Mitchell Pearce has stated his case for a State of Origin career resurrection as Newcastle claimed their biggest NRL win since the Wayne Bennett era with a 45-12 mauling of St George Illawarra.
As pressure mounts on incumbent No.7 Nathan Cleary, Pearce laid on four tries, scored one of his own and kicked a late 35m field goal in Mudgee on Sunday as the Knights claimed their fourth-straight win.
Fullback Kalyn Ponga also had a field day, denied a try hat-trick by the bunker but finishing with 24 points as he sliced and stepped his way through the Dragons line.
The Knights had the result beyond doubt when they led 28-0 at halftime against a hapless Dragons outfit who slumped to a fourth straight defeat
But the big story was Pearce as he continued the red-hot form which has seen him set up nine tries and score four in the past four weeks.
The 30-year-old Pearce’s Origin career appeared well over after he played seven series for NSW without lifting the shield and was unwanted by new coach Brad Fittler when the Blues broke through last year.
Fittler threw Pearce’s name back into the conversation last week, talking up his combination with his ex-Sydney Roosters teammates.
Pearce helped open the scoring in Mudgee when he grubbered for Tim Glasby under the posts, before taking the ball to the line and putting Ponga through a gap later in the half.
It was the second of Ponga’s two tries, with the fullback having previously stepped through two defenders and beat another three from 30m out.
Pearce also laid on four-pointers for Kurt Mann and Shaun Kenny-Dowall – the latter with a lofted cut-out ball after the break – before chasing down an Edrick Lee grubber to cross himself.
He’ll now have one last chance to impress Fittler in next Friday night’s blockbuster against the Roosters.
Sunday’s win was the Knights’ biggest since 2013, when the Knights last reached the finals under Bennett.
The Dragons were barely in the contest after they failed to have a play-the-ball in the Knights’ half in the opening 17 minutes.
They gave away three penalties from kick-offs while their only tries came while the Knights had Kurt Mann sin-binned for repeated offences.
The result also came just days after representative lock Jack de Belin lost his Federal Court challenge seeking to overturn the NRL’s ban and return for the Saints.