Geelong midfielder Tom Atkins was the heart and soul of the Cats’ 2022 premiership side.
A tackling machine, Atkins did much of the grunt work in the midfield across last season which allowed the likes of Patrick Dangerfield, Cam Guthrie and Mitch Duncan to flourish.
Having only joined the club’s AFL list as a 23-year-old after missing out on being drafted four times, Atkins says he felt fortunate to be a part of something so special given where he came from.
“It was all probably go, go, go for a couple of weeks after the Grand Final,” Atkins told SEN The Run Home.
“It wasn’t until I got back from my trip that I got to sit down and think about what those couple of weeks meant.
“The underlying thing was just how fortunate I felt to be a part it and be a part of that team.
“I was just very lucky.”
Atkins first got his taste of senior football as a pressure forward but since seizing a place in the midfield he hasn’t looked back.
The 27-year-old says his goal is just to continue keeping his place in Chris Scott’s best 22.
“I started off as a high-forward putting pressure on,” Atkins said.
“When I got squeezed out ahead of the 2020 Grand Final it was pretty obvious I wasn’t going to get back into the forward line.
“I sort of tried my hand in defence and there I just started to try stay in the team and that opportunity came through the midfield.
“There’s a lot of guys throughout the league who feel that way, they just want to be in the 22 and they’ll do anything to keep their spot.”
While from the outside looking in Atkins would almost certainly be one of Scott’s first names on the team sheet, the gritty on-baller says he never feels comfortable that he’s a lock – something which he credits to the strength of the Geelong squad.
“No way (do I feel comfortable),” Atkins said.
“I think you’ll see from the pick ups we had in the off-season, we got some quality players in both in the trade (period) and draft.
“You definitely can’t be comfortable at all, that’s what makes us such a good team.
“I think those that got left out of the AFL team for the Grand Final, that kind of shows where we’re at and how strong our list is.
“I think it’d be an issue for the Geelong footy club if blokes were getting comfortable in their spots.”
Atkins and the Cats begin their premiership defence with a Round 1 clash against Collingwood at the MCG on March 17.