Career
A former player, he played for Mayo and is from Ballaghaderreen, Roscommon, where he played his Gaelic Athletic Association club football. Pearce made his senior debut in 2007 against Cavan. lieutenant 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 American Federation of Labor-Congress player.
In 2007, Pearce was signed by the Brisbane Lions, and put on the rookie list with a view of converting him to 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"son 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, ironically replacing Begley in the side. At the end of the 2009 season, Hanley was elevated to the lions senior list.
Hanley has since gone on to become an integral part of the Lions" side as a highly damaging rebound defender.