Five and a kick: Hasler's pain game, RTS is a choke point and why Souths should give Demetriou a month
Anzac Round is done and another NRL touchpoint is ticked off amid the onward march of the 2024 season. It helps to see things…
Mitchell Pearce admits he loves the challenge of going up against Adam Reynolds – and Cooper Cronk, Daly Cherry-Evans, Kieran Foran, Johnathan Thurston and Todd Carney.
Much has been made of the Pearce-Reynolds match-up when the Sydney Roosters take on South Sydney on Friday night in the NRL minor premiership decider, but not so much for the jumper they will wear this week.
Reynolds is seen as the heir apparent to Pearce as the NSW State of Origin No.7, with speculation after this year’s eighth straight series defeat to Queensland that it was time for the Blues to head in a different direction.
The rivals have been lavish in the praise of each other leading into their ANZ Stadium clash – Pearce admitting Reynolds was just one of many opponents he looked forward to going up against.
“To be honest, the talk about me and him doesn’t motivate me too much but I get motivated playing whoever you’re playing each week,” Pearce said.
“As a half, whether it’s Cooper Cronk, Kieran Foran, (Johnathan) Thurston, whoever you’re playing who are class players, you want to try and get over them each game.
“I suppose that’s why we play at this level because you’re competitive.
“They’re (Reynolds and John Sutton) a great combination.
“Adam Reynolds has been playing great all year, his kicking game. If we’re not switched on, his kicking game can really kill us on Friday night.”
Asked about this week’s meeting being an early indicator for Origin I in 2014, Pearce said: “It’s obviously a long time out from that but Adam’s been playing great; he’s been playing as good as any half in the comp.
“He’s a big player that we need to stop this week as well as a number of others in their team.”
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