Geelong recruit Tanner Bruhn seen as a long-term player after strong summer

Tom Atkins had his eye on one of Geelong’s prized recruits for years and he has been ‘stoked’ with the youngster’s first impressions.

Tanner Bruhn has impressed in his first months at Geelong. Picture: Michael Klein

Geelong hard nut Tom Atkins says he is “stoked” to play alongside recruit Tanner Bruhn after the midfielder proved over summer that the Cats “have picked up a good one”.

Bruhn was snared by the Cats from GWS Giants for a first-round pick, which the Giants then used to select young midfielder Darcy Jones.

Tanner Bruhn looked strong in Geelong’s pre-season matches. Picture: Michael Klein

The Newtown & Chilwell junior impressed in Geelong’s two pre-season matches, playing big minutes in the centre.

The 20-year-old has already been seen at Geelong as a long-term midfielder and Atkins backed him to play big minutes as the Cats seek back-to-back flags this year.

Atkins, a St Joseph’s product, said he had kept an eye on Bruhn after he was a star junior with the Geelong Falcons.

“He is from Geelong so I have sort of watch him over the last couple of years,” Atkins said.

“He is obviously a top pick so he has always had that talent and at GWS he may have just been behind a couple of similar players so he might have missed out on a couple of opportunities.

“We are stoked to have him in there, just the way he goes about it we can tell we have picked up a good one.

“He’s a really good contested player and he has got composure as well with his hands and he is a great kick as well.”

Tom Atkins will bring his trademark passion again this year. Picture: Kelly Defina/Getty Images

A breakthrough midfielder in the second half of last season, Atkins has spent the summer working on winning more uncontested possessions and his kicking.

He said playing in Geelong’s grand final triumph over Sydney was obviously a career highlight but the success hasn’t changed his life.

“Footy is one aspect of my life, it is work and I get a lot of enjoyment out of that and if my life was hinging on how well I was doing at footy, that is where you can get unstuck,” he said.

“It was an amazing experience and it was so great to share it with my family and friends but I have got other stuff going on outside of footy that I enjoy also.”

Atkins said he was driven to repeat the premiership for those that missed out, such as Max Holmes, Esava Ratugolea and Sam Menegola.

Originally published as Geelong recruit Tanner Bruhn seen as a long-term player after strong summer