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Mitchell Pearce may have led Jayden Nikorima astray on one of his first nights out in Sydney, but the rookie Roosters halfback says being caught up in the Australia Day incident was a "good learning curve". 
Nikorima spoke for the first time since being captured on camera in the background during Pearce's drunken incident alongside fellow Broncos recruit Dale Copley. The 19-year-old was quizzed before being cleared by the NRL's integrity unit. 
"I knew that I didn't do anything wrong," Nikorima said. "It's over now. I wasn't worried about [getting sanctioned]. It was good to get it out of the way because I now know what can happen when you are out. 
"It's a good learning curve for me and Dale. It won't happen again.
"It's only been a month or so since it's happened so I wouldn't say anything has changed but I know what to do next time I'm out and where I could go wrong in different situations."
Pearce's indiscretion handed Nikorima a debut sooner than he had envisaged as he took the halfback's spot in round one. While Pearce may still spend seven weeks on the sidelines, he has been instrumental in helping Nikorima adjust to the NRL, challenging the young half to make the halves spot his own after re-joining the squad for training this week. 
"Mitch told me to play my heart out for seven weeks and to make his job more difficult to get back in the team," Nikorima said. "I'm hoping to do that.  He is pushing me to my limits and hopefully I can play well and push him to his limits.
"When I first got here he had a big impact in the first half of pre-season. I grew up watching him and how he took the line on. The first half of pre-season he took me in and took me under his wing."
Nikorima combined with close friend Jackson Hastings in the Roosters 42-10 loss to South Sydney last Sunday. The pair have been friends since their teens with Hastings having a large influence on Nikorima's decision to switch from Brisbane this season with the duo living together when Nikorima arrived in Sydney. 
"I'm enjoying [playing in the NRL] and the pressure put on me and Jacko," Nikorima said. "Hopefully we can put everyone to sleep soon.
"I haven't thought too much about it. Jacko has probably had more pressure on him but he is a class act and was in the semi-finals last year so he has helped me on my way.
"We've known each other since we were 15. We played against each other in a schoolboys game and exchanged numbers there and have been good mates since. We always spoke about playing together at some stage. I made my debut next to him so it was unreal."
Nikorima struggled in his first taste of the NRL as he played behind a badly beaten forward pack. He will line up alongside Hastings again when the Roosters travel to play Canberra on Saturday.
"It wasn't the debut I pictured in my head as a kid," Nikorima said. "We made an extra 100 tackles in the first 20 minutes. Every halfback would struggle to get involved. I had a fair idea of what the NRL is about by the end of the game. I want to inject myself a little bit early.
"I didn't have any doubts, with the pre-season behind me, that I was confident in mine and the Roosters' game."