The Ballaghdereen man is the real deal alright.
Hanley has been flourishing in the AFL for some time now and he produced arguably the best performance of his Australian Rules career to date at the weekend in Brisbane Lions’ 70-66 victory over North Melbourne at the Gabba.
So impressive was Hanley that he voted as the Player of the Round by Channel 7 viewers, while Chief Football Writer with The Herald Sun, Mark Robinson, was moved to write “in many respects, it was the best individual quarter of the season” about Hanley’s tour de force in the second quarter, during which he had 16 disposals and gained 439 metres.
If stats are your thing, in the game as a whole, Hanley had 34 disposals (equalling his career best), took six marks, made six clearances, five tackles and gained 816 metres in total, almost 400 metres more than his nearest challenger. And this only a few weeks after he produced this moment of magic…
Hanley couldn’t have picked a better day to deliver such a virtuoso performance as Brisbane fans gathered at the Gabba in their droves to bid farewell to club legend Jonathan Brown, who was forced into retirement last week.
Mayo fans still longing for Sam can’t help but wonder what Hanley, whose younger brother Cian captained the Mayo minors to victory over Galway at the weekend, would offer to the Green and Red if he was still at home, but it’s great to see him firmly following in the footsteps of Stynes, Kennelly, Clarke and other Irish exports who have made such an impact Down Under.
Video via YouTube/Brisbane Lions
Hat-tip: Irish Echo
