Catalans Dragons bring in NRL icon to bolster coaching staff

Mitchell Pearce has returned to Catalans Dragons to help the club’s coaching staff following the departure of Steve McNamara.

Pearce spent two seasons with Catalans in 2022 and 2023, helping them to reach a Super League Grand Final before calling time on his professional career at the highest level.

Pearce would then return to Australia but now, he is back in France to help out the Dragons before the birth of his first child.

Pearce will give assistance to Joel Tomkins and his support staff for the remainder of this season on a voluntary basis, as the club looks to give the interim Catalans coach help.

Speaking to L’Indepdendant, Catalans GM Sebastien Munoz confirmed: “He came to see us at the office to tell us that he was there and that he had time and the desire to pass on his skills.”

Pearce was a high-profile addition for Catalans when he joined at the start of the 2022 season.

He went on to make over 40 appearances for the club in his two seasons in Perpignan, scoring 14 tries in the process.

That included a run to Old Trafford in 2023 when Catalans were defeated by Wigan Warriors in what proved to be the final game of Pearce’s professional career.

Before that, he enjoyed an iconic career in the NRL, winning the Premiership with the Sydney Roosters as well as a World Club Challenge title, too.

Pearce also played for Newcastle Knights for four seasons, and he represented New South Wales on 19 occasions at State of Origin level.

Catalans are likely to stick with Tomkins as their interim coach in the short-term while they firm up a long-term appointment for 2026 and beyond.

They host Hull FC this weekend in the south of France in desperate need of a victory to avoid drifting from the race to make the Super League play-offs.