Michael George Hibberd (born 3 January 1990) is a former professional

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

er who played for the

Melbourne Football Club The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Demons or colloquially the Dees, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier comp ...

and

Essendon Football Club The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed the Bombers or colloquially the Dons, is a professional Australian rules football club that plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), the game's premier competition. The club was formed by the McCrac ...

in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition ...

(AFL). A defender, tall and weighing , Hibberd plays primarily on the half-back flank. After spending the 2008 season with the

Dandenong Stingrays The Dandenong Southern Stingrays are an Australian rules football team in the Talent League, the Victorian statewide under-18s competition. 1992 saw the birth of the Southern Stingrays, developed under the leadership of Steve Kennedy (Regiona ...

in the

TAC Cup The Talent League (also known as the Coates Talent League under naming rights and previously as the NAB League and TAC Cup) is an under-19 Australian rules football representative competition based in Melbourne and run by the Australian Foot ...

, he missed out on selection in the 2008 AFL draft, which saw him spend two seasons in the

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football competition in Australia operated by the Australian Football League (AFL) as a second-tier, regional, semi-professional competition. It includes teams from clubs based in east ...

(VFL) with the

Frankston Football Club The Frankston Football Club, nicknamed the Dolphins, is an Australian rules football club based in the Melbourne suburb of Frankston, Victoria, Frankston. The club was formed in 1887 and has played in the Victorian Football League (VFL), forme ...

. After winning Frankston's

best and fairest In Australian sport, the best and fairest award recognises the player(s) adjudged to have had the best performance in a game or over a season for a given sporting club or competition. The awards are sometimes dependent on not receiving a suspensi ...

and the Fothergill–Round Medal as the VFL's most promising young player in 2010, he was recruited by the

with the fourth selection in the 2011 pre-season draft. Hibberd made his AFL debut during the 2011 season and in the same year, he was forced to miss the second half of the year after a club-imposed suspension due to an assault charge. His next four years at the club saw him rewarded with the club rising star award and three top-ten finishes in the best and fairest count. After being suspended for the entire 2016 season due to his involvement in the Essendon supplements saga, he was traded to the Melbourne Football Club during the 2016 trade period. His first season with Melbourne saw him receive

All-Australian The All-Australian team is an all-star team of Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules footballers, selected by a panel at the end of each season. It represents a complete team, including an interchange bench, of the best-perfo ...

honours and represent

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

in the

International Rules Series The International Rules Series is a senior men's international rules football competition between the Australia international rules football team (selected by the Australian Football League) and the Ireland international rules football team ...

Early life

Originally from the small town of Somerville on the

Mornington Peninsula The Mornington Peninsula is a peninsula located in the south of Greater Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. It is surrounded by Port Phillip to the west, Western Port to the east and Bass Strait to the south, and is connected to ...

, Hibberd played with the

in the TAC Cup in 2008, where he managed to play only half the season due to a groin injury. He finished fifth in the

count and was awarded the Dandenong Stingrays coaches award. After being overlooked in the 2008 AFL draft, he joined the

in the

(VFL). His first year at Frankston saw him finish fifth in the best and fairest and claim the best first year player award. In his second year at the club, his season was rewarded with the senior best and fairest award and the Fothergill–Round Medal as the VFL's most promising young player.

AFL career

2011–2012: Early career

Hibberd was drafted by the

with their only selection and fourth overall in the 2011 pre-season draft. He made his AFL debut in the 139-point win against at Etihad Stadium in round six. He was omitted the next week for the match against , before returning in round eight in the thirty-six point win against at the Gabba, where he recorded twenty-two disposals and was praised by then-Essendon coach,

James Hird James Albert Hird (born 4 February 1973) is a former professional Australian rules football player and past senior coach of the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Hird played as a midfielder and half-forward, but he ...

, in particular for his courage around the ball. Playing the next seven matches, he missed the round seventeen match against at

AAMI Stadium Football Park, known commercially as AAMI Stadium, was an Australian rules football stadium located in West Lakes, a western suburb of Adelaide, the state capital of South Australia, Australia. It was built in 1973 by the South Australian Na ...

due to a hamstring injury. After playing the first five matches for the 2012 season, he suffered a hamstring injury during the first quarter of the Anzac Day clash against in round five, which forced him to miss six weeks of football. He made his return from injury through the

(VFL), playing for Essendon's affiliate team, . After playing two matches in the VFL, he returned to the AFL side for the twenty-four point win against at Patersons Stadium in round thirteen. He played the next three matches before injuring his quad in the fifty point win against at AAMI Stadium in round sixteen. He missed three weeks due to the injury and returned to the side for the twenty-four point loss against at Etihad Stadium in round twenty. He played the remainder of the season, managing thirteen matches for the year and was rewarded with the club rising star award as the best young player. At the end of the year he changed guernsey numbers from 43 to 1.

2013–2015: Emergence as a half-back flanker

The 2013 season saw Hibberd play every match of the year for the first time in his career. His performances during the season was described by ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

'' journalist, Rohan Connolly, as "the best football of his career" and he was named in Connolly's mid-season

All-Australian team The All-Australian team is an all-star team of Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules footballers, selected by a panel at the end of each season. It represents a complete team, including an interchange bench, of the best-perfo ...

. His running off of half-back saw him compared to six time All-Australian, Corey Enright, by Rohan Connolly. After the announcement of the forty man squad for the 2013 All-Australian team, he was considered unlucky to miss out on selection by ''AFL Media'' journalist, Nick Bowen, and ''The Age'' journalist and former player,

Matthew Lloyd Matthew James Lloyd (born 16 April 1978) is a former professional Australian rules footballer, who played for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A highly decorated full-forward, Lloyd's AFL's honours include ...

. His improved season saw him finish fourth in the clubs

count. Despite a hamstring injury during the 2014 NAB Challenge, Hibberd played the first fourteen matches of the year, before he was forced to miss the round sixteen match against Port Adelaide at the

Adelaide Oval The Adelaide Oval is a stadium in Adelaide in the state of South Australia. It is located in the Adelaide Parklands, parklands. The venue is predominantly used for cricket and Australian rules football, but has also played host to rugby league, ...

due to an ankle injury. He returned to the side two weeks later for the seven point win against the at Etihad Stadium in round eighteen, before succumbing to a hamstring injury the next week and missed two weeks. He returned from injury in the three point win against at Etihad Stadium in round twenty-one, where he was named the best player for Essendon by ''The Age'' and ''AFL Media''. He played the remainder of the season, including his first final in the twelve point loss against at the

Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as the 'G, is a sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hemisphere, the Lis ...

in the second elimination final. His form in the first half of the year before his injuries was praised within the industry, with ''

Herald Sun The ''Herald Sun'' is a Conservatism, conservative daily tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia, published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Corp Australia, itself a subsidiary of the American Rupert Murdoch, Murd ...

'' journalist, Sam Landsberger, claiming he was in All-Australian form and he signed a three-year contract with the club, tying him to the club until the end of the 2017 season. He played nineteen matches for the season and finished fourth in the best and fairest count for the second consecutive season. Hibberd played every match for the 2015 season apart from the final round match against Collingwood due to a knee injury. After strong seasons in 2013 and 2014, he had a dip in form after spending more time in the

midfield In many sports, midfield is the part of a sports field that is near the line that is equally far from the end lines. That is, in American football it is the part of the field near the 50-yard line; in association football (soccer) and field hoc ...

. Despite a drop in form, he managed a top-ten finish in the best and fairest, placing eighth and he was named in Essendon's best players six times during the season by ''AFL Media''.

2016–present: Suspension and move to Melbourne

Hibberd, along with 33 other Essendon players, was found guilty of using a banned performance-enhancing substance,

thymosin beta-4 Thymosin beta-4 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''TMSB4X'' gene. Recommended INN (International Nonproprietary Name) for thymosin beta-4 is 'timbetasin', as published by the World Health Organization (WHO). The protein consists (in ...

, as part of Essendon's sports supplements program during the 2012 season. He and his teammates were initially found not guilty in March 2015 by the AFL Anti-Doping Tribunal, but a guilty verdict was returned in January 2016 after an appeal by the

World Anti-Doping Agency The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA; , AMA) is an international organization co-founded by the governments of over 140 nations along with the International Olympic Committee based in Canada to promote, coordinate, and monitor the fight against d ...

. He was suspended for two years which, with backdating, ended in November 2016; as a result, he served approximately fourteen months of his suspension and missed the entire 2016 season. After speculation surrounding whether he would return to Essendon once his suspension was finished, he confirmed in August that he wanted to be traded to another club for a "fresh start" despite being contracted to Essendon until the end of 2017 and he nominated as his preferred destination in September. He was officially traded to Melbourne in October. Michael Hibberd tackling Jack Macrae

After experiencing

patella The patella (: patellae or patellas), also known as the kneecap, is a flat, rounded triangular bone which articulates with the femur (thigh bone) and covers and protects the anterior articular surface of the knee joint. The patella is found in m ...

tendinitis Tendinopathy is a type of tendon disorder that results in pain, swelling, and impaired function. The pain is typically worse with movement. It most commonly occurs around the shoulder ( rotator cuff tendinitis, biceps tendinitis), elbow ( tenn ...

in his knee during 2016, Hibberd was eased back into pre-season training. In addition to sustaining a hamstring injury which limited his training further and he was forced to miss the opening match of the 2017 JLT Community Series. He played his first match in Melbourne colours in Melbourne's second match of the JLT Community Series, which was a fifty-four point win against at

Casey Fields Casey Fields is a $30 million, 70 hectare multi-sports complex in the City of Casey at Cranbourne East, a southeastern suburb of Melbourne. The complex is home to Australian rules football, cricket, netball, soccer, tennis, cycle spor ...

. A few days later, he suffered an

achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus () was a hero of the Trojan War who was known as being the greatest of all the Greek warriors. The central character in Homer's ''Iliad'', he was the son of the Nereids, Nereid Thetis and Peleus, ...

injury at training, which forced him to miss five weeks of football. He returned to playing via the VFL with Melbourne's affiliate team, the , in the round one clash against at Burbank Oval, in which he recorded twenty-five disposals and was one of Casey's best players according to elite performance manager, Dave Misson. He spent just the one week in the VFL before making his debut for Melbourne in the Anzac Day eve match against at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in round five where he recorded twenty-seven disposals, eight rebound 50s, six marks and a goal. He was named Melbourne's best player by ''Herald Sun'' journalist, Sam Landsberger, and was named in ''AFL Media's'' team of the week. He played every match for the remainder of the season to finish with eighteen games and averaged career-highs in disposals (27.4) and rebound 50s (6.8), the latter of which ranked second in the league; furthermore he averaged the highest metres gained per match (545.7) in the league. He was highly praised for his debut season with Melbourne with the

Australian Associated Press Australian Associated Press Ltd (AAP) is an Australian news agency. It was founded in 1935 by Keith Murdoch. AAP employs around 90 journalists who work in bureaus in all states and territories of Australia except the Northern Territory. It al ...

' Michael Ramsey writing Hibberd was almost certainly Melbourne's most valuable addition. The ''Herald Sun's'' Rebecca Williams and ''AFL Media's'' Ben Guthrie furthered this notion by stating he had proven to be one of the top recruits in the league. In addition, ''The Age'' reporter, Anthony Colangelo, said Hibberd was one of "Melbourne's best and most important players in their charge up the ladder." His season was rewarded with his first

selection, where he was named in the back pocket, he was one of three Melbourne nominees for the

Leigh Matthews Trophy The Leigh Matthews Trophy is an annual award given by the AFL Players Association to the Most Valuable Player in the Australian Football League. It is named in honour of Leigh Matthews, who won the first MVP award in 1982, when the league was s ...

, and was named in ''AFL Media's'' team of the week a further three times after his debut for Melbourne. Despite being one of the favourites to win the

at Melbourne, he ultimately finished sixth in the award. He received international honours at the end of the season when he represented

in the

against

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

in November.

Assault charge

In August 2011, Hibbered was charged with assault after he punched and knocked a man out in Mornington on 31 July. He pleaded guilty to the charges in September and escaped conviction, but received a $2500 fine.

Statistics

''Updated to the end of round 13, 2023''. , - ,

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

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2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

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2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

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2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

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2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

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2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

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2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

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2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

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2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

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2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

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2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

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2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

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2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

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Honours and achievements

Team * AFL premiership player ():

McClelland Trophy The McClelland Trophy is an Australian rules football club championship trophy, awarded each year to the club with the best aggregate performance across the Australian Football League (AFL) and AFL Women's (AFLW) seasons. The trophy was inaugur ...

():

Individual *

Australia international rules football team The Australia international rules football team is Australia's senior representative team in International rules football, a hybrid sport derived from Australian rules football and Gaelic football. The current team is solely made up of players ...

* Fothergill–Round–Mitchell Medal: 2010

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hibberd, Michael Essendon Football Club players Frankston Football Club players 1990 births Living people Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) Doping cases in Australian rules football Bendigo Football Club players Melbourne Football Club players Casey Demons players All-Australians (AFL) Australia international rules football team players Melbourne Football Club premiership players VFL/AFL premiership players People from Mornington Peninsula 21st-century Australian sportsmen