As Michael Hurley establishes his spot in Essendon's defensive setup, he's also helping out a mate who's been thrust into the spotlight.

Jake Carlisle's move forward has attracted enormous attention – but Hurley's told him to forget about the stats and get back to basics.

"Me and Jake speak a fair bit, obviously I understand how tough it is to play in the key position role down forward having done so for the last few years," Hurley said.

"It's a bit of a challenge, but lucky enough Jake's one of the best key position players in the League and I think he'll be just fine down forward."

The criticism of Carlisle has been prominent and powerful, from interim coach Mark Thompson declaring his position "in danger" to Garry Lyon writing he "looked lost" up forward.

Hurley's main advice for his younger teammate is to keep things simple.

“[I’ve told him] not to base your game around stats and goals and things like that," Hurley said. 

"I suppose the things we look at are the way he attacks the contest and brings the ball to ground and things along those lines.

"I think if you get too caught up on getting your hands on the footy or kicking goals you can get a bit down on yourself because it is tough.

"I think centre half-forward's probably the hardest position on the ground, and I think he's got his head around [going back to basics] now and is starting to play some better footy."

Hurley, 23, has never played a full season after injuring numerous injuries including hamstring and quad problems and a broken wrist.

He's spent the bulk of his 86 games playing forward, with 99 goals to his name.

But now, as fit as ever, he's embraced Thompson's decision to lock him into a defensive role.

"I guess it was a bit of a slow start for me .. but I think I'm slowly starting to find my feet," he said.

“I’m lucky enough to be playing alongside blokes like Cale Hooker, Dustin Fletcher and Michael Hibberd who have obviously set themselves in the backline for a lot of years now."

However, Hurley says Thompson hasn't explained the logic behind the move.

"I guess you'd have to ask Bomber that, I think he just sees me as a defender and that's where he'll play me,” Hurley said.

Hurley jokes he's just doing what he's told: "Pretty much, I have done for the past six years.

"It's been nice for me though to be able to settle down back and play some consistent footy - let alone just being on the park is nice - but in the same position is always good."