Michael Hibberd Biography

Michael Hibberd and Jake Melksham sign one-year contract extensions with the Demons.

"Michael and Jake played important roles for us last season and are as hungry as ever to be part of our journey moving forward. We look forward to what they can bring over the coming season," Dees list manager Tim Lamb said.

Michael Hibberd pays tribute to his brother, Geoffrey, who disappeared while fishing with a friend off Victoria's coast four days ago.

The search for the 33-year-old and Jason De Silva, 20, was scaled back yesterday after their boat was found washed ashore the south coast of Phillip Island on Monday.

"I will never forget how you have always been there and would do anything for not just me but honestly anyone," Hibberd wrote on Instagram.

"You're one of the most unique, kind and caring people I've ever met and I'm so lucky I had the gift of you as a big brother through my whole life.

"You were my first point of call growing up when I needed someone, you would drop anything you were doing at anytime, just to help me.

"I idolised you! You were my hero. You still are!! I know you have always been my No.1 fan and the bond we had as brothers was like nothing else."

Michael Hibberd expects a flood of emotions to hit him when he runs out in a Melbourne jumper on Anzac Day eve against Richmond for his first AFL game in 18 months.

"It will be weird when I think back on all the emotions I have been through in the past 18 months and everything that has happened, as well as being at a new club," Hibberd said.

"Sitting out and watching footy last year was hard, and to actually have it right in front of me now and be ready to play it is exciting."

Michael Hibberd is still up to three weeks away from being ready to play after a slower than expected recovery from Achilles soreness.

Michael Hibberd will miss the opening round of 2017 against St Kilda with an Achilles injury.

"We think this is the best way to approach this type of injury, when we consider the entire season and not just round one," Melbourne general manager of football operations Josh Mahoney said.

"We didn't think it was appropriate to push him for round one, when it's about having him for the whole season."

Michael Hibberd moves to Melbourne in a trade where the Bombers receive picks No.29 and 68 in the deal while also giving up selection No.59.

"Michael was targeted throughout the year as a player who would add experience to our young defence," Demons football manager Josh Mahoney said.

"We are happy that we've been able to agree on a trade and Michael can now look forward knowing he is a Melbourne Football Club player."

Michael Hibberd is set to join Melbourne in the trade period

Essendon is happy to part with Hibberd for a second-round pick, however it would prefer it was this year's rather than a 2017 pick.

The Demons are considering whether they are prepared to hand over this year's second-round pick – which is currently No.28 – or whether they can potentially negotiate for the Bombers to accept their offer of a future second-round pick.

Michael Hibberd officially declares he wants a trade to Melbourne, but admits he nearly decided to stick with Essendon after travelling overseas with a group of banned Bombers.

"I was with the boys for three weeks and my mind chopped and changed a lot. When I was with the guys it definitely swayed towards staying, because I loved all the guys and definitely didn't want to leave them and wanted to keep playing footy with them," Hibberd said.

"After a few weeks of getting away I was with my girlfriend for three weeks afterwards and it swayed back to maybe a fresh start being good, and to part ways."

Essendon will seek an early second-round pick in exchange for defender Michael Hibberd, who has requested to be traded by the club.

"What we think is fair may be different to what other clubs think is fair, but I would guess a pick in the early second round would be fair for us," Essendon coach John Worsfold said.

Michael Hibberd has confirmed he wants out of Bomberland.

"I had a process to work through and, after having time to reflect, I felt like I need a fresh start at another club to reinvigorate my career," Hibberd said in a statement released by the Bombers.

"I have, and will always have, great mates at the club and I wish them and the club all the best for next season and beyond.

"I have no ill-feeling toward Essendon, and would like to thank them for giving me the opportunity to play senior football."

David Zaharakis says he is becoming increasingly concerned that suspended teammate Michael Hibberd will not be at the Bombers in 2017.

Melbourne has declared its interest in the tough 26-year-old defender who has played 84 games with the Bombers since he made his debut in 2011.

"The more you hear about these reports and the stronger they feel, then the more you worry that he might not be there," Zaharakis said.

"He's a required Essendon player [and] he is contracted so if he wants to move he has to seek a trade. Hopefully he does stay at the footy club, but at the moment I am unsure."

Melbourne CEO Peter Jackson has confirmed that the Demons are pursuing suspended Essendon defender Michael Hibberd as the suspended Don contemplates his future beyond 2016.

"In the vast majority of cases, players tend not to leave their clubs. You go into these conversations and Michael’s a very good footballer, but we’ll see how that washes out in due course," Jackson said.

"We’re pretty happy with our young talent but we could have a little bit more maturity down back to bolster the stocks down there. If he seriously wanted to move, I think we’d be genuinely interested in him coming."

Essendon coach John Worsfold has warned Melbourne to cease any direct talks with banned Bomber Michael Hibberd after the Demons made their interest in the half-back clear.

"I think 'Hibbo' is contracted, so they shouldn't be expressing any interest in contracted players," Worsfold said.

"I think that's outside the laws of the game.

"He's a contracted player and we would love him to be here at Essendon and at this stage we expect him to be here at Essendon."

Melbourne is pursuing suspended Essendon defender Michael Hibberd as he contemplates his future beyond 2016.

"Have we discussed Michael (Hibberd)? Yes we have, I don't know at what level it has got too though," Melbourne coach Paul Roos admitted on SEN radio.

Suspended Essendon pair Michael Hibberd and Ben Howlett will wait until later in the year before deciding whether they want to return to the club next season as they mull over their options.

Michael Hibberd signs a one-year contract extension with North Melbourne that will keep him at the club until the end of 2018.

Essendon's worst fears have been realised with the Court of Arbitration for Sport finding 34 past and present players guilty of taking banned substance Thymosin Beta-4 and suspending them for the entire 2016 season.

Twelve players still on the Bombers' list and five now at other AFL clubs who took part in Essendon's 2012 supplements program have been hit with two-year bans beginning on March 31 last year.

However, most of the suspensions will come to an end on November 13 this year, taking into account provisional suspensions already served.

Bombers skipper Jobe Watson, vice-captain Dyson Heppell, reigning club champion Cale Hooker, Michael Hurley, Tom Bellchambers, Heath Hocking, Travis Colyer, Michael Hibberd, Ben Howlett, David Myers, Brent Stanton and Tayte Pears will all miss the Bombers' 2016 campaign.

The guilty decision impacts four other AFL clubs with former Essendon players on their lists, with Jake Carlisle (St Kilda), Stewart Crameri (Western Bulldogs), Jake Melksham (Melbourne), Angus Monfries and Patrick Ryder (Port Adelaide) to be sidelined for the season.

Former Essendon players Mark McVeigh and Brent Prismall are set to be suspended from their respective roles at Greater Western Sydney and the Western Bulldogs until November 13 as support staff are banned from any WADA-complaint sports under the sanctions.

McVeigh is an assistant coach at the Giants, while Prismall is a player wellbeing and welfare manager with the Bulldogs.

Essendon champion and former club coach James Hird slammed the guilty verdict and suspensions.

"I am shocked by this decision," Hird said in a statement.

"I firmly believe the players do not deserve this finding.

"They do not deserve to face a twelve-month suspension from the sport. This is a miscarriage of justice for 34 young men."

Michael Hibberd is working to get back to his best form as the season hits its last two months, after admitting he has not been able to reach his peak so far in 2015.

The Essendon defender, who emerged as one of the competition's most damaging half-backs in recent seasons with his run and expertise in the air, has struggled to have the same influence this year.

"I've had a few good seasons leading up to this one and I've been a bit down, especially in the first half of the year," Hibberd said.

"I've been a little bit disappointed in how I've played most of the year, but I'd like to think the second half of the year is going to be all on the up."

Michael Hibberd is shedding weight this pre-season in an effort to overcome persistent hamstring issues.

"I'm maybe a kilo or two lighter, which I'm hoping will take the stress off my hamstrings," Hibberd said.

"The club seems to think that's why I've had some hammy issues in the past. If I can keep my weight under 90kg from now on, that would be a good goal for me.

"Maybe I'm just naturally heavy. I haven't been under 90kg since I was 17 so maybe it's in the genes."

Three days before Michael Hibberd was drafted, he thought he had blown his chance with Essendon during a running session with the club.

"They pulled me out halfway through because I was battling so badly," Hibberd recalled.

"I came from training at Frankston (in the VFL) where the standards were a bit different and I was thinking, 'I don't know what 'Hirdy' is going to think of me'.

"Danny Corcoran (who was then part of the coaching panel) said, 'All right, you've had enough' because I was lagging so far behind. I thought I might have done my dash."

Michael Hibberd will be sidelined for up to three weeks after scans showed he suffered a minor hamstring strain during the Bombers' round 18 win over the Western Bulldogs.

"Unfortunately he has a … a minor tear," club doctor Bruce Reid told the Essendon website.

"Because it is low in the hamstring, it allows him to play on, which he did for a quarter before he tightened up.

"He is probably going to miss two to three weeks."

Essendon has confirmed the re-signing of star pair Michael Hibberd and Heath Hocking.

Hibberd has signed a three-year contract extension and Hocking has signed on for another two years.

"This club has stood by me throughout my career, they gave me my chance to play AFL footy and I couldn't see myself playing anywhere else," Hibberd said.

"I've got a lot of good mates here, we're a tight group and we want to play and win finals."

"I'm really proud to play for this great club, a club I supported since I was a kid. To 'live the dream' everyday is obviously a great honour and one I don't take for granted," Hocking added.

Michael Hibberd says he has changed his approach to football after establishing himself as a regular member of the Bombers' senior side.

"It's my fourth season now and I know I'm in the team, I've established myself in the team, so I worry more about how we're going and if we're winning or not, more than how I am going," Hibberd said.

David Zaharakis says teammate Michael Hibberd has worked hard over summer to make amends for his off-field indiscretion last year.

"Last year he was great and he acknowledged what he did was wrong and worked his backside off to try and come back to the side," Zaharakis said.

"Over pre-season he's really hit the ground running. He's pivotal to us because he can defend well but can also attack."

Michael Hibberd has been fined $2,500 but has avoided conviction following an assault charge stemming from an incident in July.

"I would like to apologise for my actions and the effect they have had on everyone involved," Hibberd said in an Essendon media release.

"I deeply regret my behaviour - it was unacceptable and I will learn from these events to ensure something of this nature never happens again.

"I now look forward to working hard over the pre-season and earning back my spot in the senior team."

Essendon has suspended defender Michael Hibberd for the rest of the season after he decides to plead guilty to an assault charge.

"Michael is extremely remorseful for his actions and has unreservedly apologised to the other party involved. He has also apologised to his teammates and to the club. Michael has also undertaken counselling and has volunteered to participate in community work," Essendon football manager Paul Hamilton said.

"Essendon Football Club prides itself on the impact it makes within the community and this type of behaviour does not meet the values and behavioural expectations we have set."

Essendon has suspended defender Michael Hibberd indefinitely for breaking team rules.

Bombers football manager Paul Hamilton said Hibberd had been suspended "for breaching team protocol by being out late while recovering from a hamstring injury".

Essendon defender Michael Hibberd has been interviewed by police over an alleged altercation on Sunday morning.

"Essendon Football Club can confirm that Michael Hibberd is assisting police with their inquiries in relation to an alleged physical altercation that took place in Mornington early on Sunday morning," a statement from Essendon said.

"The club will make no further comment at this time."

Michael Hibberd makes his AFL debut for Essendon at Docklands Stadium with 16 disposals (11 kicks and 5 handballs), 7 marks and a tackle in a 139-point win over Gold Coast.