He's won a premiership at the Sydney Roosters and last year exorcised his demons at Origin level. But what he does and how he leads in the next season or two at the Knights will carry enormous weight when his career is dissected after it's all over.

His critics will tell you he is already on the wane. That his form last season, even though he led the side to its first top eight finish in seven seasons, is an indication the wear and tear of 14 seasons in the NRL has caught up with him.

Pearce doesn't care much for the critics. But he would recognise he is at the back-end of his career and his window for winning a second premiership is closing.

Which is why he says he is not afraid to set himself big goals and claims the pressure on the side to build on their finals breakthrough and push for a top four finish and a premiership in 2021 is not a bad thing.

"I love setting big goals," Pearce said just prior to his first pre-season training session with the club yesterday after extended time off.

"It makes me motivated and as a group, the higher you set your bar, the better you'll play.

"We have a great squad, there are no issues there. Obviously, we've got Tyson [Frizell] coming in who is going to be great for the team.

"Combinations and the style of footy we are going to play is definitely something we need to get stuck into from day one.

"Consistency is something that obviously wasn't good enough last year. I'm sure the coaches have spent the off-season working on a whole lot of things in that regard."

As for added pressure to succeed, he says: "It depends how you look at it. Pressure for us I think is a great thing. We need to have high goals and we need to train hard to achieve them."

Pearce again brushed aside off-season speculation in the Sydney media that had him, at one stage, returning to the Roosters and then potentially featuring in a swap deal with Parramatta for Mitchell Moses.

"It [the rumours] is part and parcel of footy," he said. "There is always something written about us as players.

"It's the sport we play and what people want to read about. From my point of view, I had nothing to say as far as the Roosters thing or other clubs or even about the Knights.

"There was a lot of talk but if you read the stories, I didn't say a whole lot. I love the club here and I'm contracted next year and I'll be doing everything I can to get us that premiership."

As for beyond next season, the Knights playmaker knows coach Adam O'Brien wants him longer term and he is comfortable with the process the club is going through in that regard.

"It's been very open with Adzy [O'Brien] and the guys that are in control of that stuff so I'm really comfortable with where we are moving forward," he said.

While you're with us, did you know the Newcastle Herald offers breaking news alerts, daily email newsletters and more? Keep up to date with all the local news - sign up here

IN THE NEWS: