Essendon need two Michael Hurleys at the moment. The one they have is not sure whether he will play as a key forward or key defender against St Kilda on Sunday, but he suspects it will be the former – at least for some of the game.
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Hurley, 25, has been arguably the Bombers' best player in 2015, holding down centre half-back.
But with Jake Carlisle out for six weeks with an ankle injury, Hurley has been tipped for a return to the forward line, where he played consistently with mixed success between 2011 and 2013.
Speaking at the Dons' Tullamarine base on Thursday afternoon, Hurley said "there's a fair chance I'll be forward this week".
"It has been a while since I've been down there so I think I'll be a bit rusty, but to get back down there and play with Joey [Daniher] will be a bit of fun," he said.
Complicating matters is the fact Hurley would otherwise be in line to play on Saints captain Nick Riewoldt in the Essendon back half.
Hurley said he would relish the chance to take on Riewoldt again, should he be required at some stage, after Riewoldt produced a best-on-ground five-goal performance against Hurley when the sides met early last year.
Riewoldt missed the teams' only subsequent match, Essendon's two-point win in round five this year.
Hurley said he was "disappointed" with his showing on Riewoldt last year, noting the challenge of playing on a "workhorse" through whom so much of the St Kilda attack is directed.
"Being a Saints fan growing up, it'll be good to go back on the old idol," he said.
The Bombers' captain Jobe Watson is due to play his 200th game at Etihad Stadium on Sunday, with Hurley saying it is "an honour to play alongside" the 2012 Brownlow medallist.
Hurley said he texted well-wishes to Jarryd Roughead after it emerged earlier on Thursday that the Hawthorn player had undergone surgery to remove a melanoma from his lip.
Roughead and Hurley had a spirited dual last weekend, with Hurley quipping that Roughead "certainly didn't look crook on the weekend".
Hurley also gave some tips to Gold Coast's Harley Bennell, after a photo of him using speed made front-page news on Thursday. Hurley knows about dealing with the media glare after he was fined $10,000 for assaulting a taxi driver on grand final weekend in 2009.
"Get around the people that are close to you and listen to the people that give some good advice," Hurley said.
