Mitchell Pearce enjoyed the highest peaks of rugby league but also endured the lowest of lows during a rollercoaster career that he believes might never started at all if it wasn’t for some supernatural intervention.
Pearce began his rugby league career with the Sydney Roosters in 2007 when he was just a teenager and quickly rose to the top of the playmaking standings, picked to represent NSW in the 2008 State of Origin series.
He retired in 2023 at the conclusion of Catalans’ 2023 Super League grand final loss against Wigan and has since returned to Australia to seek new opportunities after a stellar career that included 350 first-grade games.
However, Pearce – the son of NSW and Australian rugby league legend Wayne Pearce – has revealed that his family feared his career would never have caught fire unless they brought in a ghost whisperer during his first season.
‘I had an injury that was giving me a lot of trouble,’ Mitchell told New Corp.
‘It was this niggling pain in my shoulder, and I just couldn’t get on top of it. I was playing in pain, and nothing I did to try to treat it helped. And then one day, it just suddenly stopped hurting.’
While it felt like a miracle to Pearce, his family had carried out an intervention without his knowledge to free him from his pain – which they believed was being caused by a tormented boy who had recently died but could not reach the next life.
When he happily told his parents Wayne and Terri that his pain was gone, they weren’t shocked. Instead, they revealed they had brought in a ghost whisperer to cleanse the family home.
Pearce’s parents Wayne and Terri (pictured together) called in a ghost whisperer to cleanse the family home when his footy career was just getting started
The former Roosters and Knights star had been battling a mystery injury in his first year of first grade but the pain went away after the cleansing had taken place
‘I told him that the medium had cleansed the house, and the boy was now gone,’ Terri said.
‘He was no longer climbing all over his back. And the freaky part is that the ghost crossed over at the same time that Mitch’s injury inexplicably cleared.’
A stunned Pearce then shared that story with his Roosters teammates.
‘They must have thought I was off my head,’ he said.
Pearce was all smiles in 2007 but behind the grin he was battling a private pain he could not shake until the ghost whisperer intervened
Mitchell Pearce’s sister Tatum (right) felt the presence of the boy in her room as well
It all began when Mitchell’s youngest sister Tatum felt a presence in her room, which was right beside the NRL star’s own bedroom.
Her parents sprung from bed, instantly thinking there was a person in their home, but Tatum quickly clarified: ‘No, not someone. Something. It’s a ghost.’
The Pearce family then claimed they noticed all kinds of tricks and traps set by the ghost, including bumps in the night and moments where the entity would even trip them up.
‘I would often trip or stumble over a step,’ Wayne said.
‘I’d have to stop myself from falling over by grabbing the wall or another step. I’d get up and keep going. It was just something I found weird.’
Even Tatum’s boyfriend was spotted running from the room in fright, claiming to have seen the apparition of a boy.
Pearce would go on to have a successful footy career, including claiming the 2013 premiership with the Roosters (pictured)
‘He seems to have a big presence in your boy’s room,’ the ghost whisperer told Wayne and Terri.
‘That is where he spends most of his time. He also hangs around the hallway and goes into the girls’ room next door.
‘Now don’t be frightened, because this is not unusual, but I believe the ghost has attached itself to the boy,’ the medium told the couple.
‘He is hanging off his back all the time. He is always on his back, jumping around. He is not an evil spirit. I would describe him as playful, and he is obviously attracted to the boy because he considers him a friend and likes his company.
‘But the good news is he has now crossed over,’ she told them.
‘He is gone, and he will not come back.’
The Roosters halfback would go on to play 19 matches for the Blues and claim the 2013 NRL premiership.
In 2022, Pearce moved to the Super League, signing with the Catalans Dragons. Pearce has retired from professional rugby league and is focusing on opportunities in coaching, media, and other ventures related to the sport.