HIBBERD, Michael

After winning Frankston's Best and Fairest and the Fothergill-Round Medal as the VFL's most promising young player in 2010, he was recruited by the Essendon Football Club with the fourth selection in the 2011 pre-season draft.

 He made his AFL debut in the 139-point win against Gold Coast at Etihad Stadium in round six. He was omitted the next week for the match against West Coast, before returning in round eight in the thirty-six point win against Brisbane at the Gabba, where he recorded twenty-two disposals and was praised by then-Essendon coach, James Hird in particular for his courage around the ball. Playing the next seven  matches, he missed the round seventeen match against Adelaide at AAMI Stadium due to a hamstring injury. He was acknowledged as Essendon's best young player with a win in the Lindsay Griffiths Rising Star Award.

The 2013 season saw Hibberd play every match of the year for the first time in his career. His performances during the season were described by The Age journalist, Rohan Connolly, as "the best football of his career" and he was named in Connolly's mid-season All -Australian Team. His running off 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. His improved season saw him finish fourth in the Club's Best and Fairest award, the Crichton Medal, and winning the Adam Ramanauskas Most Courageous Award.

Despite a hamstring injury during the 2014 pre-season 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 due to an ankle injury. He returned to the side two weeks later for the seven point win against the Western Bulldogs at Etihad Stadium in round eighteen before succumbing to a hamstring injury the next week and missing two weeks. He returned from injury in the three point win against West Coast 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 to North Melbourne at the MCG 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 journalist, Sam Landsberger, claiming he was in All-Australian form and he signed a three-year contract with the Club, tying him to Esendon 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.

He 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 Mid-field. 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.

Hibberd, along with 33 other Essendon players, was found guilty of using a banned performance-enhancing substance, thymosin beta-4, 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. 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. He nominated Melbourne as his preferred destination and was traded to the Demons in October 2016.

He played 113 games and kicked three goals during his seven seasons at Melbourne, highlights being the 2021 premiership win and selection in the 2017 All-Australian team.

Draft history:  #4 (2011 Pre-season Draft)