Geelong Cats AFL player Tom Atkins charged with driving offences

A Cats premiership player has been charged with two driving offences.

Tom Atkins of the Cats poses during a Geelong Cats AFL training session at GMHBA Stadium. Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

A Geelong premiership star will front court later this year on driving charges.

Cats midfielder Tom Atkins was listed to face Geelong Magistrates Court on Wednesday, charged with two driving offences including careless driving and failing to keep left of a dividing line.

The Geelong Advertiser understands the charges are dated to August last year.

There is no suggestion that alcohol or illicit substances were involved.

The matter was administratively adjourned to December, prior to court opening on Wednesday.

A spokeswoman for the Cats confirmed Atkins, 29, was set to face court.

“The club is aware of an upcoming court appearance in relation to a traffic offence.”

Atkins, his management and the AFL have been contacted for comment.

A tough on-baller, Atkins is a key cog in Geelong’s engine room.

The 127-gamer was plucked from the Cats’ VFL side as mature age recruit and debuted in 2019.

Since then he has become an integral part of the Cats, earning three consecutive Tom Harley Awards from 2022-24 as the player judged by his teammates as the best club person.

Atkins signed a contract in October 2022, following a career-best season and a premiership, that would see him remain at the Cattery until the end of 2025.

Tom Atkins during a Geelong Cats AFL training session at GMHBA Stadium in September. Photo: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

Fellow premiership player, Tyson Stengle, was rushed to hospital in July, after being found unresponsive in Bloom nightclub on Moorabool St.

The Cats rallied around Stengle, with captain Patrick Dangerfield telling media the club would “always support” the star forward.

It’s understood concerned friends helped Stengle out of the popular nightspot before he was taken to Geelong hospital in a serious condition about 2am.

“We treat our players like adults,” Dangerfield said.

A Geelong player was in the headlines in October when it was revealed rising star Tanner Bruhn and a friend were interviewed about their knowledge of an alleged sexual assault on February 5.

Geelong police have recently been targeting drivers hogging the right lane.

Police said a 49-year-old Ocean Grove woman was fined $198 and lost two demerit points after she was spotted by police in September for failing to keep left unless overtaking on a stretch of the Bellarine Highway.

In August last year, Torquay police targeted drivers hogging the right lane along the Surf Coast Highway.

At least five drivers who failed to keep left for more than 1km were fined during that police blitz.

Originally published as Geelong Cats AFL player Tom Atkins charged with driving offences