CATALANS DRAGONS assistant coach Mitchell Pearce will join up with his friend Todd Carney when the two of them make their public speaking debut this Friday, July 31, at an event for their charity, which is known as the Reboot Mindset Academy, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Sydney.

Joining them on stage will be Pearce’s father, Wayne, a former Kangaroo representative and a director on the Reboot board, who will be MC for the evening.

Carney played for the Catalans for two seasons from 2015, while Pearce also had two seasons as a player from 2022 before joining the Dragons’ coaching staff informally in May 2025 before his position was formalised in September last year.

The two players’ careers overlapped when they played together for Sydney Roosters in 2010-11 before also playing together for New South Wales during the 2012 State of Origin series.

Carney and Pearce both ran into drink-related trouble during their NRL playing careers, however, which ultimately led to them both leaving the NRL to come to Super League.

But more recently they have joined together to share their personal stories in order to support young people facing similar challenges.

The former halfbacks will be part of a panel at Care Factor’s Christmas in July Gala Ball discussing the aims of the charity and what it does.

Organisers have reported a high demand for tickets for the event.

“Todd and I built this out of our own experiences, and to have an industry like this stand behind us is huge,” Pearce told the Australian media.

“It shows people really do care about our young people.”

Carney is keen to share his journey with others struggling through tough times.

“It’s about showing up for these kids again and again,” he said.

“Every dollar raised helps us do exactly that. We know what it feels like to need a second chance. Having the Logistics community back through Care-Factor like this means everything.”