Ever the team man, Tom Atkins was keen to deflect praise for his performance in Geelong’s preliminary final over Hawthorn.
The Cats booked a berth in their third AFL Grand Final in six seasons with a 30-point win over their modern-day rival, 17.13 (115) to 12.13 (85) in front of 99,567 people at the MCG.
Atkins’ outstanding 2025 season continued, racking up 25 disposals, gaining seven clearances, and laying 11 tackles, and again proving to be the perfect foil for Bailey Smith (36 disposals, six clearances, six tackles) and captain Patrick Dangerfield (31 disposals, eight clearances, three goals).
He constantly proved to be a source of clean football for those further up the field.
“It’s got nothing to do with me; that’s the six we’ve got up forward and obviously Oli Dempsey on the wing’s a pretty handy attacking person to have as well,” he told K rock Football.
“It’s very satisfying as a mid when we’re able to put scoreboard pressure on, so I’m very grateful to our forwards for doing that.”
Listen here for the full interview with Tom Atkins
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