The 26-year-old will take the next step in his refereeing career on Sunday.
He will make his NPC debut when he controls the match between Southland and Counties-Manukau in Invercargill.
"I’m really looking forward to it. It is another level up from what I’ve been doing ... but nothing really changes," he said.
"It is just another game of rugby at the end of the day."
Well, yes, but it is a game of rugby with a lot more people watching. And some of those people will turn their attention to Hannon’s performance.
It is not an easy gig. Everyone has an opinion, even those with a tenuous grip on the rules. They are often the most vocal.
Hannon is used to that kind of feedback. He has had a thorough grounding in Dunedin club rugby, where the separation between the referee and disappointed sections of the crowd is just a thin rope and the required thick skin.
His composure is what has got him this far and it is what gives him the confidence to take the next step. He is not expecting to be too nervous.
"Not really," he said.
"It is more around just being really clear with your communications, and obviously being on TV gives you a chance to make the viewers aware of things versus a club game or a Heartland game when you might not be miked-up and it is sort of hard for people to understand what is happening.
"That will be a wee bit different."
Hannon, who grew up in Wanaka, is a senior accountant at PKF Dunedin. It is a very good day job, but he is also focused on his refereeing career.
That journey began when he moved to Dunedin to study accountancy.
"I’m pretty ambitious about it. I guess that has grown over time as I’ve got a few more opportunities and got into the national set-up.
"A couple of friends were doing it when I was at university. It kept me busy and I always enjoyed rugby in various sort of ways.
"So it started off like that and, like most things, once you’ve sorted out there are opportunities you start to enjoy it more, you start thinking what you can get out of it.
"I’m definitely keen to keep progressing and take the opportunities I get given."
Hannon started off in 2015 refereeing schoolboy and colts rugby. He added premier 2 rugby the next season and made his premier debut towards the end of the 2017 season.
Hannon moved to Blenheim in 2018 and had a year refereeing at the top of the South Island.
He return to Dunedin in 2019 and continued to improve.
He was named in the national panel last year and got an opportunity to referee in the Farah Palmer Cup and in Heartland rugby.
Hannon was selected to referee the Farah Palmer Cup Championship final, and he has had done a dozen or so games at NPC level as an assistant referee.
