Pearce Hanley (born 1988 in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the

Gold Coast Football Club The Gold Coast Suns is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL). The club is based on Queensland's Gold Coast in the suburb of Carrara. The club has been playing in the AFL since the ...

in the Australian Football League (AFL). He previously played with the

Brisbane Lions The Brisbane Lions is a professional Australian rules football club based in Brisbane, Queensland, that plays in the Australian Football League (AFL). The club was formed in late 1996 via a merger of the Melbourne-based 1883 foundation VFL c ...

from 2008 to 2016. A former Gaelic footballer, he played for the Mayo county team and is from

Ballaghaderreen Ballaghaderreen () is a town in County Roscommon, Ireland. It was part of County Mayo prior to 1898. It is located just off the N5 National primary road. The population was 1,808 in the 2016 census. History As of 1837, the town was recor ...

, where he played his club football.

Early life

Hanley was born in

to an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

father and a Welsh mother. He and his family moved to

in County Roscommon at a young age. He is one of six siblings in his immediate family.

Gaelic football

Pearce made his senior debut in 2007 against Cavan. Hanley had previously won the Ron Barassi Medal for the best player of the

International Rules Series The International Rules Series is a senior men's international rules football competition between the Australia international rules football team (selected by the Australian Football League) and the Ireland international rules football team (se ...

for the Irish U-17 international rules team against Australia in 2005. It was there that he was first scouted by recruiters from Australia and he was targeted for recruitment by the Brisbane Lions as being a potential AFL player.

Australian rules football

In 2007, Pearce was signed by the Brisbane Lions, and put on the

rookie list The rookie list is a means for Australian Football League (AFL) clubs to maintain additional players outside the 38-man primary or senior list. Rookie listed players are not eligible to play in AFL home-and-away or finals matches unless they are e ...

with a view of converting him to Australian rules football. At the Lions, he was mentored by fellow Irishman Colm Begley who had previously played with the club for a season. Hanley made rapid progress and his adaptation to Australian football was almost as rapid as Begley's. He impressed in an early intra-club hit-out and was a solid performer for the Suncoast Lions. Called up by coach

Leigh Matthews Leigh Raymond Matthews (born 1 March 1952) is a former Australian rules footballer and coach. He played for Hawthorn in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and coached and the . Squat, short-legged and barrel-chested, Matthews earned the ic ...

, he made his debut in the final Lions home match in 2008 against the

Carlton Football Club The Carlton Football Club, nicknamed the Blues, is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's top professional competition. Founded in 1864 in Carlton, an inner suburb of Me ...

in front of a crowd of 35,000 at the

Brisbane Cricket Ground The Brisbane Cricket Ground, commonly known as the Gabba, is a major sports stadium in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, Australia. The nickname Gabba derives from the suburb of Woolloongabba, in which it is located. Over the years, the Ga ...

, replacing Begley in the side. At the end of the 2009 season, Hanley was elevated to the Lions' senior list. Hanley went on to become an integral part of the Lions' side as a highly damaging rebound defender. In round 18,

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

in QClash8 Hanley amassed a whopping 44 touches and won the Marcus Ashcroft Medal. At the conclusion of the 2016 season, Hanley was traded to the Gold Coast Football Club. In September 2020, Hanley announced his retirement from AFL, effective immediately.

Statistics

: ''Statistics are correct to the end of the 2016 season'' , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, , 42 , , 2 , , 0 , , 0 , , 17 , , 10 , , 27 , , 9 , , 6 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 8.5 , , 5 , , 13.5 , , 4.5 , , 3.0 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 2009 , , 42 , , 1 , , 0 , , 0 , , 3 , , 7 , , 10 , , 1 , , 0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 3.0 , , 7.0 , , 10.0 , , 1.0 , , 0.0 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 2010 , , 42 , , 9 , , 3 , , 0 , , 78 , , 61 , , 139 , , 32 , , 26 , , 0.3 , , 0.0 , , 8.7 , , 6.8 , , 15.4 , , 3.6 , , 2.9 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 2011 , , 11 , , 22 , , 3 , , 5 , , 299 , , 150 , , 449 , , 130 , , 54 , , 0.1 , , 0.2 , , 13.6 , , 6.8 , , 20.4 , , 5.9 , , 2.5 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

, , 11 , , 22 , , 7 , , 3 , , 314 , , 147 , , 461 , , 119 , , 53 , , 0.3 , , 0.1 , , 14.3 , , 6.7 , , 21.0 , , 5.4 , , 2.4 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

, , 11 , , 20 , , 16 , , 9 , , 296 , , 134 , , 430 , , 98 , , 50 , , 0.8 , , 0.5 , , 14.8 , , 6.7 , , 21.5 , , 4.9 , , 2.5 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

, , 11 , , 20 , , 6 , , 13 , , 310 , , 194 , , 504 , , 96 , , 81 , , 0.3 , , 0.7 , , 15.5 , , 9.7 , , 25.2 , , 4.8 , , 4.1 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 2015 , , 11 , , 11 , , 9 , , 9 , , 151 , , 88 , , 239 , , 58 , , 33 , , 0.8 , , 0.8 , , 13.7 , , 8.0 , , 21.7 , , 5.3 , , 3.0 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

, , 11 , , 22 , , 14 , , 17 , , 269 , , 197 , , 466 , , 91 , , 83 , , 0.6 , , 0.8 , , 12.2 , , 9.0 , , 21.2 , , 4.1 , , 3.8 , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=3, Career ! 129 ! 58 ! 56 ! 1737 ! 988 ! 2725 ! 634 ! 386 ! 0.4 ! 0.4 ! 13.5 ! 7.7 ! 21.1 ! 4.9 ! 3.0

References

External links