Football

Pearce Hanley: the ‘what if?’ man of Mayo's All-Ireland misery

Ireland's Pearce Hanley during International Rules squad training ahead at Wesley College, Melbourne in 2014
Ireland's Pearce Hanley during International Rules squad training ahead at Wesley College, Melbourne in 2014 Ireland's Pearce Hanley during International Rules squad training ahead at Wesley College, Melbourne in 2014

IT’S been nine years since Pearce Hanley made the move to the AFL and yet still he is the ‘what if?’ man for Mayo.

What if they’d had him this past couple of seasons?

Would he have been the difference between their imprisonment in the House of Pain and their escape?

“It might have been but then it might not of as well,” he deflects.

“They’ve a lot of good, young footballers coming up through the system so hopefully they can add one or two to the team they have already who can step up and play a bit of football and they might win an All-Ireland.”

At this stage, it looks like we may never find out whether he is or not.

Having played 129 games for Brisbane Lions, he left behind younger brother Cian and moved to Gold Coast ahead of the start of the season past as a mature-age recruit.

He turns 29 next week and with each passing winter in Australia, the chance of him returning to the green and red further dissipates.

Naturally he remains an avid fan and backed ‘a special bunch’ to once more display their depth of character by launching another assault on the elusive Sam Maguire next year.

“I love watching them play but obviously it’s hard to watch because we always come so close and just can’t get over that final hurdle.

“There’s always a lot of what ifs when I’m watching and I’m sure there are for Mayo supporters as well but I guess that’s just happened.

“The boys back it up every year and I couldn’t be prouder. Hopefully now next year they can go one step further.”

At the squad announcement in Dublin, Aidan O’Shea summed up their hopes of seeing him back home:

“He’s on the Gold Coast now and it’s quite sunny up there and he’s enjoying life. Pearce, I think, is 29 now. “Yeah, I’ll have a chat with him and see what the story is but no I don’t think it’s realistic he’s going to come home.

“He’s enjoying life and I think he’s planning to stay long term out there so I don’t see him coming home.

“I know he’s talked about it from time to time but if it was possible it would probably have happened by now.”

Injury has hampered him over the past few seasons. He had an indifferent 2016 and yet still finished fourth in Brisbane’s best and fairest list.

This has been a difficult year in more ways than one.

The hamstring injury that restricted his performances with Gold Coast pales into complete insignificance compared to the tragic loss of their young brother Tommy.

He passed away in March following a battle with cancer, with Pearce and Cian having both flown home to be with their family in the days before and weeks after their loss.

“That will always be felt. We’ve got a strong family and we dealt with it.

“We obviously knew the news was coming and we dealt with it very well. We support each other so we were able to deal with it pretty well and move on with our lives but yeah it’s going to be tough for everyone,” Hanley reflects as the sunshine trickles down from the blueing Melbourne sky.

The Irish squad are undertaking their first training session on Australian soil.

It’s 10am and initially they’re greeted by weather more familiar to the rest than Hanley.

It’s windy and not all that warm.

The day turns briefly towards the end and the temperature rises.

The pre-match air had been quiet up until Port Adelaide’s Chad Wingard stoked the fires in recent days.

The Aussie midfielder, who was part of the team that won the one-test series in 2014, boasted that the Australians will “push them around”.

"We're professional athletes, they're amateurs; this is our job full-time, so we've been hitting the gym.

"We're obviously a lot fitter than they are, so we've got to use that advantage; if it's physicality, we've got a few big boys to try and push them around and try and win. Whatever advantage we get, and what we think we have, we're going to use."

Hanley, just returning after an eight-week end-of-season break, smiles as he mounts a defence of his compatriots.

“I’d a good laugh at that. The Irish boys have bridged the gap.

“It’s turned more into a running game so the Aussies aren’t going to be as big or as strong as they used to be.

“The Irish boys, the GAA is getting more professional so they’re going to be fitter and stronger so I think it’s going to be pretty even. I’d a good laugh at that so I guess we’ll see.

“Obviously, they are going to some disadvantages. The boys over here pretty much have the whole week to do it so they’re might be a tiny advantage but I can’t see it being too big of an issue.

“They’ve obviously a few big strong boys but nothing our lads can’t handle.

“Then the rest it’s pretty even.”

Whether they back up their boasts or not, there is a sense that the Australians were stung by losing the Cormac McAnallen Cup two years ago.

All but six of their squad are All-Australians (the AFL version of Allstars) and the only major omission is Richmond’s highly-rated midfielder Dustin Martin, who has chosen to take a rest over the closed season instead.

“It’s pretty much as good as you can get, which is excellent to see them taking the series serious,” says Hanley.

“I think they’re only missing one, Dustin Martin, the best player from this season. He’s a superstar. He’s taking it off because obviously he’s had a big year. Apart from that, they pretty much have their best team.”