He previously played for the St. George Illawarra Dragons in two separate spells, as well as the Melbourne Storm and the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the NRL.

In 2005 he was contracted to St. George Illawarra as a junior and continued to play there in the 2nd tier competitions till he debuted on the NRL in 2007.

Stanley signed a two-year deal with the Melbourne Storm starting in the 2010 NRL season.

He made his Melbourne debut on 30 May 2010, but would only make eight appearances for the club, suffering a season-ending knee injury in round 1 of the 2011 NRL season.

Although the Kiwis lost to Great Britain, Stanley had a personally successful debut, scoring two tries.