Newcastle Knights have officially granted Mitchell Pearce a release to join Catalans Dragons in the English Super League.
Pearce requested a release from the final year of his contract in October and the Knights have released him effective immediately.
Pearce enjoyed a successful career that spanned 15 seasons, 309 games, a NRL Premiership, and 19 State of Origin appearances for NSW including a series win in 2019.
Pearce debuted for the Sydney Roosters in 2007 at 17 and would go on to play 238 games for the club including two Grand Finals, winning one in 2013 against Manly Warringah Sea Eagles.
He left the Roosters for the Newcastle Knights in 2018 and turned in a memorable debut after kicking the winning field goal in their 19-18 golden point victory over the Sea Eagles.
Signing Pearce helped the Knights climb their way up from three consecutive wooden spoons to playing in back-to-back finals series. Last year marked their first finals appearance since 2013, where they were knocked out by the Roosters just one game short of the NRL Grand Final.
Pearce became one of the youngest State of Origin debutants in history after making his debut for the Blues aged 19 in 2008. After playing through an era of Queensland dominance, Pearce eventually won an Origin series in 2019, where he played a key role in James Tedesco’s iconic series winning try in Game III.
