Essendon ruckman David Hille has defended the AFL club's caution in handing down a penalty to rising star Michael Hurley.

The Bombers have suspended Hurley for the opening three games of the regular season after the 19-year-old assaulted a taxi driver last September.

They had previously banned Hurley for their pre-season matches.

Essendon announced the three-match ban last Friday, immediately after Hurley's latest court appearance in relation to the incident.

"It's a process that took a long period of time to come to, which has been well-documented," Hille said.

"But we wanted to get it right and to take into consideration all the circumstances.

"That's probably been why we've been cautious in dealing with the issue."

Hille said the publicity surrounding Hurley had not been a distraction to the team in the lead-up to the start of the premiership season.

"It's more a distraction for him and a process he has to go through - I'm sure he will in the course of time," Hille said.

"He probably puts a bit of pressure on himself, but you could understand that with the situation that it is and the serious nature of it.

"We're all supporting him and hopefully he gets through it."

Hill, one of Essendon's most important players, is hopeful of resuming his AFL career in round one.

The 2008 club best and fairest winner needed a knee reconstruction after injuring the joint on Anzac Day against Collingwood.

"All things equal, I will be able to play (in) round one," Hille said.

"I have a great deal of confidence in my rehabilitation process and I would have thought getting through this weekend would be another step to playing early in the season."

Meanwhile, the Bombers have announced they will make Michael Long a club legend at next week's season launch.

The two-time premiership player and 1993 Norm Smith Medal winner played 190 games for Essendon.

Long is one of the AFL's most famous indigenous players and his strong stand against on-field racism in 1995 helped prompt the league to introduce anti-vilification policies.

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