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Michael Hurley (Australian footballer)

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Michael Hurley
Hurley playing for Essendon in August 2018
Personal information
Full name Michael Hurley
Nickname(s) Hurls, Polarbear
Date of birth (1990-06-01) 1 June 1990 (age 34)
Original team(s) Northern Knights (TAC Cup)
Draft No. 5, 2008 national draft
Height 193 cm (6 ft 4 in)
Weight 94 kg (207 lb)
Position(s) Defender
Club information
Current club Essendon
Number 18
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2009–2022 Essendon 194 (109)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2022.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Michael Hurley (born 1 June 1990) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).

He attended Viewbank College and was recruited by the Essendon Football Club with the fifth overall selection in the 2008 national draft.

[1][2]

AFL career

Hurley in debut season.

Hurley showed tremendous form throughout the TAC Cup, showing his all-round quality for the Northern Knights.[3] He was named All-Australian in 2007 and backed it up with another selection after the 2008 AFL Under 18 Championships and was also selected in the TAC Cup Team of the Year in both seasons.

He made his debut against the Port Adelaide Power in round 1, 2009, and was nominated twice as the AFL Rising Star nominee, in round 20 of that season, and round 18 the following year, both times against St Kilda.[4][5] After his match-winning four goal performance against Hawthorn in round 22, 2009, Leigh Matthews said, "Very few young talls have the physical maturity to match it with their older and stronger opponents, which is why the brilliant early form of young Bomber Michael Hurley is quite amazing."[6]

Ahead of the 2010 season, Hurley inherited the famous number 18 guernsey from retired club great Matthew Lloyd.[7]

The following four seasons saw Hurley's form fluctuate due to injury and the constant shuffling of his position in the team between both ends of the ground. He averaged 22 goals per season, and spent just as much time playing in the back line on some of the opposition's best key forwards, where his precise kicking and attacking flair out of the back half were noticeable on numerous occasions.

The 2014 season brought with it a permanent role for Hurley as a key defender, the position for which he was initially drafted. This newfound positional consistency allowed him to really begin to shine as a footballer. He played a career-high 21 games during the season and averaged 19 disposals, six marks and three rebound 50s for the year. Despite Essendon's poor performances in the 2015 season, Michael averaged 21 disposals, seven marks and six rebound 50s over 19 matches. He was awarded with his first All-Australian selection, and finished runner-up in the W.S. Crichton Medal.

Hurley, along with 33 other Essendon players, was found guilty of using a banned performance-enhancing substance, thymosin beta-4, as part of Essendon's sports supplements program during the 2012 season. He and his teammates were initially found not guilty in March 2015 by the AFL Anti-Doping Tribunal,[8] but a guilty verdict was returned in January 2016 after an appeal by the World Anti-Doping Agency. He was suspended for two years which, with backdating, ended in November 2016; as a result, he served approximately fourteen months of his suspension and missed the entire 2016 AFL season.[9] During his suspension, he signed a five-year contract extension to stay with Essendon until the end of 2022.[10]

In 2017, he was named in the All-Australian Team.

Prior to the 2021 AFL season, Hurley contracted an infection in his hip. The infection became life-threatening, leaving him bedridden for a month, during which he lost 10kg, and afterwards, had to learn to walk again. He went through multiple stints in hospital, and underwent a hip replacement, missing the entire 2021 season. He was eventually able to return to the VFL late in the season, playing 5 games, before announcing his retirement ahead of Round 23, 2022, playing a farewell game against Richmond and kicking a goal.

Personal life

On 25 September 2009, Hurley was arrested after a drunken altercation with a taxi driver, after the driver demanded payment for the fare when Hurley asked him to stop at a fast food drivethrough. Hurley was later charged with multiple counts of assault; it is alleged that he punched the driver and kicked him in the groin.[11][12]

Statistics

Statistics are correct to the end of 2021[13]
Legend
  G  
 Goals
  K  
 Kicks
  D  
 Disposals 
  T  
 Tackles
  B  
 Behinds 
  H  
 Handballs 
  M  
 Marks
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game)
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T


2009 Essendon 22 10 10 5 83 61 144 62 15 1.0 0.5 8.3 6.1 14.4 6.2 1.5
2010 Essendon 18 19 12 7 176 132 308 98 17 0.6 0.4 9.3 7.0 16.2 5.2 0.9
2011 Essendon 18 18 27 22 161 99 260 94 24 1.5 1.2 8.9 5.5 14.4 5.2 1.3
2012 Essendon 18 16 26 21 132 87 219 84 13 1.6 1.3 8.2 5.4 13.7 5.2 0.8
2013 Essendon 18 16 24 16 129 74 203 81 7 1.5 1.0 8.1 4.6 12.7 5.1 0.4
2014 Essendon 18 21 4 1 258 152 410 128 26 0.2 0.0 12.3 7.2 19.5 6.1 1.2
2015 Essendon 18 19 2 4 301 104 405 131 20 0.1 0.1 15.8 5.5 21.3 6.9 1.1
2016 Essendon 18 0[a] — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
2017 Essendon 18 21 3 1 355 161 537 161 22 0.1 0.0 16.9 8.7 25.6 7.7 1.0
2018 Essendon 18 20 0 0 293 141 434 156 15 0.0 0.0 14.7 7.1 21.7 7.8 0.8
2019 Essendon 18 19 0 0 272 96 368 151 9 0.0 0.0 14.3 5.1 19.4 7.9 0.5
2020 Essendon 18 14 0 0 154 66 220 86 5 0.0 0.0 11.0 4.7 15.7 6.1 0.3
2021 Essendon 18 0 — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
2022 Essendon 18 1 1 0 5 1 6 2 0 1.0 0.0 5.0 1.0 6.0 2.0 0.0
Career 194 109 77 2319 1195 3514 1234 173 0.6 0.4 12.0 6.2 18.2 6.4 0.9

Notes

  1. ^ Missed 2016 AFL season due to suspension

References

  1. ^ "Hurley becomes a Bomber". Essendon Football Club. 29 November 2008. Archived from the original on 1 December 2008. Retrieved 29 November 2008.
  2. ^ "VIC dominate draft". AFL Victoria website. 2 December 2008. Retrieved 2 December 2008.
  3. ^ Anderson, Jon (2 April 2009). "Michael Hurley's neighbourhood". Herald Sun. Retrieved 4 September 2009.
  4. ^ "Hurley wins rising star nomination". The Age. Melbourne, Victoria. 18 August 2009. Retrieved 4 September 2009.
  5. ^ "Hurley sidelined with broken wrist". Essendon Football Club. 25 May 2009. Archived from the original on 1 October 2009. Retrieved 4 September 2009.
  6. ^ "Hurley is the find of the season". Australian Football League. 2 April 2009. Archived from the original on 30 September 2012. Retrieved 4 September 2009.
  7. ^ "NEW-LOOK HURLEY MAKING A DIFFERENCE". AFL Players. 12 June 2015. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  8. ^ Twomey, Callum (31 March 2015). "Thirty-four present and former Bombers cleared of all drug charges". AFL.com.au. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  9. ^ Travis King (12 January 2016). "Guilty: court bans the Essendon 34 for 2016". Australian Football League. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  10. ^ "Hurley signs five-year contract extension with Essendon". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 18 August 2016.
  11. ^ "Essendon player believed to be Michael Hurley arrested after altercation with taxi driver on Hoddle st". Herald Sun. Australia. 25 September 2009. Retrieved 25 September 2009.
  12. ^ "Essendon Bomber Michael Hurley on Assault Charge". Herald Sun. Australia. 5 December 2009. Retrieved 13 January 2010.
  13. ^ "Michael Hurley". AFL Tables. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
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