Michael Hurley is beginning to feel comfortable in defence and is confident he can continue his strong form shown over the last month.

Hurley is in career best form on the back of a standout display against Sydney when he collected 29 disposals and seven marks.

The 24-year-old defender is beginning to feel comfortable playing in the back half of the field.

“It has taken me a while but I am feeling quite comfortable,” he said on Tuesday.

“It was a slow start to the year for both Jake (Carlisle) and I but the last couple of months of footy has been better.”

“Lucky enough for me I get the chance to play alongside Cale Hooker, Dustin Fletcher and Michael Hibberd who are all guys that make my job a lot easier.”

Hurley believes he is set to stay in defence for the remainder of the season after making the switch in the off-season.

“For the majority of the time I will be down back but on the weekend Bomber showed that if something needs to change then both Jake and I can be switched around,” he said.

“I played the majority of my junior footy down back and early on in my career I was playing that centre half back role.”

“I think just having that experience down there has been good for me and to go back there this year has been great.”

Hurley trained strongly in Essendon’s main training session on Tuesday morning ahead of the blockbuster against Richmond on Friday night.