BY CURTIS WOODWARD

Mitchell Pearce has revealed that resentment toward his famous father, Balmain Tigers icon Wayne, may have attributed to the demons of his own career and went as far as to say he was “very privileged” as a boy.

Pearce missed a large chunk of season 2016 due to an incident on Australia Day where a video of an intoxicated Pearce went viral.

That followed a string of off-field indiscretions that included his standing down from the New South Wales Blues team.

“I probably did resent my dad a bit,” Pearce told The Locker Room podcast.

“Having a famous dad with that stuff did have so many benefits but for me I tried to shy away from it.

“Looking back now I was very privileged.”

https://youtu.be/8trgOfn3fAs

Pearce has been completely honest about his battles with alcohol since the Australia Day video and still shows the leadership materials that made him captain of the Sydney Roosters in the first place.

In the same podcast, hosted by former NRL player Denan Kemp, Pearce blamed himself for the Roosters forgettable campaign which he only returned to after a stint overseas in rehab.

“I had a lot of regret and a lot of shame, a lot of stuff going on for a long time and that didn’t go away until I started to come back,” he said.

“To be honest I still don’t feel comfortable about it. We finished second last, I was a big reason for that.”

Time is the great healer but you sense the longer Pearce talks about his battles – the better off he will be.

@woodward_curtis