Xavier Campbell says Essendon would help Michael Hurley move clubs but big trade needed

ESSENDON won’t stand in the way of banned star Michael Hurley if he does not want to return to the club, but is adamant it will have to receive something in return.

Michael Hurley’s future is still unclear. Picture: Wayne Ludbey

ESSENDON won’t stand in the way of banned star Michael Hurley if he does not want to return to the club, but is adamant it will have to receive something in return.

Hurley, 26, is one of five suspended Bombers yet to re-commit for next season.

He is contracted for 2017, but chief executive Xavier Campbell says it will work with Hurley and others should they want to leave - but he won’t let them walk for nothing.

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“I don’t think (we’d force them to stay), and we made that pretty clear,” he said.

“You want players that want to be at your football club. Particularly given the period of time we’ve been through, if a player said they didn’t feel like they could come back to the football club with everything that happened, of course we’d work with them to go to another club.

“The caveat is that the club got a reasonable return in exchange for that player leaving a contract early. But we want to work with them, absolutely.”

Michael Hurley is tackled by Luke Shuey. Picture: Daniel Wilkins

Campbell said indications he has received are that the AFL’s grievance tribunal could be avoided.

“You’d be trying to facilitate a trade. In the work we’ve done with the AFL and others, the grievance process, we don’t think, is that option,” he said on SEN.

“A lot of their management parties have indicated that if they did want to go, they’d work to a trade with the club.

“It’s all a bit of a hypothetical now, because I still think we’re in a good position to (have them re-commit).”

Melbourne football manager Josh Mahoney confirmed today that the Demons and “every club would have asked that question to (player manager) Paul Connors about what Michael’s (Hurley) doing”, but until he makes a decision said the Demons “expect for him to stay at Essendon”.

And Campbell feels the same.

“It’s a really competitive landscape, isn’t it? Clubs are always trying to find ways to improve their list and potential on the field,” he said.

“When you have players of the quality of Michael, where there’s a perception that he may or may not be available, clubs are going to want to explore that.

“He’s very close with his teammates and has a strong association with that group – they’ve been through a really tough period together. There’s still some work to be done to get Hurls there, but we remain confident with the position we’ve got.

“Michael’s been away, and that’s probably added another element to it. Not just with Michael, but a big handful of them. We still remain confident in our position.”

Originally published as Xavier Campbell says Essendon would help Michael Hurley move clubs but big trade needed