Video: Mayo man Pearce Hanley scores a beauty Down Under

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xiKVq9QaQk The AFL season got underway Down Under this weekend and Mayo native Pearce Hanley put his Gaelic Football skills to devastating use for the Brisbane Lions. The Ballaghdereen man scored two goals in the Lions’ 41-point thrashing of the Melbourne Demons at the MCG, a game in which former Demon Jim Stynes was remembered with a minute’s applause prior to throw-in. Given the emotion of the occasion, it was a game set up for the Demons to triumph but Brisbane and Hanley had other ideas, with the Irishman providing the highlight of the game approaching the end of the third quarter. With little or nothing on when Hanley received the ball on the right touchline, he took matters into his own hands and deliciously dummied two defenders before bending the ball between the sticks with the outside of his right foot. It is the sort of thing that we’re lucky enough to witness on GAA fields on occasion throughout the year, but it is a rare enough accomplishment in Aussie Rules, unless of course it is Hanley doing the damage, as he did with his first ever goal in Aussie Rules a couple of years back (see below). That effort was certainly impressive, but we think that his latest one was that bit more special. See what you think after checking it out for yourself in the video above.