Pearce a top-three halfback of the last decade, says Andrew

 As Mitchell Pearce prepares to run out for his 300th NRL game, he's received a ringing endorsement from arguably the best to play his position. When asked on Nine's Immortal Behaviour where he ranked Pearce among halfbacks in the past 20 years, Andrew Johns narrowed it down before giving his answer. "I'll go the last 10 years, and obviously the number one is JT (Johnathan Thurston), and then behind him would be (Cooper) Cronk," Johns said said. "I'd probably rate him in front of Daly Cherry-Evans, so Mitchell would be three and Daly and then Nathan Cleary really close behind. I think Nathan will keep going up." Pearce began his first-grade career in 2007 with the Sydney Roosters, before signing with the Newcastle Knights in 2018. He'll run out for game 300 at Hunter Stadium against Wests Tigers on Sunday. Johns said that Pearce's losses while in a NSW Blues jumper had made him an easy target for critics. "I think he was an easy scapegoat, you know what the human race is like, they jump on things and follow what people think," Johns said.