Danyle Pearce is a professional Australian rules football

Australian rules football

Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...

er playing with the Port Adelaide Football Club

Port Adelaide Football Club

The Port Adelaide Football Club is an Australian rules football club based in Alberton, South Australia, which plays in the Australian Football League and the South Australian National Football League...

 in the Australian Football League

Australian Football League

The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...

.

Early life

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

Pearce began playing for the Sturt Football Club in the SANFL.
He also represented South Australia

South Australia

South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...

 in basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

, as a point guard

Point guard

Point guard , also called the play maker or "the ball-handler", is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position – essentially, he is expected to run the team's offense by controlling the ball and making sure that...

.

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

AFL Rising Star award

The NAB AFL Rising Star award is given annually to a standout young player in the Australian Football League. Since 2007 the winner has been presented with the Ron Evans Medal and was first awarded in 1993...

 with 43 votes out of a possible 45. Second place for this award was Andrew Raines

Andrew Raines

Andrew Raines is an Australian rules footballer, with the Brisbane Lions Football Club. He is the son of Geoff Raines, a premiership centreman who played for Richmond, Collingwood, Essendon and Brisbane....

 with 35. This made Pearce become the first former rookie-listed player to win the award. 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

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 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

AFLPA Awards

The AFL Players' Association Awards are a group of awards given annually to players in the Australian Football League, voted for by all AFL players.-Leigh Matthews Trophy:...

. He received 13 votes in the 2006 Brownlow Medal

Brownlow Medal

The Chas Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal , is awarded to the "fairest and best" player in the Australian Football League during the regular season as determined by votes cast by the officiating field umpires after each game...

 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

Brett Deledio

Brett Deledio is an Australian rules football player currently playing for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League.-Early life/career:...

 who run the 100 m at 10.96 seconds

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.

External links