Catalan Dragons star Mitchell Pearce has refused to rule out a possible return to the NRL before he calls time on his career.
The former Sydney Rooster and Newcastle Knights made a shock deflection to the English Super League over the off-season, joining the Southern French-based Dragons, where he replaced James Maloney, who had moved to the club two years earlier.
Maloney, who is now playing Tier 1 rugby league in France, was a big part of the reason Pearce took the move across the world, with the Newcastle Knights eventually providing him a release despite not being able to find a replacement from outside the club.
The club now have Adam Clune and Jake Clifford steering them around in the halves, with a shock Round 1 win in the bank over the Roosters themselves.
But Pearce, who has begun his time successfully in the Super League, guiding the Dragons to four wins from their first five games and scoring three tries in those matches, has told SEN Radio that he "hasn't shut the door on anything."
“Look, I haven’t shut the door on anything,” Pearce said.
“If you had of asked me six months ago whether I’d be in the south of France I wouldn’t have even imagined that.
“At the moment I’m 100 per cent committed to the Dragons, I’ve got a two-year contract with a third-year option.
“I’m really hungry to win a trophy here with the boys, that’s where my focus is.
“But who knows? I’m not going to shut anything off completely.”
Pearce played 309 NRL games - 238 at the Roosters and 71 at the Knights - between 2007 and 2021 before linking up with Catalan. He also represented New South Wales 19 times in the State of Origin arena.
