Mitchell Pearce - "Ju", "JuJu", "Junior", "Pearcey". A plethora of options for a young man with a plethora of loyal fans, who will this weekend play his 150th NRL game and make a bit of history along the way.
When running out in the red, white and blue on Monday night, Pearce will not only captain the side for the first time, an honour he is sharing on the day with Jake Friend, but he will become the second youngest player in the history of the game to reach 150 games.
It's an incredible achievement from an extremely likeable young man, who with innocent charm and determined efforts, has won over a legion of Roosters fans.
Far from one way traffic, Pearce has embraced the support he has received, even labelling the Roosters fans as the reason behind his great recent form.
"The Tricolours fans have always been supportive to me but especially after Origin this year," Pearce said.
"I really owe our fans for that, they made me feel incredibly special when I returned from Origin and it's something I will never forget and probably the reason I have been playing some good footy the past month."
Speaking of game 150, Pearce spoke with a maturity that is now expected from the number seven.
"Obviously I wasn't counting down the games but when I was made aware I was incredibly proud and particularly to do it at such a young age and with the one club, it means a lot to me," Pearce said.
"It has all gone so fast, but life goes really fast and I have had some good times and some tough times here but I have learnt from everything I have done."
Whilst thrilled to have reached the milestone at such a young age, Pearce was humble when describing the relevance of the achievement.
"I'm proud to have got there so quick but it's more of a durable thing and I've just been lucky, touch wood," Pearce said.
"At the end of the day this isn't my goal as a footballer, it's to win competitions and we had a great group of players here at the moment and we are building to something good here."
The 2010 Grand Final aside, Pearce labels a game against the Bulldogs in 2008 as one of his highlights at the club.
"Willie had just joined us and there was plenty of feeling between the two sides going in to the game," he said.
"It was the first time I had played in a really big game and I had a blinder and got Man of the Match and it gave me plenty of confidence and was a game I'll never forget," he said.
Roosters fans will be hoping for a repeat of that performance this Monday night when the Pearce lines up again his old mate Braith Anasta in the number seven jersey.
"I'm looking forward to playing against Braith, I have played most of my career with him and he is a genuine good bloke so it will be good to see him but hopefully I can put in a good performance and knock them off."
Like most of the Tricolours at the moment, Pearce talks about each game with a sense of confidence knowing the difference between success and failure is in their own work ethic.
"We just need to make sure we don't drop our standards against the Tigers so they don't gain any confidence."
"We need to go out really hard and set the benchmark and just see if they can come with us."
The Tigers may or may not be able to, but one thing that is clear is that the Tricolour fans will be with Pearce all the way.
When running out in the red, white and blue on Monday night, Pearce will not only captain the side for the first time, an honour he is sharing on the day with Jake Friend, but he will become the second youngest player in the history of the game to reach 150 games.
It's an incredible achievement from an extremely likeable young man, who with innocent charm and determined efforts, has won over a legion of Roosters fans.
Far from one way traffic, Pearce has embraced the support he has received, even labelling the Roosters fans as the reason behind his great recent form.
"The Tricolours fans have always been supportive to me but especially after Origin this year," Pearce said.
"I really owe our fans for that, they made me feel incredibly special when I returned from Origin and it's something I will never forget and probably the reason I have been playing some good footy the past month."
Speaking of game 150, Pearce spoke with a maturity that is now expected from the number seven.
"Obviously I wasn't counting down the games but when I was made aware I was incredibly proud and particularly to do it at such a young age and with the one club, it means a lot to me," Pearce said.
"It has all gone so fast, but life goes really fast and I have had some good times and some tough times here but I have learnt from everything I have done."
Whilst thrilled to have reached the milestone at such a young age, Pearce was humble when describing the relevance of the achievement.
"I'm proud to have got there so quick but it's more of a durable thing and I've just been lucky, touch wood," Pearce said.
"At the end of the day this isn't my goal as a footballer, it's to win competitions and we had a great group of players here at the moment and we are building to something good here."
The 2010 Grand Final aside, Pearce labels a game against the Bulldogs in 2008 as one of his highlights at the club.
"Willie had just joined us and there was plenty of feeling between the two sides going in to the game," he said.
"It was the first time I had played in a really big game and I had a blinder and got Man of the Match and it gave me plenty of confidence and was a game I'll never forget," he said.
Roosters fans will be hoping for a repeat of that performance this Monday night when the Pearce lines up again his old mate Braith Anasta in the number seven jersey.
"I'm looking forward to playing against Braith, I have played most of my career with him and he is a genuine good bloke so it will be good to see him but hopefully I can put in a good performance and knock them off."
Like most of the Tricolours at the moment, Pearce talks about each game with a sense of confidence knowing the difference between success and failure is in their own work ethic.
"We just need to make sure we don't drop our standards against the Tigers so they don't gain any confidence."
"We need to go out really hard and set the benchmark and just see if they can come with us."
The Tigers may or may not be able to, but one thing that is clear is that the Tricolour fans will be with Pearce all the way.
