Toast Tom Atkins - Premiership Player - 100 games

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Jeez, I thought he was actually very good to start the game too. Maybe wasn't racking up stats, but seemed to be the bloke on the bottom of every pack, trying to get a burst going, or stopping them waltzing away with it. Thought Zuthrie, Atkins and Jez were the only reason we weren't down by 5+ goals at the first break. Just my 2c.
 
#6 Thorp #7 Selwood LOL said:
Jeez, I thought he was actually very good to start the game too. Maybe wasn't racking up stats, but seemed to be the bloke on the bottom of every pack, trying to get a burst going, or stopping them waltzing away with it. Thought Zuthrie, Atkins and Jez were the only reason we weren't down by 5+ goals at the first break. Just my 2c.
Click to expand...
No I agree with that, especially on second watch. He contested well and was one of those who made sure we weren't going to shirk anything during that first storm.

Only 11 possessions to 3QT but felt like more to me. Big net benefit to the team when he was involved in sequences of play. He was a bit quieter in the second and third teems as Sel got more midfield minutes etc but I think it's exaggerated his lack of influence before 3QT. Simply cause he then went to super human mise.
 
#6 Thorp #7 Selwood LOL said:
Jeez, I thought he was actually very good to start the game too. Maybe wasn't racking up stats, but seemed to be the bloke on the bottom of every pack, trying to get a burst going, or stopping them waltzing away with it. Thought Zuthrie, Atkins and Jez were the only reason we weren't down by 5+ goals at the first break. Just my 2c.
Click to expand...
It’s not like he was invisible or not trying but he was largely ineffective until the last quarter.
 

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#6 Thorp #7 Selwood LOL said:
Jeez, I thought he was actually very good to start the game too. Maybe wasn't racking up stats, but seemed to be the bloke on the bottom of every pack, trying to get a burst going, or stopping them waltzing away with it. Thought Zuthrie, Atkins and Jez were the only reason we weren't down by 5+ goals at the first break. Just my 2c.
Click to expand...

Don't forget that for some stats are king. They trump everything else. :winkv1:
 
allrighty said:
As you may or may not know Tom Atkins' total clone is here in TENNANT CREEK where I am for a few months, and he is working in the bottle shop which of course I frequent. He and I have been celebrating Tom's great year most weeks, and I want to recognise it here for how bloody good he has been for us this year.

From a "dud" last year (and earlier this year) to a lock now. Irony.

Well done Tom, testament to hard work and no small dose of G&D.
Click to expand...
Have to send in a photo of his clone
 
A bit of peak end fallacy occuring here. Your mind is playing tricks on you.

www.nngroup.com

The Peak–End Rule: How Impressions Become Memories

Cognitive biases change the way that we recall past events. The peak–end rule focuses our memories around the most intense moments of an experience and the way an experience ends.
www.nngroup.com www.nngroup.com


atkins was great in the last. But poor in the first 3 qtrs.
 
Seeds said:
A bit of peak end fallacy occuring here. Your mind is playing tricks on you.

www.nngroup.com

The Peak–End Rule: How Impressions Become Memories

Cognitive biases change the way that we recall past events. The peak–end rule focuses our memories around the most intense moments of an experience and the way an experience ends.
www.nngroup.com www.nngroup.com


atkins was great in the last. But poor in the first 3 qtrs.
Click to expand...


Probably why most people have said how good he was in the last quarter
 

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Turbocat said:
They were talking about a txt message on TR he recieved before being drafted... anyone know the specifics? Something about him need yet another year in the VFL to prove his worth?
Click to expand...

Was from Lloyd letting Atkins know he was skipped over for another draft.
His response was absolute class, essentially said no worries, it's a tough position for the club and he looks forward to still playing VFL at the club.
 
Turbocat said:
They were talking about a txt message on TR he recieved before being drafted... anyone know the specifics? Something about him need yet another year in the VFL to prove his worth?
Click to expand...

While the story has been told over the years, this is the original from when Atkins was drafted:

Atkins' Story of Persistence​

Tom Atkins has finally received his reward for effort.

GM of Football Simon Lloyd reaches out to Atkins after he went undrafted in 2017.
1664514753772.jpeg


As the old adage goes, good things come to those who wait.

Words couldn’t be truer in the case of Tom Atkins.

The Geelong VFL captain and two-time best and fairest winner finally found his way onto an AFL list on Friday, completing his five-year journey from VFL development squad member to the Cats’ senior list.

“It’s still a little bit hard to believe,” he says.

“It feels great. A big relief more than anything. There’s obviously still a lot of work to do but it’s just nice to be given the opportunity. I’m just very thankful that I’m in this position.”

The dogged midfielder received the news via a text message from Geelong’s talent ID manager Troy Selwood.

“I was actually in the car, driving from work. There was a bit of traffic in Geelong and I sort of knew it might happen around that 6 o’clock time but it started a bit earlier.

“I was just driving home I was in the car and I pulled up at home and checked my phone and Troy Selwood had messaged me and said it had officially been done. It was a big relief, it’s nice when it happens because you don’t really have to stress about it anymore.”

Twelve months earlier, Atkins had received a message of a different kind. Geelong GM of Football Simon Lloyd got in touch to offer some support as Atkins went undrafted for yet another year.

“Simon reached out to me after the draft and just sent me a really nice message, encouraging me to stay at it and not get too hung up on it,” Atkins says.

“It was nice of him to reach out and show me a bit of support.”

The 23-year-old Cat’s classy reply to that message shows the character of the dedicated clubman Geelong added to its list in this year’s draft.

“I understand putting a list together is a tricky job and not everyone can be a winner,” Atkins replied to Lloyd back in 2017.

“Bigger things going on in the world mate I still get to have a run around in the 2s! Will catch you round the club.”

VFL coach Shane O’Bree has been along for much of Atkins’ Geelong VFL journey that started in 2014.

“He’s been our pinup boy in the VFL – he’s been in the program for five years now,” O’Bree says.

“He started off as a development player and then made it as the 23rd man and then he’s played a lot of VFL football this year as our captain.”

Atkins is a Geelong footballer through and through, turning down more money from state leagues around the country as teams competed for his services.

“It was a bit of a decision I made after the first best and fairest that I won to stick with the VFL,” Atkins says.

“I made it because of how good the VFL program is at Geelong and there’s a lot more exposure in the VFL with playing against other VFL players.

“I probably wouldn’t be where I am today if I had moved interstate, so you sort of never know what could have happened.”

O’Bree is another Cat happy the hard-nosed midfielder stuck around.

“He was playing good VFL footy and had SANFL and WAFL teams throwing a bit more money than we could give him, but Tom’s a Geelong boy and obviously loves our program,” the VFL coach says.

“He’s put a lot of time into it and we’ve put a lot of time into Tom as well so he’s always stuck by us.

“It’s fantastic for the club to keep promoting our VFL boys. It’s good to see our VFL boys that have put the time and effort in and committed to our program for a long period getting that reward.”

Atkins agrees that the success of mature-age Cats such as Tom Stewart and Ryan Abbott gave him hope, and can’t thank O’Bree and his program enough for his successes.

“Especially in recent times there have been a lot of people that have done what I have done, especially in the Geelong program,” he says.

“That was always a good motivator because it could show that it is possible.”

“Just the way that the organisation has supported me, especially with being captain last year, they’ve put a lot of faith in me to lead when I was real young. That gave me the confidence that something might happen.”

Now the task for Atkins turns to making it work on an AFL list. If he approaches the challenge like he approaches the football, he shouldn’t have many issues.

“He has the determination and the competitiveness to win the contests that not many players can win,” O’Bree says.

“He finds a way, some of it’s not the perfect method but he’s hell bent on winning every contest he can or halving it at least. He’s got an uncanny ability to win more than he loses.”



www.geelongcats.com.au

Atkins' Story of Persistence

Tom Atkins has finally received his reward for effort.
www.geelongcats.com.au www.geelongcats.com.au
 
And from last week prior to the GF - the Atkins story 5 years on...

Earning his stripes: How Cat became a key cog in Geelong machine​

After fighting hard for his AFL spot, Tom Atkins has developed into a key player for Geelong this year
By Riley Beveridge

REMEMBER the Tom Atkins that banged the door down for his spot on an AFL list?

Playing for Geelong's VFL side as a 22-year-old back in 2018, Atkins was named captain of the club's reserves team and dominated through his relentless physicality to eventually earn his place on the senior list later that year.

That version of Atkins, who used his VFL springboard to seize his AFL chance, is the version of Atkins that has now been unleashed in the back half of this season to become a key player in Geelong's journey towards the Grand Final.

Having been used as a pressure forward in his first two years under Chris Scott, after arriving at the club as a mature-aged rookie, Atkins then spent 2021 and the first part of this year playing mainly as a lockdown small defender.

However, injuries – combined with the club's decision to conservatively manage superstars like Patrick Dangerfield and Joel Selwood through the season – handed Atkins the opportunity to finally make the midfield move.

Now, he's replicating his midfield form of his last VFL season. But, four years on, he's doing it under the bright lights of the AFL and will remarkably do so again in a Grand Final on Saturday afternoon.

Atkins averaged 21.8 disposals and 9.4 tackles per game in that 2018 VFL season. His 188 tackles across the course of the campaign now ranks as the third-most in the League's history. He also finished top 10 for contested possessions and clearances.

Since moving into the midfield at AFL level with Geelong in the second half of this season, Champion Data notes Atkins ranks third for tackles (averaging eight per game) and third for pressure points (69.4 per game). He's back to his rugged, physical best.

"It does feel surreal," Atkins told AFL.com.au this week.

"The fact I'm in a Grand Final, in such a great team, I feel very fortunate. I've only got the people who helped me to thank for that, really. It's not like this just happened overnight. It's been a long process to be able to contribute at the level that we are."

So, who is to thank for Atkins' midfield move? According to the 27-year-old, it was the brainchild of assistant coaches James Kelly and Shaun Grigg. Both worked closely with Atkins throughout the season to engineer the move.

"It was about round nine, after the St Kilda game. Through injury, we had a few key players out of the midfield, and we've got a lot of really strong defenders. I think our defensive group is probably our deepest section," Atkins said.

"I was just asked to come up and help out and I was able to do that. It was 'Kel' and 'Grigga' that had the idea. I've loved playing for both of them, so I'm just really fortunate to be in this position."

Geelong's success in recruiting locally has provided the club with the backbone of its success recently, with Atkins just another example of that. But its opponents on Grand Final day, Sydney, has a few Geelong prospects of its own.

One of them, Paddy McCartin, is known well to Atkins. The two are long-time childhood friends and grew up spending their afternoons playing at each other's houses. They'll meet on Saturday after their own incredible journeys to the game's biggest stage.

"We just grew up together," Atkins said.

"We both played Joeys juniors and our parents are really great mates. We'd spent countless nights at each other's houses as kids. We're really close mates and I'm so stoked for him. It was great to watch them make it on the weekend, him and Tommy as well."

The two have already shared texts this week about the prospect of meeting on Grand Final day. But don't expect much banter in the days leading up to the game. There is too much mutual respect for that.

"Absolutely, yeah. I've spoken to him already," Atkins laughed.

"There's none of that banter, we're both just really happy for each other. It just feels a bit surreal that the two of us are going to be running out against each other. I didn't say much. I just said, 'Good job mate' and that it was bloody unreal. I'm stoked for him."




www.afl.com.au

Earning his stripes: How Cat became a key cog in Geelong machine

After fighting hard for his AFL spot, Tom Atkins has developed into a key player for Geelong this year
www.afl.com.au www.afl.com.au
 
Tom Atkins has brought something back to Geelong that we haven't seen since Buddha played. He is hard as a buffalo.
I truly love what this young man brings.
Thank to James Kelly and S. Grigg for seeing what he had to offer in the middle.
His willingness to hit in to any situation, to read the danger of the situation is also Joel like. Tom's kicking is quality too and he is quicker than I thought
May he stay in the middle at Geelong for a long time to come.
 
Seeds said:
Hate to state the obvious. But bar one quarter, one very good quarter mind you, atkins have quite a poor finals series.
Click to expand...

Again, finding some absolute irrelevant shit to talk down on a player who won a flag.

Why?? Why not just celebrate? Get offline and enjoy the win.
 
Seeds rates most things on raw possession counts for mids.

In the GF Atkins was still top 5 on the ground for contested possessions, clearances and tackles. He was 1st in all 3 of those stats in the QF, while the prelim was quiet besides tackles (10!).

He just doesn't really get outside ball but Joel with 12 possessions in the prelim was highly influential so it's not all about how many times you touch it.

Geelong rotate 6 or 7 blokes through the middle who mostly all get lower minutes. Atkins had 64 and 67% time on ground in the last two finals. Parker had 86 and Mills had 91. 17 possessions a game for the 3 finals from 67% TOG. For Mills minutes that would be around 22 or 23, as a defensive midfielder/tackling machine.

His short bursts are effective and by and large he's a big factor in limiting opposition damage at stoppages (along with Blicavs), illustrated by our scores at stoppages Vs against in the finals.

His best and fairest tally speaks for itself for how effective he was in his role, for those who actually designed his role.
 
Last edited:
Having watched a lot of highlights of this season in the last week (haven't we all), I would just like to say that I love that filthy look Atkins gives when an opposition player touches 'his' Sherrin.
 
Is Atkins still rookie listed? I thought he wasn't, but a mate said both him and Close were still rookies.
 
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