Rookie errors: Future stars lap up Carney, Pearce advice
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After detailing the highs and lows of his rollercoaster career, Dally M Medallist Todd Carney told the next crop of aspiring NRL stars: “Don’t stuff it up for a night out with your mates”.
Carney and his 2013 Sydney Roosters premiership winning halves partner, Mitchell Pearce, were among the guest speakers at the 2025 NRL Rookie Camp, in which players received advice on personal brand, cultural awareness, gambling, alcohol and drugs, respectful relationships, social media and other topics.
Other speakers included Luke Keary, Bronson Xerri, Martin Taupau, Dean Whare, Allan Tongue, Dean Widders, Jono Wright, Joel Caine, Tony Caine, Jake Duke and Wellbeing and Education Program Chair Lynne Anderson
Carney and Pearce used their personal experiences to inform the young players of some of the pitfalls to avoid.
The pair achieved almost everything the game has to offer, with Pearce playing more than 300 NRL matches, Carney winning the 2010 Dally M Medal and both representing NSW in State of Origin.
However, Carney and Pearce also found themselves in the headlines for the wrong reasons on a number of occasions.
Alcohol was a common factor, and both want others to learn from the experiences that impacted their NRL careers – and effectively ended Carney’s.
“The majority in this room will be able to have a beer, go home and go to bed and be fine, but there will be guys in this room who will resonate with what I am going to say,” Carney said.
“You are the blokes who have a beer, you get too excited, your mates message you the next day and go, ‘oh you carried on last night’, or you probably don’t remember getting home.
“If that’s you I strongly advise you to try and get to the bottom of it because the game of rugby league will always be around, there will be a new group of kids in here next year, sitting in the same seats and wanting that same goal that you want.
“Try and get it under control so that when you do have a beer you are not waking up the next morning and being like me, with your name on the back page of the paper because you have done something wrong.
“If I can give that message, do it now - not when you are 37 - because I missed out on so much in my career from having a good night with my mates.”
Pearce said there was no longer the same drinking culture as when he made his NRL debut as a 17-year-old in 2007 and played his first Origin in 2009, but players still needed to be wary not to jeopardise their careers.
“For me, if I was to talk back to that age to give advice, everything comes from short term sacrifice for long term gain,” Pearce said.
“Any stuff ups I have had in my personal life or in football has been when I haven’t thought about the long game. Any success I had in footy, to play 300 games, came from short term sacrifice for long term gain.
“It is easier said than done, you have got to put your ego away, you have got to hang around with the right people, you have got to pick your circle and you have got to be patient.”
The NRL Rookie Camp, which has been held annually since 2004, was well received by the emerging players and club wellbeing managers.
“I really took in what Todd Carney and Mitchell Pearce said,” Wests Tigers rookie Heath Mason said.
“Obviously, they were very good players but they had a few muck-ups there, so it’s just making sure that outside of footy, I'm always thinking about how this could affect my career.
“You can become known for that stuff, and I don't want to be known as that sort of player; I want to be known as a good footy player that didn't make off-field mistakes.”
Long serving Dragons education and welfare manager Scott Stewart said the NRL Rookie Camp had evolved to keep up with innovations and changes in society, but the aims were the same.
NRL Rookie Camp 2015
"There is a lot more around social media, which probably didn't even exist when we first started or was really in its infancy," Stewart said.
"That is something the boys are obviously getting educated on - and not just the pitfalls of it but how to use it to actually improve their careers.
"We always used to say how social media was bad but now they are getting taught it's here to stay and what is the best way to use it to increase your brand and maybe even set up a career around it.
"That's one of the big changes, and I think having those former players come in and talking about where they have either succeeded or where they have gone wrong, is really relevant to the players.
"I thought that Todd Carney and Mitchell Pearce were outstanding, they were very direct, they didn't beat around the bush, and they gave the boys some great messages.
"Both of them are not long retired and just the way they directed their message, articulated it and were straight up and down with the young players about where they went wrong and how not to make the same mistakes that they made ...
"When they share those experiences, I think it resonates with the players."
