page_title: Pearce Hanley
section_title: Australian rules football
hierarchical_section_title: Pearce Hanley / Australian rules football
caption_attribution_description: English: Pierce Hanley at a Brisbane Lions public training session in 2007. The Gabba, Brisbane, Australia.
context_page_description: Pearce Hanley is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Gold Coast Football Club in the Australian Football League. He previously played with the Brisbane Lions from 2008 to 2016. A former Gaelic footballer, he played for Mayo and is from Ballaghaderreen, where he played his GAA club football.
context_section_description: 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. 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. 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.
caption: Hanley with Brisbane in 2007
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