Geelong coach Chris Scott calls out special effort of Tom Atkins in Adelaide take-down

Geelong may have unearthed a new dynamic duo in Bailey Smith and Max Holmes, but it was a nuggety mid who earnt the coach’s praise on Thursday night.

Geelong coach Chris Scott felt like all his worst fears were coming true as Adelaide’s vaunted three-headed monster tall forward line ran riot in the first half on Thursday night.

But the coach was full of praise for the resilience shown by his charges, singling out Tom Atkins as the player who “stood up” to when the Cats were 30-points down before coming back to record a stunning 19-point win to open Gather Round.

It seemed an unlikely result as Darcy Fogarty banged through four second-quarter goals to the delight of the roaring home fans at Adelaide Oval.

The Crows had 11 goals on the board by halftime, but managed just four in the second half, while Patrick Dangerfield and Jeremy Cameron finished with four goals apiece to drive their side to victory.

“It was a real concern for us in the second quarter, it looked like all your greatest fears were coming true,” Scott said.

“When they get some momentum they’ve got some offensive flair and they can really get on top of teams, so we thought it was really important to hang in.

Tom Atkins played a special game. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

“I don’t think (our fightback) came from the box, it was more the players adapting to the stage of the game.

“We were close enough at halftime to back that if the game did change the way it was played and it was a bit more defensive that we would get some OK looks the other way.”

Making the performance even more praiseworthy was the fact the Cats’ back line was missing Tom Stewart (illness), Jack Henry (hamstring) and Jake Kolodjashnij (groin).

Bailey Smith and Max Holmes were important on the ball, and while Scott was impressed with both, another unheralded mid caught his eye.

“We didn’t bring (Smith) in thinking he was just going to come in and be amazing for us right from the word go,” Scott said.

Max Holmes (left) and Bailey Smith also impressed. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

“We were going to give him some room to work his way into a season after a year off with an ACL, but he’s really helped us.

“I think he complements Holmes pretty well. Every team that has a really good player always said that it would be nice if you had two of them … I’m not saying they’re exactly the same, but they are more similar than other guys in our team.

“I don’t usually do this … we really like Bailey and Max was good as well, but they weren’t as good as Tom Atkins, that was a really special game.

“When the heat was on and we were being outplayed we thought that he was the one that stood up.

“He’s been a really important player for a long time and he’ll be embarrassed that I said this because he doesn’t want the external credit, he’s that sort of guy.”

Originally published as Geelong coach Chris Scott calls out special effort of Tom Atkins in Adelaide take-down