Michael Hurley came into 2020 with his fantasy stocks almost nil, and they have dropped even further as his role in the Essendon team has devolved into a third tall defender. Even worse, Jordan Ridley has now become the designated intercept marker, leaving him too often to chase his man to spots where the footy ain't. On the bright side he appears to have entrenched himself in the best 22 at Tullamarine, and he hasn't been asked to switch forward much... though maybe that might be the key to unlocking his value as a fantasy asset.
Michael Hurley came into 2020 with his fantasy stocks almost nil, and they have dropped even further as his role in the Essendon team has devolved into a third tall defender. Even worse, Jordan Ridley has now become the designated intercept marker, leaving him too often to chase his man to spots where the footy ain't. On the bright side he appears to have entrenched himself in the best 22 at Tullamarine, and he hasn't been asked to switch forward much... though maybe that might be the key to unlocking his value as a fantasy asset.
Michael Hurley used to be well in the conversation for All-Australian honours every year, but he has dropped away and it's not just because his fantasy scores on the rebound have dropped away. His one on one contested stuff has also fallen from its heights of a few years ago, not helped by the lack of pressure from the Bombers midfield which is not what it once was in the Jobe Watson era. Fantasy owners in keeper leagues would be looking elsewhere for better prospects, though he can still produce decent scores when the Dons go slow on the rebound.
Take a squizz at Hurley
Injuries to either shoulder that both required surgery derailed Michael Hurley's 2019 campaign, but before that he maintained his pace from the previous year with a pleasingly high base of eight marks per game making him the most valuable key defender in fantasy behind Tom Stewart. He resumed training after Christmas in a bid to push his disposal rate from 20 back to 25 to earn another All-Australian jersey as he did in 2017. It is a shame that in basic fantasy formats, in particular, dominant centre half backs like Hurley don't always get rewarded for their performance. It's difficult to generate fantasy scores from shutting down an opponent so well that he doesn't even get targets. Hurley's worth for fantasy purposes is predicated on uncontested marks on the rebound, a secondary part of his game. This means he's behind a lot of half back flankers in the rankings.
Michael Hurley has fallen out of favour with fantasy coaches since 2017 as his fantasy output has fallen ten points from his last All-Australian campaign to hover just outside the top scoring tier of defenders. Perhaps the presence of Cale Hooker is the culprit, maybe it's the development of other interceptors at half back like Aaron Francis and Mason Redman, or it might just be the coach telling him to play a more back-shoulder role in the manner of Daniel Talia at the Crows. As it is, he's a solid middle-range starter in draft leagues and no more.
Michael Hurley started off last season poorly due to an early concussion, but he didn't have that excuse for an execrable performance in round 1 of 2019 as he looked listless and lazy from the first quarter against the Giants. It came out during the week that he was struggling with a virus, though the coach disagreed somewhat on that favourable interpretation. He is a highly-ranked fantasy asset capable for putting months of 120+ scores together, so his owners who paid top dollar will want to see an immediate resurgence this week.
Grab Hurley early
Overlooked for last year's All-Australian team in favour of three tall defenders whose teams made finals, Michael Hurley didn't have that much worse a year than the previous AA-quality campaign. He lost four disposals per game with the rest of his stat line unchanged, rising from fourth to second in the league for marks. It is that reliance on marks to form the base of his scoring production that has made Hurley popular with fantasy coaches, even if he didn't justify the early pick they would have used on him last year. He's still a valuable commodity going into 2019, as you won't find many genuine key defenders with his high floor. Draft him in early rounds if you can.
Michael Hurley returns to the Essendon side after two weeks out with a hamstring injury, to a different mindset. Over the first month or so his fantasy numbers were very solid as he participated in a lot of uncontested marks and kicks. The new post-Neeld gameplan at Bomberland is a lot more contested and responsible, which means Hurley's numbers might drop off, esepcially in AFL Fantasy and AFL Dream Team. When he does play accountable, Hurley can still put numbers up in AFL Supercoach, and he's good enough to score regardless.
Halo over Hurley
A second All-Australian jumper in three years after missing 2016 was just reward for Michael Hurley's development at CHB, and his fantasy numbers hit new heights as well with 25 touches and seven marks resembling the stat lines of an elite HBF. After being rarely beaten all year, a calf injury then lowering his colours to Callum Sinclair in the final was a disappointing end. Post-season speculation over Alex Rance's place amongst the greats of the game came after Rance was shifted to FB behind Hurley in the AA team. Hurley doesn't control the game quite as well as Rance can, it's true. All fantasy coaches care about is his work accumulating on the rebound, and for that he deserves consideration in early rounds.
