Mitchell Pearce is ready to lift for the challenge of James Maloney and Nathan Cleary but he insists it’s not because he wants their State of Origin jerseys.

Pearce will on Saturday night be pitted against the man he used to partner in the halves for NSW and the man who took his No.7 jersey, when Newcastle host Penrith.

The predominant Blues half of the past decade, Pearce looked set to keep his spot last year before a shoulder injury sidelined him and Cleary returned from his own knee problems to help win NSW the series.

That result means Cleary is in the box seat to be the NSW No.7 again in 2019, with Brad Fittler already declaring last year’s winners will have first dibs on positions.

But regardless Pearce – still only aged 29 – and Luke Keary would be the chief contenders to dethrone either he or potentially Maloney if the Panthers slip.

“Not anymore (is that an extra motivation). My job is just doing my job for this team,” Pearce said.

“It’s always good coming up against players who are quality players and Nathan had a really good year last year and played in Origin.”

Pearce has a 2-0 record over Cleary, beating his Panthers while playing at both the Sydney Roosters and Knights in the past two years.

But he said Maloney – who he won a premiership with at the Roosters in 2013 – was the man most important to stop at Penrith.

“The leader of that team is James Maloney, he is the older head, he seems to have a lot more touches on the ball. He is the player we need to stop,” Pearce said.

“It’s always a test. I love coming up against Jimmy, he’s always got plenty to say.”

Pearce kicked nicely in Friday’s 14-8 win over Cronulla, booting the most metres of any half over the weekend and notching up a 40-20 as the Knights controlled the territory battle.

He also had a hand in one try, as he was confident he and Kalyn Ponga were on the right track after their first game together in the halves.

“I think we overplayed a bit in the trials, and we wanted to simplify our game going into round one,” he said.

“The game plan we set out with the coaches was pretty how much how we played.”

Meanwhile Newcastle will be without prop Daniel Saifiti for Saturday’s clash, ruled out for between 2-4 weeks with knee and foot injuries.