The man known as ‘Psycho’ throughout his football career has described rugby league as the toughest sport in the world.
Former England captain Stuart Pearce, who acquired the nickname because of his physical approach to the game, joined world boxing champion Josh Warrington at the launch of the 2019 Betfred Super League season at Old Trafford on Thursday.
And the former Nottingham Forest man had no hesitation in describing rugby league as the most demanding, and honest, discipline of them all.
“I’m not normally scared of any man but if some of these boys ran towards me I’d step aside. Rugby league is physical and brutal.
“It’s exciting to watch, nothing beats watching a game live.
“How the boys go for 80 minutes, it’s humbling, and they just carry on going week-in, week-out.
“There are probably a lot of people who haven’t given it a chance but there’s nothing to beat it.”
Former Great Britain captain and coach Ellery Hanley was also a guest at the launch to announce a new format for the prestigious Steve Prescott Man of Steel Award.
Hanley, a three-time winner of the award, will chair a panel of 21 former players who will pick a one-two-three from each game throughout the season which will determine the winner in October.
The new season gets under way on January 31 when champions Wigan visit last year’s league leaders St Helens.
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| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | PTS | |
| 1 | Liverpool | 12 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 24 | 8 | 16 | 31 |
| 2 | Manchester CityMan City | 12 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 22 | 17 | 5 | 23 |
| 3 | Chelsea | 12 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 23 | 14 | 9 | 22 |
| 4 | Arsenal | 12 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 21 | 12 | 9 | 22 |
| 5 | Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton | 12 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 21 | 16 | 5 | 22 |
| 6 | Tottenham HotspurSpurs | 12 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 27 | 13 | 14 | 19 |
| 7 | Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest | 12 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 15 | 13 | 2 | 19 |
| 8 | Aston Villa | 12 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 19 | 19 | 0 | 19 |
| 9 | Fulham | 12 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 17 | 17 | 0 | 18 |
| 10 | Newcastle UnitedNewcastle | 12 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 13 | 13 | 0 | 18 |
| 11 | Brentford | 12 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 22 | 22 | 0 | 17 |
| 12 | Manchester UnitedMan Utd | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 13 | 13 | 0 | 16 |
| 13 | Bournemouth | 12 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 16 | 17 | -1 | 15 |
| 14 | West Ham UnitedWest Ham | 12 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 15 | 19 | -4 | 15 |
| 15 | Everton | 12 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 17 | -7 | 11 |
| 16 | Leicester CityLeicester | 12 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 15 | 23 | -8 | 10 |
| 17 | Wolverhampton WanderersWolves | 12 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 20 | 28 | -8 | 9 |
| 18 | Ipswich TownIpswich | 12 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 13 | 23 | -10 | 9 |
| 19 | Crystal Palace | 12 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 17 | -7 | 8 |
| 20 | Southampton | 12 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 9 | 24 | -15 | 4 |
