One of Phoenix Crossland’s earliest memories is watching his Dragons win the 2010 NRL grand final.

He was cheering for the Red V. But he couldn’t keep his eyes off the young No.7 running around for the opposition side.

A decade later and 19-year-old Crossland is his idol Mitchell Pearce’s new halves partner at Newcastle.

From being mentored by Andrew Johns’ “teacher” to studying teaching himself, meet the teenager who will get Knights fans off their seats in 2020.

Round 19

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WORKING WITH HIS BOYHOOD IDOL

Crossland first noticed Pearce when the latter was the same age as the former is now.

Pearce was the halfback in a grand final when he was only 21 years old. Crossland was nine by that stage, watching the game from his couch with young eyes glued to the screen... and one player in particular.

“The first time I remember Junior, I was a huge Dragons fan and I remember the 2010 grand final (Dragons vs Roosters). When he was playing the grand final he was one of my favourite players,” Crossland told foxsports.com.au.

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Phoenix Crossland, Kurt Mann, and Mitchell Pearce during a training session. Source: News Corp Australia

“That 2013 season he played was unbelievable, I remember that whole season, and then the 2014 and 2015 Chooks were pretty cool to watch.”

So when Pearce arrived in Newcastle two years ago, pushed out of Bondi by Cooper Cronk’s arrival at the Roosters, Crossland could hardly believe his luck.

Now a talented teenager playing his way through the Knights’ junior grades, Crossland suddenly had the chance to not only meet Pearce, but learn from him.

The senior playmaker took the highly-touted blond-haired youngster under his wing to give him a tuition most kids could only dream of.

“I’ve known Pearcey nearly two years now so I know him well enough, I know how he plays. I’ve been watching him since I was about 10 as well so I know how he plays the game,” Crossland said.

“(Pearce) is awesome, he was a big help last year as well, he was a big reason I got the call-up (for an NRL debut) last year, because he helped me a lot through pre-season. Even when I was playing Cup we sat down and did a bit of video as well.

“This year he’s been great again. We do a lot of video and we just talk about footy.

“He’s a footy head and I’m a footy head, we both love the game, so it’s good having a bloke like that around training that you can talk to for hours.”

MENTORED BY JOEY’S ‘TEACHER’

Allan Bell may not be a household name for rugby league fans, but he certainly should be.

He’s the man credited with mentoring Andrew Johns, Matthew Johns, and now Mitchell Pearce among a host of Newcastle players over the past 20 years.

He claims to have taught Joey - arguably the best player to ever lace up a boot - everything the eighth Immortal now knows about the game.

And 19-year-old Crossland is the latest Knights playmaker to be taken under Bell’s wing.

“Belly likes to say he introduced Andrew Johns to NRL and he taught him everything he knows. Talking to blokes who have helped an Immortal play the game, that’s pretty awesome,” Crossland said.

“Not just footy stuff - he sends clips to me sometimes of Cooper Cronk and some of the greats - but it’s more the mental side of the game which is really good.

“Even Junior (Pearce) says I’m doing well at such a young age to even be aware of how mentally fit you can be as well as physically fit.

“That’s something (Pearce) has started doing just in the last few years, so if I can do that now I’m doing pretty well.”

Pearce always had the talent, achieving a lot in his early football career at the Roosters.

But it wasn’t until he joined Newcastle that the State of Origin halfback began focusing on his mental wellbeing and a taking holistic approach to his sporting life.

Crossland is already the beneficiary of that approach and his career hasn’t even began.

KING OF THE GYM... OR A STITCH-UP?

Knights teammate Kalyn Ponga told foxsports.com.au Crossland is a bit of a beast in the Hunter Stadium gym, tipping the scales at 94 kilograms at one point.

Crossland blushed when that claim was put to him, claiming he’s sitting at about 90 kilograms and saying he may only be stronger than Ponga.

Either way, for a teenager there’s enough beef on his young frame to suggest he won’t look out of place in an NRL defensive line.

“He’s pretty big, he just shot up in the last nine months. He was weighing like 94 kilos for a bit which is huge,” Ponga said.

“He’s good looking, he’s a cool dude. He’s just one of those kids, he’s pretty confident. I like him... I think he’s in a relationship but. He’s just cool.

“It’s not hard to be stronger than me, but on the field and off the field he works hard. He’s always picking brains, especially Pearcey’s which is awesome to see.”

He might already be stronger than Ponga but Crossland wants to learn other things off the star fullback, too.

In fact he plans on picking bits and pieces out of many of his Knights teammates to become a rounded playmaker.

“I want to have a bit of a running game like Kalyn maybe, even like Kurt Mann. Have the pass like Mitchell Pearce. Have a kicking game like Mason Lino,” Crossland said.

“All the halves in this team have different attributes and as a young guy I’m just trying to pick apart every one of them.

“It’s about taking some things out of everyone and put them in my own game.”

LIFE AFTER FOOTY

Crossland should have a big career ahead of him, but he’s also wary of being prepared for life after retirement.

He started studying teaching last year but couldn’t commit properly due to his Knights schedule.

Despite the gruelling year ahead he’s intent on furthering his education away from football.

“I’m trying to do something online like a business course this year, to have that balance in life is good,” he said.

“Hopefully I can get a bit of a platform there for when I finish footy and then see what happens.”