turned 25....he'll get another crack at some point.

You obviously only read your own articles from the Roar !!! New AFL season follows a tabloid summer By Roger Vaughan, 19 Mar 2011 Have your say A summer of tabloid fodder has given the AFL a torrid opening to one of the most important years in their history. The image of the game has taken a belting through the off-season, courtesy mainly of a technologically-savvy teenager with an almighty grudge. The AFL and St Kilda must wish that once the Ricky Nixon saga is resolved, Cyclone Kim will start losing its destructive power. Kim Duthie caused uproar late last year when she released explicit photographs of nude and semi-nude Saints players. It was her retaliation after her affair with a St Kilda player had gone sour. Then came the stunning revelation in February that Nixon, a prominent player agent, had self-confessed “inappropriate dealings” with the teenager. The players association has suspended Nixon’s accreditation as an agent, but is yet to decide what action to take against him. The verdict against Nixon was handed down on the day of the official season launch and completely overshadowed that event. Now Nixon has a week to respond, meaning the saga could well play out until March 24 – the day of the season opener between Carlton and Richmond. It’s another potential PR nightmare for the AFL. Given the game’s constant front-page discomfort over the last few months, it would also be bizarrely appropriate. Brendan Fevola’s sad decline has been the other ongoing saga through summer. Brisbane sacked the two-time Coleman Medallist for off-field misbehaviour and he spent 66 days in a rehabilitation clinic. Fevola wants to try a comeback through the VFL, but he now cannot even play poker in a casino without attracting controversy. Such drama is magnified because the AFL is so big – and poised this year to become even more of an Australian sporting monolith. “I say this most years, but this is a bloody busy year,” AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou said at a March media briefing. The league will welcome the Gold Coast Suns as its 17th team this season and is preparing Greater Western Sydney for their 2012 debut. The two expansion teams are a six-year, $220 million project to broaden the league’s popularity in the northern states. Parallel to expansion, the AFL will soon finalise the new broadcast rights deal and this should be worth more than $1 billion. From that will flow a new collective bargaining agreement with the players and the vital financial distributions from the AFL to clubs. It will also be a big year for the game itself, with the league introducing the controversial substitute rule to curb the use of the interchange bench as a tactical weapon. Magnifying the constant pressure on the senior coaches, nearly half of them will be out of contract at the end of the season. Three-time premiership coach Mick Malthouse is scheduled to hand over to Nathan Buckley in Collingwood’s succession plan, although that deal is a magnet for speculation and debate. Adelaide have taken the steam out of any speculation about Neil Craig by making him a member of staff. But that leaves Brisbane’s Michael Voss, Carlton’s Brett Ratten, Gold Coast’s Guy McKenna, Hawthorn’s Alastair Clarkson, Melbourne’s Dean Bailey and Rodney Eade of the Western Bulldogs. All need successful seasons to retain their jobs. History says there is no way they will all be at their current clubs by this time next year. Premiers Collingwood deservedly start the season as favourites and will surely finish in the top four. St Kilda are coming off a wretched off-season which also featured the club suspension of four players for misbehaviour during a New Zealand training camp. But Ross Lyon’s Saints, runners-up for the last two seasons, remain a potent team. They can still win the flag. The coaching debuts of James Hird at Essendon, Chris Scott at Geelong and John Longmire at Sydney will be fascinating, plus no-one quite knows how the Gary Ablett-captained Suns will perform in their debut season. But after all the sordid topics of the off-season, the footy cannot start quickly enough !

Did it eat you up when he won a premiership last year?? Oh wait ............Halfback does nothing at club level but but but but is the most important player in SOO.I think,maybe. Is that another one of your double standards?????

he loved hes alcohol father john cotes.

If it was a player actually deserving of selection e.g. Gallen farah or hayne I would not want to see them banned from origin for such a minor offence. Having said that I'm happy to apply a double standard to Pearce as he should not be in the team on form or ability. Whether they drop him on form, which is fair enough, or they drop him for this incident, which probably isn't fair, I'll be happy regardless. As long as he's not in the team

I wasn't saying they DON'T have incidents in AFL The Barry, that's the last thing I'd do. We all know AFL player get up to no good also, I just hate that it happens far more frequently in the NRL. I love my rugby league and that's why I'm disappointed when it's in the news so often for the wrong reasons. I think you and others have missed the whole point of my article. It wasn't as much about Mitchell Pearce as much as it was the Integrity Unit, he just happened to be the "man of the moment" in the whole thing. At any given time it could have been anyone of a number of footballers who have found themselves in trouble over the past few years. I just think that they are a sinecure. They suspend a young under 20 player for 2 games for calling someone 'gay' and take no action over a bloke who twice in one night had to be escorted from licence premises and the second time charged by police. Where's the scales of justice in that?

As indiscretions go this was hardly crime of the century stuff. It was dumb but an integrity ban is just as dumb. If Daley wants to drop Pearce because of form or even because he wants to set a standard within the team then fine but there's no need to ban him for what happened on saturday. AFL has more than it's share of player misbehaviour. The comparison is ridiculous and childish. Regardless of whether the author knew about the Greene incident or not when he wrote the article, his point that AFL players are better behaved than NRL players was proven wrong within 24 hours.