Michael Hurley (footballer)
| Michael Hurley |
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| Personal information |
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| Full name |
Michael Hurley |
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| Date of birth |
(1990-06-01) 1 June 1990 |
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| Original team(s) |
Northern Knights (TAC Cup) |
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| Draft |
No. 5, 2008 National Draft |
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| Height/Weight |
193 cm / 92 kg |
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| Position(s) |
Defender / Forward |
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| Club information |
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| Current club |
Essendon |
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| Number |
18 |
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| Playing career1 |
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| Years |
Club |
Games (Goals) |
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| 2009– |
Essendon |
119 (105) |
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1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2015 season. |
| Career highlights |
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Michael Hurley (born 1 June 1990) is a professional Australian rules footballer, currently playing for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League.
Junior career
Hurley played for the Northern Knights in the TAC Cup,[1] he was selected in the TAC Cup Team of the Year in both the 2007 and 2008 seasons.
AFL career
Michael was drafted by Essendon with pick 5 in the 2008 national draft.[2][3] He made his debut against Port Adelaide in round 1, 2009, and was nominated as the Round 1 AFL Rising Star.[4][5] After a match-winning four goal performance against Hawthorn in round 22, 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]
The next few seasons saw Hurley's form fluctuate due to injury and the constant shuffling of his position in the team between key forward and key back. Over the next four years 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 an All-Australian selection, his first as an Essendon player, and finished runner up in the club's best & fairest.
On 12 January 2016, Hurley was one of the 34 past and present Essendon players found guilty over the club's use of illegal supplements during the 2012 AFL season. As a result, Hurley was suspended until November 2016 from all football-related activities, with the ban period back dated to start November 2015.[7]
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.[8][9]
Statistics
- Statistics are correct to the end of Round 17, 2015 season.[10]
References
External links
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* denotes rookie listed players
** denotes player(s) serving WADA suspension in 2016
+ denotes top-up players
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