Feb 21st, 2017

Feb 21st, 2017

NSW rugby league great Andrew Johns has endorsed Mitchell Pearce's return to the State of Origin arena, describing him as a changed player and man.

The former Sydney Roosters captain was axed from Laurie Daley's line up last year after serving an eight-game suspension for his Australia Day meltdown.

Johns reserved praise for Adam Reynolds and Penrith captain Matt Moylan who stepped up into the Blues' halves in Pearce's absence last year.

With neither having established a mortgage on the position, it leaves the door open for Pearce should he have a terrific start to the NRL season.

"I'd love to see him back," Johns said at the NSWRL season launch.

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"He's in a really good place at the moment.

"He's at that age between 26 and 30, as a halfback, that's a light bulb time in your life when you start to understand the game and the game starts to slow down."

Daley stressed that while he would be loyal to his incumbents, 2017 shaped as his most difficult year at the selection table and he had three or four contenders for some positions.

Johns last year joined the Roosters as a consultant and has worked closely with Pearce over the past 12 months.

Pearce has never guided NSW to a series victory, having made his debut as a 19-year-old in 2008 and been overlooked in the Blues' drought-breaking campaign in 2014.

Johns said Pearce had been unfairly maligned after being thrown into the Origin arena too early.

He said he was in a good space in his life after a testing 2016 and ready to take his game to a new level in 2017.

"He's in the public eye so everything he does, people see," Johns said.

"It was a tough time in his life. But I think if you talk to Mitchell, he learnt a lot about himself. He's bounced back."

©AAP2017