Coach Trent Robinson believes Mitchell Pearce will one day return to the Sydney Roosters but has denied rumours it will be as a player next season.
The 12th-placed Roosters have struggled for attacking spark this season, with a shortage of playmaking options doing them no favours.
A knee injury has prevented Sam Walker returning to the side after the halfback was dropped in April.
Robinson has long been a fan of carrying a utility on his bench to offer extra punch in attack, with Connor Watson, Drew Hutchison and Mitch Aubusson among those to have assumed the role.
Reports emerged earlier this month Pearce could be lured back from French Super League side Catalans in a similar capacity, with the 34-year-old previously telling SEN he was open to a move back to the NRL.
Mitchell Pearce. (Matt King/Getty Images)
Pearce played 238 games for the Roosters between 2007 and 2017, including the 2013 premiership victory, but Robinson put paid to an immediate return to the league.
“There’s no truth to that,” he said.
“He’s a lifelong Rooster … (but) the Catalans are playing good footy, they’re on a bit of a roll over there.
“He’ll be back at the Roosters doing something at some point. We’re looking forward to that when he’s done at the Catalans.”
Walker is out of his leg brace and closing in on an NRL return after little more than a month out of action.
The 21-year-old is in the process of strengthening his injured knee and has resumed running at training.
Robinson does not yet have a timeline on the player’s return.
“What form (the comeback) takes, I haven’t thought about that yet,” Robinson said.
“But once he’s ready to go, he’ll be in.
“We’ve had lots of discussions over the last couple of months. We’re looking forward to getting him right and then getting him back in there.”
Meanwhile, NSW captain James Tedesco insists the State of Origin series will not deal a hammer blow to the Sydney Roosters’ sputtering season, claiming the NRL side may improve without him on deck.
In Robinson’s 11 seasons at the helm, only once have the Roosters entered the Origin period with a worse record than the 5-6 they posted ahead of the first game in this year’s series.
The Roosters have lost four of their past fives matches, with points difficult to come by in that time.
In three of those games, the Tricolours have been restricted to only one try – each of those scored when the result was already beyond doubt.
On the occasions their attack has fired this season, it has been Tedesco pulling the strings.
The fullback was man-of-the-match in a tight win over Canterbury in round 14 and bagged two tries in the Roosters’ previous game, a two-point loss to St George Illawarra.
But Tedesco and in-form prop Lindsay Collins both miss Saturday’s clash against Newcastle, who took it up to top-four hopefuls Brisbane last week.
The Knights will only miss Tyson Frizell to Origin duty and with a win could push the Roosters to as low as 14th on the NRL ladder.
Trent Robinson. (Photo by Mark Evans/Getty Images)
Tedesco and Collins will be in and out of training for the three weeks after the Knights match as Origin put demands on their time.
But Tedesco rejected suggestions his absence would push the Roosters further behind their NRL rivals.
“We know we’re not at the standard we want to be,” he told AAP on Friday.
“Our connection and working for each other as a team has just not been there. It’s disappointing because we’re halfway through the year and that’s still the result.
“But the boys lift when I’m not there, to be honest.
“Jared (Waerea-Hargreaves) and (Luke) Keary especially, they’ll be co-captains and they like that responsibility. Everyone knows we’ve got to lift.”
The Roosters are gambling on rookie Sandon Smith to help direct traffic from the halves as Sam Walker nears the end of his recovery from a knee injury.
Robinson has also shifted Nat Butcher to the middle to cover for Collins and recalled Naufahu Whyte for his ninth NRL game.
Robinson is looking for the positives amid the Origin-enforced changes. “You enjoy these weeks,” he said.
“A lot of those guys, they’re in Origin for a reason and they do lead the way. But this is where you find the other guys, often the future guys, that are going to do it at the back end of the year or next year.”
© AAP
Reckon you can pick the winning team? Build your own dream team with Draftstars daily fantasy and compete on any match. For great odds on the NRL head on over to PlayUp. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.
Gus Gould was fined $20,000 for his rant on Nine's '100% Footy', pointing out how 'stupid' some of the rule interpretations were in the…
It was a chaotic start to the game with Izack Tago binned, then Jai Arrow ten minutes later.
Michael Cheika has thrown his hat into the ring for the South Sydney job, engaging an Australian based agent to hep him land a…
All the team list information for Round 9.
Wallabies fly-half Carter Gordon is reportedly flirting over the fence with two NRL clubs - the Gold Coast Titans and Melbourne Storm. The 23-year-old…
Souths CEO Blake Solly explained why Jason Demetriou was sacked, stating they needed a coach that was more directive. Sam Burgess reportedly had a…
