https://www.newcastleherald.com.au/...ts-premiership-win-not-exit-strategy/?cs=2503
Knights captain Mitchell Pearce says he has no plans to leave Newcastle and wants to extend his stay at the club
A bemused Mitchell Pearce says he has no idea where the rumours of doubts overs his future in Newcastle have come from and is adamant his sole focus remains on winning a premiership with the Knights.
The Knights skipper has found himself at the centre of widespread speculation over the past fortnight, firstly linking him to a supposed player swap deal involving Mitchell Moses at Parramatta before it was suggested he could find himself back at his old club Sydney Roosters either next season or in 2022.
All of it, according to Pearce, is news to him.
"I'm as surprised as anyone about what's getting around out there," Pearce told the Newcastle Herald. "I can honestly say none of it is coming from me. I know absolutely nothing about it.
"I haven't spoken to anyone at the Roosters. I haven't spoken to anyone at all. I'm contracted here at the Knights for next season and I'm a couple of weeks into just enjoying a break from it all with Kristin [fiance] and that's where it's at."
Pearce 31, will next season enter the final year of a four-year-deal worth close to $1 million a season that he signed with the Knights at the end of 2017.
While there has been talk for quite some time of the club's intention to extend that deal beyond 2021 for potentially another season or two, Pearce confirmed there have been no negotiations in that regard.
The uncertainty over just what the salary cap will look like going forward is one of the reasons for that along with Pearce's up-and-down form this year, which mirrored that of the team to a large extent.
There has also been speculation about what sort of a pay-cut Pearce will have to take if he extends his deal.
He has spoken to coach Adam O'Brien, who is a strong supporter of his skipper, in the past week about his future in light of all the rumours and says there are no issues.
Asked about talk of an extension, Pearce said: "I've had open conversations with the club and we'll chat again over the break. We've only just got through the season."
"As it stands at the moment, I'm contracted for another year and I love the place. I'd love to extend here and I've never said anything different. I want to win a comp here.
"From day one, that's been the goal. I came here originally for the challenge of doing exactly that. I can honestly say, absolutely nothing has changed."
Pearce admitted he was feeling the pinch at the back-end of the season after a long and tough year. With the loss of a number of recognised hookers to injury and no stable partner in the halves, he took much of the playmaking workload on himself to the point where at times, he was guilty of doing too much and trying too hard.
"I played every game this year without a rest and definitely felt like I played a bit tired at the back-end of the year but I thought that was probably the same with the team as a whole," he said.
"With the injuries, the travel and being in the bubble, it was a pretty tough year. But the body feels good and I still love it. I still love playing and I love the competitive side of it 100 percent. I'm already looking forward to next year.
"There's no question we've got to make some improvements. As a whole, I don't think our attack really flowed like it could have but that was probably partly to do with the injuries and also the amount of work Adz [coach Adam O'Brien] and the coaching staff put into getting our defence right.
"I've been playing for 15 years but there is stuff there I need to keep working on and as a team, we need to keep working on and getting better at. It's not just one thing.
"There are a fair few things in attack we can tinker with and get better at. Adz has some plans for us in that regard. We just need to keep evolving, keep improving and I'm sure we will."
# Newcastle Knights have officially announced the re-signing of utility star Connor Watson on a one-year deal for 2021
