Mayo's AFL star Pearce Hanley admits the All-Ireland SFC final defeat to Dublin was a 'hard' watch.

Currently preparing for the International Rules series, the Gold Coast player felt the heartache of another case of so near and yet so far for his native county.

"I love watching them play but obviously that (All-Ireland final) was hard," he remarked to The Irish Independent.

"We always seem to come so close but just can't get over the final hurdle.

"There are always a lot of 'ifs and buts'. All I can say is that the boys back it up every year and hopefully they can go one step further next year."

There was some consolation for the Connacht county last Friday night when Andy Moran was named 'Footballer of the Year' and Hanley was delighted for his former Ballaghaderreen team-mate.

"I pretty much looked up to Andy all through my underage days. It was great to see him go so well this year.

"I think it was the first proper kind of pre-season he had when he wasn't injured. Maybe that is the answer (to Mayo's drought).

"If he was that fit for the last five years, maybe Mayo would have won (All-Ireland). It was great to see him win the (Footballer of the Year) award. He's a super character and I couldn't be happier for him."

The 28-year-old is better placed than most to judge the strength of the Australian challenge that the tourists will face in the two-test series.

"It's pretty much as good as you can get so you can see how serious they are taking it. I think they're missing only one (top star), Dustin Martin, the best player from this season.

"Apart from that, they pretty much have their best team."

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