Pearce to learn fate by weekendReady to 'cop' penalty
Roosters halfback Mitchell Pearce has denied taking drugs or urinating on himself on the night his drunken behaviour was captured in an unsavoury video that put his sporting career in jeopardy.  
A day after returning home to Sydney after a stint in a Thailand rehabilitation clinic, Pearce has addressed speculation about drug use on Australia Day, when the now infamous video was recorded. 
The video, which was sold to various media outlets, showed Pearce, 26, at a party simulating a sex act with a dog. 
It also recorded a woman accusing Pearce of urinating on himself and her couch before she asked him to leave. 
Images of alleged text messages later emerged suggesting that "liney lineys" - which can be a reference to cocaine - were consumed during the Roosters' Australia Day festivities.
The texts, of which the NRL Integrity Unit was checking the veracity, stated in part: "They were with us at the oak [Royal Oak Hotel] and they were pretty normal - giving out liney lineys and then they jumped a cab with me back to hers and went f---ing ape shit! Jack just sat there filming it all."
However, in an interview with 2GB broadcaster Alan Jones on Monday morning, Pearce denied using drugs that night. 
"Were you affected by drugs that night?" Jones asked. 
"No," Pearce replied.
"Did you urinate in the apartment?"
"No," Pearce repeated. 
Pearce said he didn't know his actions were being recorded or photographed and wasn't familiar with the man responsible for capturing the video.
"I met them earlier but I didn't know the guy, no," he told Jones. 
Pearce said he found out about the video only the following afternoon during a phone call from his coach.
"My coach Trent Robinson gave me a call and explained there was a video from the night before, which blew my mind a little bit," he said. 
The Roosters skipper was met by his parents, Wayne and Terri, at Sydney Airport on Sunday morning after undergoing treatment in northern Thailand. 
Pearce said he had come back clear-headed after doing a lot of self-assessment and hoped to get back into his football.
"While I was disappointed with the way things worked out, I have have taken total ownership of my mistakes," he told 2GB.
"I was a big part of wanting to go to Thailand and do rehab, obviously with the club guiding me and instructing me to go there as well.
"Emotionally I needed to grow up; I was under no illusions about that.
"I let myself down and let a lot of other people down.
"The hard work starts now."
Pearce was stood down by the Roosters after the video incident, which followed a club-sanctioned harbour cruise on Australia Day, and he will face the club's board before it is decided when he can return to playing.
He is expected to be suspended for the opening six matches of the NRL season and fined $50,000.
Fairfax Media reported last week that the Roosters were considering legal action over the breach of privacy.