Pearce Hanley
Pearce Hanley (born 1988 in England) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Gold Coast Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He previously played with the Brisbane Lions from 2008 to 2016. A former Gaelic footballer, he played for the Mayo county team and is from Ballaghaderreen, where he played his club football.
| Pearce Hanley | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Hanley playing for Gold Coast in June 2017 | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Pearce Hanley | ||
| Date of birth | 15 November 1988 | ||
| Place of birth | England | ||
| Original team(s) | Ballaghaderreen (club)/Mayo (county team) | ||
| Draft | No. 38, 2008 rookie draft | ||
| Height | 185 cm (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Weight | 85 kg (187 lb) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder / Defender | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Gold Coast | ||
| Number | 1 | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 2008–2016 | Brisbane Lions | 129 (58) | |
| 2017–2020 | Gold Coast | 40 (1) | |
| Total | 169 (60) | ||
| International team honours | |||
| Years | Team | Games (Goals) | |
| 2011, 2014 | Ireland | 2 (0) | |
| 1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2020. 2 State and international statistics correct as of 2014. | |||
| Career highlights | |||
| Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com | |||
Early life
Hanley was born in England to an Irish father and a Welsh mother.[1][2] He and his family moved to Ballaghaderreen 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.[3] Hanley had previously won the Ron Barassi Medal for the best player of the International Rules Series for the Irish U-17 international rules team against Australia in 2005.[4] 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 with a view of converting him to Australian rules football.[5] 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, he made his debut in the final Lions home match in 2008 against the Carlton Football Club in front of a crowd of 35,000 at the Brisbane Cricket Ground, replacing Begley in the side.[6] 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 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.[7]
In September 2020, Hanley announced his retirement from AFL, effective immediately.
Statistics
- Statistics are correct to the end of the 2016 season[8]
| Season | Team | No. | Games | Totals | Averages (per game) | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | B | K | H | D | M | T | G | B | K | H | D | M | T | ||||
| 2008 | Brisbane Lions | 42 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 10 | 27 | 9 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 8.5 | 5 | 13.5 | 4.5 | 3.0 |
| 2009 | Brisbane Lions | 42 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 7.0 | 10.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 |
| 2010 | Brisbane Lions | 42 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 78 | 61 | 139 | 32 | 26 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 8.7 | 6.8 | 15.4 | 3.6 | 2.9 |
| 2011 | Brisbane Lions | 11 | 22 | 3 | 5 | 299 | 150 | 449 | 130 | 54 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 13.6 | 6.8 | 20.4 | 5.9 | 2.5 |
| 2012 | Brisbane Lions | 11 | 22 | 7 | 3 | 314 | 147 | 461 | 119 | 53 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 14.3 | 6.7 | 21.0 | 5.4 | 2.4 |
| 2013 | Brisbane Lions | 11 | 20 | 16 | 9 | 296 | 134 | 430 | 98 | 50 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 14.8 | 6.7 | 21.5 | 4.9 | 2.5 |
| 2014 | Brisbane Lions | 11 | 20 | 6 | 13 | 310 | 194 | 504 | 96 | 81 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 15.5 | 9.7 | 25.2 | 4.8 | 4.1 |
| 2015 | Brisbane Lions | 11 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 151 | 88 | 239 | 58 | 33 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 13.7 | 8.0 | 21.7 | 5.3 | 3.0 |
| 2016 | Brisbane Lions | 11 | 22 | 14 | 17 | 269 | 197 | 466 | 91 | 83 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 12.2 | 9.0 | 21.2 | 4.1 | 3.8 |
| Career | 129 | 58 | 56 | 1737 | 988 | 2725 | 634 | 386 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 13.5 | 7.7 | 21.1 | 4.9 | 3.0 | ||
See also
References
- ^ Hitzman, Grant (11 July 2013). "Queensland clubs celebrate diversity". AFL Queensland.
- ^ "118 players with multicultural background on AFL lists". World Footy News. 25 June 2012.
- ^ Foley, Cliona (6 July 2007). "O'Rourke junior gets the call-up for Meath senior start". Irish Independent.
- ^ "Brisbane Lions chase Hanley deal". RTÉ News. 1 August 2007. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
- ^ Lions ready to call up raw Irish rookie Pearce Hanley by Ben Dorries from couriermail.com.au 20 August 2008
- ^ Ballaghaderreen’s Hanley makes his AFL debut from the Mayo News
- ^ Beveridge, Riley (18 October 2016). "Pearce Hanley to Gold Coast trade: Brisbane midfielder joins Suns in three-way deal with Port Adelaide". Fox Sports (Australia). News Corp Australia. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
- ^ "Pearce Hanley Stats". AFL Tables. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
External links
- Pearce Hanley's profile on the official website of the Gold Coast Football Club
- Pearce Hanley's playing statistics from AFL Tables