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]

His last quarter as a forward shows this is not his position.

 

[eth-dog]

Play him on Hipwood this week.

 

[Rumple Foreskin]

Our unravelling against a rabid hungry brisbane will be on the back of his panicky get-it-the-*-outta-here bombing game style.

Mark my words.

 

[MiguelM]

Seems to have completely lost his tenacity. Never been a good kick.

Probably stays in with Ambrose out

 

[dnbassador]

Seems to have completely lost his tenacity. Never been a good kick.

Probably stays in with Ambrose out

Never been a good kick lol oh boy ‍

 

[Mercurial89]

Hurls has had a tough season for a number of reasons. He is barely training and has looked out of sorts all year. That doesnt make him trade bait.

Last time we had an all australian not training and whos form had fallen off a cliff turned out he was carrying OP.
Whoosha mentioned in his presser about Hurls and reading between the lines its another instance of a player going through some things body wise and off fieland is not performing.

 

[eDPS]

Hurley is no longer effective as that loose player so not only does he need to go back to playing as a defender first but also get back some bloody aggression in his game. Some of his efforts at the contest in the air have been deplorable, it’s not just him but just once I’d like to see our defenders just kill the contest with a fist, I’ve seen Guelfi do it how is the smallest defender and first year player able to do this? Defend first and attack second should be Hurley’s moto for the rest of the year, simplify his role so he doesn’t feel he needs to be everywhere in defence.

 

[adsla69k]

Hurley has been crud since his contract renewal/raise.
Not sure if its they money affecting him or he is comfortable now like when couples get married and let themselves go? But I can see he dropped away around that time.

Remember in his Rookie year we were playing StKilda in just about there prime and we were a few points up late in the game and the ball went in D50, it was Hurley in his like 8th game, one on one Vs Nick Reiwoldt and Hurls out bodies him and reloaded out through the opposite wing. It was hearts in mouth stuff. I remember thinking we have future superstar here.

 

[NAB777]

It's not just how badly he has been playing this year... having him in the team, playing the 'role' he plays, is having a serious effect on how the team is structured, and the way we play.

 

[Bunk Moreland]

Hurls has had a tough season for a number of reasons. He is barely training and has looked out of sorts all year. That doesnt make him trade bait.

Last time we had an all australian not training and whos form had fallen off a cliff turned out he was carrying OP.
Whoosha mentioned in his presser about Hurls and reading between the lines its another instance of a player going through some things body wise and off fieland is not performing.

Would be inexcusable.

If he’s injured, get him out of the team to recover.

 

[Bunk Moreland]

Hird turned Hurley into the player he is, he became an AA under him, he said it time and time again: Hurley’s biggest strength is not his skill, or his physical strength, or anything else... it’s his competitiveness and determination to win contests.

There was ongoing discussion on back versus forward and Hird always said that’s his greatest attribute and we’ll use him where that’s best utilised.

We need to get him back to that, it’s still the place where he shines the most, such as last night when he went toe to toe with Martin and outmuscled him (terrible and obviously incorrect free kick notwithstanding).

He needs to be given a defensive job first and foremost, we’ve gone too far away from that with him. He’s good enough to still be an attacking threat as well.

 

[Highly Evolved]

What is the logic behind playing forward? I thought his wrists wouldn't allow it.

Last night (hopefully) isn't a good judge of performance, but I did notice he went the fist in a forward marking contest.

 

[Lore]

What is the logic behind playing forward? I thought his wrists wouldn't allow it.

Last night (hopefully) isn't a good judge of performance, but I did notice he went the fist in a forward marking contest.

Some goose commentator was saying it a month ago, two weeks after Hooker went back. I think maybe they meant Hooker and got the names muddled up, but the idea stuck. They probably haven’t seen him play more than twice since he started playing in defence.

 

[Zach Package]

The games where the midfield has brought it and not left him and the rest of the backs in the lurch he's been good to very good, the games where our midfield have let sides walk the ball inside 50 he's struggled, so he's essentially like every other key defender. Occams razor suggests good footballer is still good footballer, I haven't seen nearly enough to suggest otherwise at the moment.

The way he's being used is a different story, he's a bloody fantastic kick of the footy, but I don't think we're that desperate for a good kick out of defence we have to really labor to play through him, which it looks like we make a conscious effort to do

 

[mayhem20202]

The games where the midfield has brought it and not left him and the rest of the backs in the lurch he's been good to very good, the games where our midfield have let sides walk the ball inside 50 he's struggled, so he's essentially like every other key defender. Occams razor suggests good footballer is still good footballer, I haven't seen nearly enough to suggest otherwise at the moment.

The way he's being used is a different story, he's a bloody fantastic kick of the footy, but I don't think we're that desperate for a good kick out of defence we have to really labor to play through him, which it looks like we make a conscious effort to do

Hooker dominated his opponent on the weekend in a game where our midfield was deplorable. I get that the pressure down the ground has an impact on others, but as a Club, we always come up with excuses for s**t performances. Let’s just call it as it is, he’s out of form or injured. One way or the other, his output is well below par at the moment.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Maddogm]

The way he's being used is a different story, he's a bloody fantastic kick of the footy, but I don't think we're that desperate for a good kick out of defence we have to really labor to play through him, which it looks like we make a conscious effort to do

Part of that is the loss of Gleeson, last year we were moving it through either Hurley or Gleeson most of the time. They were basically both playing the same role on either side when we were moving the ball out. Having lost the 2nd option we've been tending to go through Hurls.

 

[Spud Patrol]

I'll no doubt get ridiculed for this but considering how lost he seems to be in the last 6 weeks of footy and the fact we are absutley crying out for it, I say throw Hurley in the midfield.

He'll run in straight lines and will hit packs with aggression and he's not gonna let anyone slip from his tackling.

I think with Ridley putting his hand up to be that Lever style roll player while Hurley and Goddard are both trying to play it, let's just change it right up, bring in Francis and hope with the Ridler, Francis and Hooker we can build a new defensive unit.

Backs: McKenna Hooker Gleeson
Ridley Francis Saad

Mids from Zach Hepp Smith with stringer Hurley Goddard rotating through as the big body and smalls from Raz, tippa, zaka rotating through the forward pocket and wings to midfield.

 

[citizen-erased]

I'll no doubt get ridiculed for this but considering how lost he seems to be in the last 6 weeks of footy and the fact we are absutley crying out for it, .I say through Hurley in the midfield.

He'll run in straight lines and will hit packs with aggression and he's not gonna let anyone slip from his tackling.

I think with Ridley putting his hand up to be that Lever style roll player while Hurley and Goddard are both trying to play it, let's just change it right up, bring in Francis and hope with the Ridler, Francis and Hooker we can build a new defensive unit.

Backs: McKenna Hooker Gleeson
Ridley Francis Saad

Mids from Zach Hepp Smith with stringer Hurley Goddard rotating through as the big body and smalls from Raz, tippa, zaka rotating through the forward pocket and wings to midfield.

will be very hard to reprogram a 28yo defender into a mid.
Langford and Stringer are at least still young and had grounding in the position.

I'd be happier giving Hurley and Hooker an opponent each week and getting Ridley and Francis to play loose.

 

[ant555]

Come on. Hurley is not out of form. It is always someone else who is at fault. Has hardly made a mistake or had a goal kicked on him all season.

 

[TheGrizz]

Come on. Hurley is not out of form. It is always someone else who is at fault. Has hardly made a mistake or had a goal kicked on him all season.

We get it.

Hurley has a history of being treated like bambi on this board and you've copped it previously because of it.

You've made that clear.

You can stop flogging the horses corpse now bud.

 

[Dons4days]

Hurls has never returned from injury well so I'm not surprised he performed like he did on Saturday. It took him 2-3 weeks at the start of last season to find some form & then managed to get AA honours.

 

[Lance Uppercut]

My god...

Every single time he takes a game or two to get going after a lay-off and every single time people write him off.

******* goldfish!!

 

[ant555]

We get it.

Hurley has a history of being treated like bambi on this board and you've copped it previously because of it.

You've made that clear.

You can stop flogging the horses corpse now bud.

Its a forum. I can flog as many dead horses as I want to.

 

[Runk]

I'm not getting all the hate.

At all.

 

[Spud Patrol]

Can't hurt to try. Look at what baggers did going forward. It's the year for experimenting now.