AFTER seven months of protracted contract talks and speculation around Michael Hurley's future, all it took was 10 minutes.
Essendon chief executive officer Xavier Campbell and Hurley's manager Paul Connors met at an East Malvern café in Melbourne's inner leafy suburbs on Thursday morning, and by the time the coffees hit their tables they had shaken hands on a deal that made Hurley a Bomber for life.
Talks about his future had been ongoing since he was handed a 12-month WADA ban for using a prohibited substance in January, but in the end it all happened swiftly.
Things came to a head in recent days after Hurley arrived back from his European holiday, but the key defender proved elusive. The in-demand Essendon star had returned to Australia after a six-week holiday in Europe last Friday, but Connors couldn't get a hold of him.
Hurley isn't known among his friends for being the most responsive person with his mobile phone, and he was jetlagged, unwell after his trip and difficult to reach. Connors himself had been away for four days on a golf trip with friends, but knew Hurley would be close to his decision by the time he returned to Melbourne.
The pair eventually spoke, and organised to meet on Wednesday. Hurley had spent his overseas trip sightseeing, running with the bulls in Spain, paddling through Amsterdam and watching the British Open golf. But he had also thought plenty about his football future and where he should play in 2017 after his suspension ended. He came back with a strong view on where that was.
Hurley and Connors caught up and they got to the point quickly: it was Essendon. Connors left the meeting and called Campbell, who he had been dealing with directly around Hurley's situation. "Yep, he wants to stay," Connors told Campbell. "Let's get it done."
Michael Hurley and Michael Hibberd in Amsterdam. Picture: @mickhurley Instragram
Campbell had been quietly confident throughout the year that Hurley would remain a Bomber, and the two preceding days gave him even more hope. Connors had updated Campbell on Monday, when Hurley was uncontactable, and again on Tuesday, after Hurley had given Connors an indication his future would be in red and black.
On Tuesday night, Campbell had dinner with emerging Bombers stars Zach Merrett and Joe Daniher. The pair, naturally, were keen to know about any news on their teammate, and Campbell told them the signs were good. The phone call the next day from Connors, probably the most powerful player agent in the game, confirmed his gut feel.
The pair agreed to meet at 8.30am on Thursday morning, near Connors' offices. The contract details were, to this point, around 50 per cent done. Essendon had put forward the five-year extension (Hurley was already contracted to the end of 2017) long ago and even released a statement telling fans they had, but there remained some work to do to be on the same page.
Within 10 minutes, that was sorted. The pair finished their drinks and went separate ways.
Chase for Hurley ends with new Dons deal
Campbell arrived at Essendon's Tullamarine base at about 10.15am, but on the way had begun drafting the club's press release with his media team. The last step was Hurley rubberstamping the statement. Again, the 26-year-old All Australian was hard to get on his phone.
The Bombers had waited months to re-sign their star defender – the most important and most in-demand of their 12 players serving bans for anti-doping breaches – so a little longer wasn't going to cause too much stress.
In the meantime, word had begun to spread around Essendon that good news was imminent.
When Campbell arrived at the club, the first person he went to see was coach John Worsfold. He didn't tell him it was definitely a done deal, but he said things were looking very good. Originally the Bombers had hoped to announce the news to coincide with Worsfold's 11:30am press conference. The delay on Hurley's tick-off made that unachievable.
Worsfold told some players that Hurley looked set to stay, but it took a few hours for things to be official. Hurley had been given time to speak with family and friends to relay his news and decision before it was made public (although news began to fliter through fan site Bomberblitz.com that Hurley had re-signed). Essendon, like throughout its re-contracting process, did not want to pressure Hurley into rushing things.
Hurley's decision said much about him and the club. He had considered other options – before he left for overseas he had met with Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge and list manager Jason McCartney – and Collingwood's offer is understood to have been the most financially lucrative. St Kilda, Melbourne and Adelaide were other clubs in the hunt.
Rivals were informed on Thursday morning that Hurley would not be going with them. It was ultimately his loyalty to his teammates that saw him side with Essendon and sign what will likely make him a one-club player.
Essendon has had some difficult and challenging board meetings in the past four years, but Thursday's was not one of those.
When the club was made aware Hurley had given the all clear to the press release, Campbell excused himself from the board meeting for 10 minutes, and informed Worsfold and a handful of players it was done. At 3.15pm, Campbell sent out a tweet saying "#18", and at 3.17pm the club's statement confirming Hurley's contract landed on its website.
Essendon never lost hope it would keep Hurley. The Bombers weren't bothered by the length he took to make his decision, nor the rumours he was heading elsewhere. They didn't stand in his way from meeting other clubs as he made up his mind. And this week, after a long wait (and a few more unanswered calls late in the piece) it all wrapped up quickly. Hurley was theirs.
Michael Hurley looks set to be an Essendon player for life. Picture: AFL Photos
