Twelve months on and the 27-year-old has seemingly turned his life around after giving up alcohol following rehabilitation.

His controversial Aussie day, some of which was filmed and handed out and broadcast by just about anyone with a heartbeat, resulted in him copping a $50,000 fine and an eight week suspension that effectively killed the Roosters 2016 season.

To put the unsavoury incident in persective, the halfback was the most googled person in Australia last year. 

But Roosters legend Craig Wing says Pearce has turned the corner and is becoming worthy of a man to look up to.  

"I took him under my wing from the get-go, and he was a bit of a larrikin back then. That's what we love about Australians," Wing told AAP.

"But I've caught up with him recently and he's a man now. It really just gave him a perspective on what his rugby league career was, what it meant to him and the impact he had on others.

"Although he's going to have the stigma of that incident live with him for the rest of his life, I think it's really changed him as a man for the better.

"When I talk to him, he just seems so much more level-headed, a much better role model."