[1] Earley was the first player recruited from Ireland to play a VFL match, beating Sean Wight who was also listed by Melbourne at the time.
[1] He made his only appearance in Melbourne's last game of the 1984 VFL season, when they lost to Richmond by 28 points at the MCG.
He was named as a full-forward in the 1985 GAA All Stars team and represented Ireland in the 1987 International Rules series.
[3] His tenure with Ireland was reasonably successful - he is most noted for leading the country to record-breaking victories over Australia to win the 2013 International Rules Series title.
[4][5][6] He returned to the coaching role for the 2014 test match, though oversaw an Irish squad which fell 10 points short of a star-studded Australian team.