Wedding crasher: Pearce’s flirty text fallout poised to continue
MITCHELL Pearce’s captaincy position at the Newcastle Knights is under review following revelations of an inappropriate text message exchange with a young female club employee that led to the cancellation of his wedding.
Chief executive Phil Gardner and coach Adam O’Brien are known to be bitterly disappointed by his actions in the week leading up to Christmas and just days before his marriage.
Up to 150 guests had been invited to Pearce’s wedding to fiancee Kristin Scott in Byron Bay on Tuesday. The guests were only notified last Wednesday that the wedding was off and were scrambling over the weekend to cancel accommodation and flights.
Pearce said coronavirus restrictions were to blame for the cancellation but News Corp revealed over the weekend the 31-year-old halfback had opened up to teammates after being caught out in a text message scandal that involved a young female employee of the Knights.
He and his partner spent Christmas apart with their families.
The issue has now put his captaincy and long-term future at the club in a shaky position. Especially at an outfit with so much young talent merging in the likes of Bradman Best and Tex Hoy.
The Knights are now looking at other options, although there are no standout contenders.
Superstar fullback Kalyn Ponga is at least 12 months away from taking on such a role. Front-rowers Dave Klemmer and Daniel Saifiti are the club’s most experienced rep players but don’t have standout leadership claims.
A Newcastle Knights source said: “The club is crying out for better leadership. This doesn’t help us because the coach has worked hard to lift standards over the last 12 months.”
Pearce now has a long history of stuffing up and being caught out with inappropriate actions.