Danyle Pearce

Danyle Pearce
Danyle Pearce playing for Port Adelaide during the 2007 AFL Season
Personal information
Full name	Danyle Pearce
Date of birth	7 April 1986 (1986-04-07) (age 25)
Original team	Sturt (SANFL)
Height/Weight	179cm / 77kg
Position(s)	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Port Adelaide
Number	6
Playing career1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
2005–	Port Adelaide	134 (72)
Representative team honours
Years	Team	Games (Goals)
2007–2009	Indigenous All-Stars	2
International team honours
2006	Australia	2
1 Playing statistics to end of 2011 season .
Career highlights
Ron Evans Medal 2006 Showdown Medal Rd 16 2008

Danyle Pearce (born 7 April 1986) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing with the Port Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League.

Early life

Danyle is of Indigenous Australian descent and his ancestry can be traced to the Kokatha.^[1]

Pearce began playing for the Sturt Football Club in the SANFL. He also represented South Australia in basketball, as a point guard.

AFL career

Was a rookie listed player by the Adelaide Football Club in 2004 but was not retained as the club decided to keep Matthew Smith.

He made his AFL debut in Round 18, 2005 for the Port Adelaide Power. He was named Best First Year Player for the Power in 2005 and nominated in round 3, 2006 for the AFL Rising Star award.

Pearce won the 2006 NAB Rising Star with 43 votes out of a possible 45. Second place for this award was Andrew Raines with 35. This made Pearce become the first former rookie-listed player to win the award.^[2] In his speech, Pearce said "My kneecaps were shaking" and "I loved the free food" since Pearce also admitted that he came to the awarding ceremony for the food and entertainment.

Danyle played in the International Rules series against Ireland in 2006.

Pearce also won the Gavin Wanganeen Medal, being the first to receive the newly created 2006 award, for best up and coming rising star at the Port Adelaide Football Club, and the AFLPA's Marn Grook Award. He received 13 votes in the 2006 Brownlow Medal despite being his team's youngest player.

During the unsuccessful 2008 season Pearce suffered from a form slump and was dropped down to Sturt for a week, however, he showed a good display in round 22 with 28 possessions and a goal.

Is the fastest player in the AFL today running the 100 metre at 10.87 seconds, which is just faster than Daniel Wells & Brett Deledio who run the 100 m at 10.96 seconds^{[citation needed]}

Pearce kicked a GOTY contender in 2007 at AAMI stadium against the West Coast Eagles.

Personal Life and Trivia

Pearce suffers from short-sightedness and has worn contact lenses since 2005.

He lives in Lockleys, Adelaide, South Australia.

Widely recognized for his smile and the gap between his two upper front teeth.

Also played state basketball for South Australia as a junior.

References

1. ^ AFL Record. Round 9,2009. Slattery Publishing. pg 75.
2. ^ "Pearce NAB's the Rising Star" aboriginalfootball.com.au URL accessed 7 September 2006

External links

• Danyle Pearce's profile on the Official AFL Website of the Port Adelaide Football Club
• Danyle Pearce's statistics from AFL Tables

Awards
Preceded by Brett Deledio	AFL Rising Star 2006	Succeeded by Joel Selwood

Persondata
Name	Pearce, Danyle
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	7 April 1986
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death