By Daragh Ó Conchúir

The future of two established Irish stars of the AFL is up in the air, with speculation surrounding where Pearce Hanley and Zach Tuohy might begin the 2017 season.

Hanley played championship football with Mayo before heading to Australia and would be a welcome addition to Stephen Rochford's current squad ahead of their All-Ireland final replay against Dublin on Saturday week.

Instead, Hanley has established himself as an elite operator Down Under but an underwhelming season personally and for his club Brisbane Lions has led to reports that the Queensland outfit could be prepared to trade him as part of a rebuilding process.

The Ballaghaderreen native turns 28 in November and has remained loyal to the Lions in accumulating 129 appearances, despite confirmed interest from marquee clubs in the past. He was an ever-present this season but the club struggled throughout.

Reports suggest that Gold Coast Suns are leading the chase for Hanley and that Brisbane would consider letting him go if they could secure a draft pick inside the top 10.

Meanwhile, Tuohy has been offered a new "healthy three-year deal" by his club Carlton but is stalling on committing for what is an important stage in his career, as he will be 27 in December.

The former underage star with Laois has been amongst the Blues' most consistent players in recent seasons and has not missed a game since the opening round in 2013.

His streak of 90 consecutive games is the longest at the club and fourth longest current streak in the AFL behind Sam Gibson (108), Nathan Jones (97) and Dane Rampe (95).

Tuohy has reportedly been offered a four-year deal by North Melbourne, while this week, powerhouse outfit Sydney Swans were also linked with the Portlaoise man, apparently viewing the high-scoring half-back as a readymade replacement for Jarryd McVeigh, who will turn 34 next year.

Carlton were initially understood to have offered him a two-year contract but in an indication of how highly he is valued, club CEO Steven Trigg said that they now have a three-year deal on the table.

"We'd like Zach to stay" said Trigg. "He's got a very healthy three-year deal in front of him and like a bunch of players around the competition at the moment he's just weighing up his options, which is not unreasonable.

"We want him to stay at the footy club. He's been very durable and he's a very strong senior player.

"I know there are a couple of clubs having conversations with his management, but we'll see where that one lands - we'd like him to stay."

Tuohy was recruited from County Laois in Ireland's midlands region, and made his AFL debut against Port Adelaide in round 11, 2011.

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