Retired #18: Michael Hurley 🐻 - Staying on in a coaching and player welfare role! - 3/10

[Lore]

Contract Status: Retired
Last Game Played: Currently in the side
Injury Status: Comes back from injury to play his final game for the club this weekend - 18/8

Spoiler

2022
He's back! Playing a half in the VFL this weekend - 15/7
Joins main training in the next couple of weeks! - 15/6
Had a calf setback, now running again - 28/4
Wants to play a half in the VFL in the next couple of weeks - 30/3
Joined main training? - 3/3
Ahead of schedule, doing some big running loads - 16/2
Progressing well, R1 'too soon' to return, no time frame - 11/1
On track for playing return around Round 6 - 12/3

2021
Ahead of schedule, running soon - 15/12
Hip replacement surgery - 10/10
Placed on the inactive list, will not play in 2021 - 31/5
Hopes to play the last 6 weeks of the season if not sooner - 26/4
At the club daily doing 1-2 hours of exercise for recovery - 23/3
On the mend - 19/3
Apparently using the hot/cold pools at the club, progress? - 5/3
Limping on crutches with an IV at the preseason game - 25/2
Discharged, recuperating at home... again. No time frame on return - 17/2
Apparently back in hospital - 15/2
Discharged from hospital, recuperating at home. No timeframe - 9/2
In hospital with an infected leg - 4/2

My Boy Draft 2022: Claim here

 

[yaco55]

Controlled the defence and more importantly was strong in one-on-one contests - This is the way Hurley should be playing.

 

[zahoorahkis]

Becoming the master back-pocket stat-padder.

Would love to see him at the 50 metre line trying to mark a kick out every once in a while instead of getting the easy one time and again, where he then proceeds to kick it to no marking target (because it should be him).

 

[Legend Lucas]

S

Becoming the master back-pocket stat-padder.

Would love to see him at the 50 metre line trying to mark a kick out every once in a while instead of getting the easy one time and again, where he then proceeds to kick it to no marking target (because it should be him).

Spot on.
Sick of seeing him rack up disposals in the back pocket instead of taking the key forward. We are paying him mega bucks to play on the best not the worst forward:
I feel overrated a bit

 

[BOMBERS 4 LIFE!!!!]

I miss the 1v1 beast Hurley

 

[TheGreatBarryB]

S

Spot on.
Sick of seeing him rack up disposals in the back pocket instead of taking the key forward. We are paying him mega bucks to play on the best not the worst forward:
I feel overrated a bit

In regards to piss....you’re either taking it or on it

 

[zahoorahkis]

S

Spot on.
Sick of seeing him rack up disposals in the back pocket instead of taking the key forward. We are paying him mega bucks to play on the best not the worst forward:
I feel overrated a bit

I hope he's just taking precautions over the wrist injury he sustained a few weeks back, because he's avoided more contests than he's contested over the last few weeks. Will be worrying if it continues for too much longer...

 

[windyhill]

Rusty. Was last week,but it's amazing how a win covers up some things.

 

[yaco55]

A solid game tonight - Didn't have a big one-on-one job, though his work in the air could have been better - He's defending better SO FAR, then he did in 2017.

 

[Dons4days]

His marking needs to be better. One of the players I’m not too concerned about, he’s always taken a few games to get going.

He does need some more creative players down back with him though.

 

[Summer Nights]

Becoming the master back-pocket stat-padder.

Would love to see him at the 50 metre line trying to mark a kick out every once in a while instead of getting the easy one time and again, where he then proceeds to kick it to no marking target (because it should be him).

Guy who almost leads the comp in intercept possessions is a stat padder... ok.

Aside, I’d agree with those saying his fingers are buttery. Does he have slippy tape on them??

 

[MightyDons4]

I disliked Hurley’s 2017 and have absolutely hated what he has shown thus far this year. Gone is our bearded, man-bunned, defensive maniac of a warrior at CHB, who we’ve replaced with a bloke that gets cheap possessions out the back and takes the oppositions 3rd best tall each week. If we want to be any chance of winning a final this year, yet alone flag contenders, we need Hurls to stop this out-the-back-freebie bullshit and bulk up and take the oppositions #1 key forward under 195cm to get back to his 2015 best.

 

[TheGreatBarryB]

You need good distributors from defence these days, plus they’re not just freebies, he actually reads the play better than anyone else in defence. Look at last quarter against Crows.

 

[yodellinhank]

You need good distributors from defence these days, plus they’re not just freebies, he actually reads the play better than anyone else in defence. Look at last quarter against Crows.

When he does kick the ball like that spearing pass to Begley (? the one right before he put it OOF) he can be considered a very good distributor. Too often however he is lofting searching up an under down balls the line - any crumb can do that.

 

[MightyDons4]

You need good distributors from defence these days, plus they’re not just freebies, he actually reads the play better than anyone else in defence. Look at last quarter against Crows.

We have the likes of Goddard and McKenna that are great users coming out of the backline. Mitch Brown playing on a more dangerous forward than Hurley shows you where he's at.

 

[TheGreatBarryB]

When he does kick the ball like that spearing pass to Begley (? the one right before he put it OOF) he can be considered a very good distributor. Too often however he is lofting searching up an under down balls the line - any crumb can do that.

Nah he does it better than most. Funny though, when he's missing no one else comes near to it . Don't see that many on other teams either.

We have the likes of Goddard and McKenna that are great users coming out of the backline. Mitch Brown playing on a more dangerous forward than Hurley shows you where he's at.

McKenna's a better user than Hurley?

 

[MiguelM]

Only problem is Hurley is not an elite kick. Too many out on the full & turnovers. His ball drop is too high.

 

[kelvin_sheedy]

I'd be happier if he played more of a Heath Grundy type role. Hurley is a better footballer but if I had a choice I'd pick Grundy in front of him because he's just more dependable and disciplined.

 

[zahoorahkis]

Guy who almost leads the comp in intercept possessions is a stat padder... ok.

Aside, I’d agree with those saying his fingers are buttery. Does he have slippy tape on them??

Well, just going off this past weekend for example, he had 25 touches, 5 of which were contested, and 8 marks, 1 of which was contested.

It's no sin to get uncontested ball, but you better be doing the hard stuff as well when you're touted as our best defender.

Too often he took the cheap option this week.

 

[TheGreatBarryB]

Josh Jenkins destroyed Rance...give me Grundy over Rance any day....yeah right.

Freo loss was all about the midfield, we were destroyed

 

[NAB777]

I've watched Hurley closely over the past two weeks. Something's not right. He can get all the stats in the world, but some of his clangers are Adam McPhee (the bad version) like. Dropping sitters & missing targets when not under pressure...

I hope it's not a long term thing.

 

[Summer Nights]

Well, just going off this past weekend for example, he had 25 touches, 5 of which were contested, and 8 marks, 1 of which was contested.

It's no sin to get uncontested ball, but you better be doing the hard stuff as well when you're touted as our best defender.

Too often he took the cheap option this week.

He’s beating his opponents too...

Honestly, some people have way high expectations.

Hardly any KPD in the league can match him for overall value yet people lay into him when he drops a few marks. Yeah, it frustrates me too and I wish he’d do better, but look at the rest of the defenders in the comp getting walloped lately and add not much back the other way.

Just try to have some perspective.

 

[Summer Nights]

One thing I’ve noticed is that he doesn’t get the one percenter stats because he goes third man into a contest with open hands rather than the fist. The outcome is the same - the mark is spoiled - but Hartley’s style gets the stat while Hurley’s doesn’t. I bet not many notice that.

 

[boncer34]

One thing I’ve noticed is that he doesn’t get the one percenter stats because he goes third man into a contest with open hands rather than the fist. The outcome is the same - the mark is spoiled - but Hartley’s style gets the stat while Hurley’s doesn’t. I bet not many notice that.

You've surely made that up. Where does it say a spoil isn't counted if it's open hand?

 

[Summer Nights]

You've surely made that up. Where does it say a spoil isn't counted if it's open hand?

It doesn’t, specifically. One percenters include spoils. When you look at Hartley and Rance and count their one percenter stats against the actual game, their spoils are counted. Hurley is usually only credited with a couple of one percenters per match, which is quite unrepresentative of the contests he impacts because he jumps in with open hands. These aren’t considered a spoil because the action is typical of an attempted mark even if the player is trying to bring it to ground at his feet. I’ll often count him doing it 5 odd times a game yet only get 2 or 3 one percenters. The Freo game was a good example.

 

[boncer34]

It doesn’t, specifically. One percenters include spoils. When you look at Hartley and Rance and count their one percenter stats against the actual game, their spoils are counted. Hurley is usually only credited with a couple of one percenters per match, which is quite unrepresentative of the contests he impacts because he jumps in with open hands. These aren’t considered a spoil because the action is typical of an attempted mark even if the player is trying to bring it to ground at his feet. I’ll often count him doing it 5 odd times a game yet only get 2 or 3 one percenters. The Freo game was a good example.

So you did just make it up?