Hurley burly days are left behind

Essendon forward Michael Hurley relaxes at Bright while on the club's community camp. Picture: George Salpigtidis Source: Herald Sun

NEVER before has the changing of the guard been completed with such neat symmetry.

As Matthew Lloyd was foreshadowing his retirement by caving in Brad Sewell's cheekbone, Essendon's heir apparent was announcing himself on the biggest stage.

It was Round 22, 2009, and Michael Hurley was becoming a match winner in just his ninth AFL game.

Twice in the last term, Hurley peeled on to his left foot with authority to plunge a dagger into Hawthorn, guiding Essendon into the finals with a four-goal, 14-possession effort.

He seemed so raw. And he made it look so simple.

Three years, 54 more games and only 65 more goals later, it would be unfair to say Hurley is in a holding pattern.

But after a season in which his form mirrored Essendon's injury-cursed decline, it is fair to say questions are mounting.

Where is Hurley best suited after constantly being pushed forward and back?

Where does he want to play? Why does he keep getting injured?

And perhaps most important of all, will he actually become the player he seemed destined to become that late August afternoon?

Three weeks before a season in which everyone at Essendon will be on notice, Hurley sits outside a Bright nursing home on the club's community camp quietly reflecting on his progress.

He isn't angry, outraged, or confused at the questions. He has asked them himself.

And after a pre-season where puppy fat has been replaced by muscle, he is ready to find the answers.

Starting with taking control of the forward half.

"I want to play centre half-forward," Hurley states emphatically about his place in the team.

"We are lucky enough to have five or six really good backs at the moment, and I think I am best suited for the club in the forward line and I am really enjoying the challenge of learning the craft there.

"I have been training with the forward group. 'Hirdy' (coach James Hird) has said to me, 'We will play you where we need you', so I may end up back and I am easy with that, but I am really enjoying my footy forward."

Michael Hurley takes a shot at goal. Picture: Stephen Harman Source: Herald Sun

Hurley's heroes as a youngster growing up in Melbourne's northern suburbs are enlightening.

"I was a St Kilda supporter and Nick Riewoldt was the one I always watched, and down the other end it was Matty Maguire. I loved watching him play - the way he attacked the ball in the air and the way he kicked it."

Like Maguire before his badly broken leg, Hurley has the capacity to be the league's dominant centre half-back, but the forwards end up paying the bills.

His own goal output is reflective of a player torn between two ends - just 75 goals from 63 games, and just 26 in 16 games last year, including 11 in a fortnight against Fremantle and the struggling Western Bulldogs.

"I suppose it can be frustrating at times not knowing where you are playing but as long as the side is going well and I am going well, I can't complain," Hurley said.

"I suppose it's been about half and half. I don't mind going back having started forward, but going forward having started back is a bit different. It's probably in my head more than anything."

The days of regular 100-goal seasons are gone, and Hurley will never be judged on his goalpower alone.

But does he feel he needs that big season to stamp himself on the competition?

"Yeah, I think so. I think that it has been fairly up and down for myself and the footy club for the past couple of years. As we mature and as time goes on, and we play more games, I think that year is not far away."

The reasons for Hurley's confidence are tangible, and cause for extreme optimism.

One of a number of Essendon players who looked. if not overweight, then at least bulky last year, Hurley is transformed.

The new model looks light on his feet and decidedly cut.

The look is borne out of a Colorado training camp, a fitness regime with hundreds of kilometres of endurance running, and a wrist reconstruction after he was unable to take part in a heavy weights program.

"Initially I dropped 6-7kg," he said.

It really helps with my running, being a lot lighter, and I think it's helped my footy. I played last year at about 97kg and in the pre-season I got down to 90kg and I am back up to about 93 or 94kg, so that's about right for me.

"I have had both wrists operated on now and both thumbs, so hopefully, touch wood, they are all good. So there was less upper-body weights, and the running program changed."

 He is also injury-free after the best, in fact only, complete pre-season of his career.

It is a stark difference - filling up your fitness reservoirs rather than waiting for that pesky hamstring to let you down yet again.

Michael Hurley takes a shot at goal. Picture: Stephen Harman Source: Herald Sun

"(Last season) I did the first hammy in early January, and came back and played the first few games and then in Round 4 I did the other side, and then I did the other side again later on.

"I suppose you try not to think about it too much, but after it happens the first couple of times you can't help but be scared that it's going to happen again, especially with the pace of the game.

"The way it's played, you have minimal rest and you are at top-end speed for large parts of the game.

"It can be scary. I did worry about it a bit, but now that's behind me. I feel great.

"It's nice to have confidence in your body and play games and not have to worry about it."

Essendon Hall of Fame inductee Scott Lucas says he still believes the sky is the limit for Hurley.

But the 471-goal veteran says Hurley can play smarter to maximise his potential given every one of his possessions seems hard-won.

"Structurally, the team needs to play him forward. It's not to say at some stage he won't spend time in the backline because he has a natural talent for that," Lucas says.

"But I think he is a victim of the standards he set very early on in his career. He still has control of his football destiny. I think his best is in front of him.

He is so good at the contested ball, but to complement his game he needs to find a way to find a few cheap ones. It is against his better judgment, but it's OK to kick some easy goals, too.

Ask any AFL footballer how many kilometres he runs a game and he is likely to fix you with a blank stare.

"It is hard to explain," Hurley says of his game-day exertions.

"There is different terminology - B3 and B4 running - and personally I don't cover the largest amount of distance, but the running I do is faster - B4 running - it's the top-end one, over 24km/h. I am in the top five or six players in the side for that. I need to improve a bit on being on the move a bit. I am either going flat stick, or not at all."

The same could be said of Essendon last year, and Hurley says those disappointments drive him. As does that final only a week after his Hawthorn heroics.

Essendon was brutalised by Adelaide at AAMI Stadium, as it was in the only other finals game Hurley has experienced - Carlton in 2011.

Hurley signed a five-year deal with Essendon last year, and is into his second season in the leadership group. He says he simply tries to be himself, but thrives on the experience of wiser heads.

"It's been great to see how it all works. Last year I learnt a lot from guys like Mark McVeigh and Jobe Watson. I am getting older, so guys like me and Zaka (David Zaharakis) and Mysey (David Myers) have to take charge of the club."

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