Lear was born in Mona Vale, New South Wales, Australia and moved to the Gold Coast, Queensland at the age of one.

[2] He played his junior football for the Nerang Roosters and attended Keebra Park State High School, before being signed by the Melbourne Storm in 2009.

[7] At the end of the season the forward started in the second row for the Pride's Queensland Cup[8] & NRL State Championship titles.

He scored a try in North Queensland's 11-10 trial win over the Sydney Roosters but did not earn an NRL contract with the club.

[11][12] In round 6 of the 2017 NRL season, Leary was recalled by North Queensland side, coming off the bench against the Wests Tigers.