Departing Knight Mitchell Pearce says returning to Australia to take on a coaching role is something he’s considering.
Pearce earlier this week stunned the rugby league world by taking up an offer with French club Catalans in the Super League after 15 years in the NRL.
Joining the club on a two-year deal, there’s every chance the 32-year-old may now have played his final game in the NRL.
Asked about one day returning to Australia in a coaching capacity, Pearce said it’s something he’s “passionate about”.
“It’s definitely something you start to consider,” Pearce told 2GB’s Wide World of Sports radio.
“I definitely think I could offer something in and around halves coaching or assistant coaching roles.
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“That’s definitely something I’d be passionate about, no doubt.
“Going over to France, part of the appeal is going over there and winning the competition … another part of it also is the off-field stuff — new culture and new opportunities to open up to.
“I might go over there and find some new passions I didn’t know I had in me.
“Footy will always be passion. Coaching and all of that stuff, I’m never going to lose my love for rugby league.”
Pearce, who made his debut in 2007, leaves the NRL having played 309 games between the Roosters and Knights.
He won a premiership with the Roosters in 2013 and represented the NSW Blues on 19 occasions.
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“At the end of the day, it was my decision … I weighed up all options,” he said.
“It was a really tough decision but I needed to go somewhere that I was going to be mentally and physically 100 per cent and France was the best option for me.
“I’m not someone who gives up and walks away, it’s not in my nature.
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“There was a lot of thought and it was about what the best was the club and me. That’s why the club was really understanding when we sat down, we were all on the same page.”
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