Mitchell Pearce has put his State of Origin pain behind him with a starring role in the Sydney Roosters' comfortable 28-4 NRL win over Newcastle.
After getting lambasted for his seventh Origin series defeat just over a week ago, Pearce delivered in the clutch on both sides of the ball on Friday night.
With the Roosters leading 16-4 with 15 minutes remaining at Allianz Stadium, Knights forward Luke Yates could've set up a close finish when he found himself in the clear.
However, Pearce chased and drew an error from the substitute forward inches from the line, before sealing the win for the 7121 crowd three minutes later with a try assist for Isaac Liu.
The NSW halfback capped off the night by playing a role in the final try for Connor Watson.
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It was the second time in as many games Pearce had rebounded strongly from a NSW Origin defeat, having also piloted the game-winning field goal in round 16 against Melbourne.
"That's what Pearcey does. He knows our style better than the coaches do. He dropped back into it," Roosters coach Trent Robinson said after the game.
"That trysaver was a big one, a huge play in the context of the game."
The win lifts the Roosters in front of Brisbane and alongside Melbourne, who play on Saturday.
The home side were aided by a controversial Daniel Tupou try to start the second half, when the video referee ruled Latrell Mitchell hadn't knocked on in the lead-up.
Replays showed Mitchell had pulled the ball towards him when facing his own goal line while in mid-air.
The Knights started strongly by pinning the Roosters for four consecutive sets on their line, but failed to take advantage and conceded first points to a soaring Blake Ferguson.
A cakewalk loomed when Luke Keary sliced through almost untouched, however the Knights only went down 12-4 at the break when former Rooster Shaun Kenny-Dowall scored his first try for the club.
Newcastle coach Nathan Brown said his key playmakers let down their forwards by failing to convert their periods of pressure into points.
"They jagged that lucky try at 16-4 but then we make the line break, and none of our key players turn up on the line break again, in a key moment of the game," he said.
