Essendon CEO Ian Robson has revealed he believes emerging key position player Michael Hurley will be a career Bomber.
""I am confident he will want to play out his career here at Windy Hill and that we will provide an environment that is appealing for him to stay,"" Robson said.
""I am not saying I have had discussions with Michael on this topic but I am confident his future will be here.""
Robson was speaking following media speculation that Gold Coast would target the 19-year-old who is out of contract at the end of the year.
""The reality is, there is going to be plenty of speculation over the next few years about players going to the Gold Coast or West Sydney,"" he said.
""There will be hundreds of players from all clubs out of contract at certain stages and all of these could arguably be a target.
""At Essendon we will back ourselves that our retention strategy is effective and that our players want to stay with this club and experience success together.""
Hurley, a 193cm backman, played 10 games in his debut year after being taken by the club with pick No.5 in 2008 National Draft.
He has been stood down from playing in the 2010 pre-season for a 2009 post-season off-field incident.
