Geelong forward Tom Atkins’ remarkable story of persistence

The rags to riches story of Geelong’s Tom Atkins, who played five years in the VFL then gave up fish souvlakis to realise his AFL dream, is incredible enough. Then you read what happened to his dad.

Mick Atkins doesn’t want this to be about him. His son’s unconventional journey to the AFL is the story.

But what can’t be missed is the parallel between the journeys of father and son, albeit with one major difference.

Today Tom Atkins will run on to the MCG in front of 70,000 people for his fifth AFL game.

That’s something his old man never got the chance to do despite coming close a number of times, so when he talks about his son’s perseverance, it comes from a place of knowledge.

“It’s a good lesson for everyone in footy,” Mick says about Tom’s five-year wait at Geelong before finally getting drafted.

“If you persevere, you never know what happens.”

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To understand Tom’s refusal to give up on his AFL dream, some background about his father is required.

Mick Atkins was a high school student in Bairnsdale in 1984 when he was invited down by Footscray coach Mick Malthouse to play in a Tuesday night match against reigning premier Hawthorn.

He’d just toured Ireland with an Australian junior team and after showing a bit, Malthouse urged him to relocate immediately to Melbourne to start a VFL career.

But given his Year 12 commitments and the fact he was also dealing with a minor heart condition, the decision was made to wait until the end of the season.

Mick did come down to the Western Oval and lasted two years, but he never got another look-in at senior level.

“I am the only player in the history of the game to start in the seniors, go to the reserves and then to the Under-19s,” Mick explains. “I went backwards.”

Geelong’s Tom Atkins and his father Mick. Picture: Alex Coppel

He then tried out with Collingwood and Melbourne, but didn’t make it, before a stint in the VFL with Prahran under the coaching of Brian Taylor.

To get Mick to commit to The Two Blues, they had to find him a job, which is where a couple of the club supporters stepped in.

Prominent journalists Jon Anderson and Tim Habel found the new boom recruit a job at The Sunday Herald and so started an unlikely journalistic career.

He lasted four years, mainly on the sports desk at the Herald Sun, where he went front and square with the likes of his former mentor Malthouse.

His most memorable journalistic moment was door-stopping “Captain Grumpy” Allan Border.

“The hardest thing I ever had to do was front up to Allan Border one morning at the motel after a Test match,” Mick explains.

“They’d won, fortunately, he was hungover and used to be so grumpy, but it actually turned out to be very good.”

In 1994 Mick became frustrated with journalism and bought a fish and chip shop on the Geelong foreshore.

It turned out to be a shrewd investment and he then became a legend of the local footy scene, playing and coaching at a number of different clubs.

One of those gigs was coaching his son Tom in the Under-18s at St Joseph’s in the Geelong Football League.

While Mick is affectionately known as “Mad Mick” complete with a crazy stare, you won’t find a more respectful and well-liked person inside the walls of GMHBA Stadium than Tom.

He smiles when quizzed about his father’s reputation before paying him the ultimate compliment.

“Probably the majority of what I am as a footballer, and a person, can be attributed to him,” Tom says.

Tom Atkins wins a hard ball against GWS. Picture: Michael Klein

After not going through the traditional TAC Cup pathway, Tom was playing for Geelong College when Paul Hood, the Cats VFL coach, invited him to pre-season training.

“In Year 12 I was playing footy and I was never a chance for that draft so it’s not like I was like other kids where they had a bit of interest in their 18-year-old year,” Tom explains.

“I was just playing footy and then when Paul Hood asked if I wanted to train with the VFL I thought I would because I wanted to play as high as I could.”

And so started a special relationship.

Tom began on the VFL’s development list in 2014 and played five games, the following year he made the main list but still only played six games.

In 2016 he played a full season and won the best-and-fairest award. By this stage he’d seen his teammate Tom Ruggles progress from the VFL to the AFL list, which for the first time planted the seed of a similar progression in his own mind.

“It (AFL) was never really a reality for me coming through,” Tom says. “But 2017 was probably the year where for the first time I thought I was a chance.

“I thought if I have a really good year here, maybe Geelong will be keen on me, but then I got injured.”

A dodgy hamstring kept him sidelined for a couple of months and while he played well at the end of the season, the Cats decided to go with Stewart Crameri with their only pick in the rookie draft.

“I can remember watching the rookie draft and being disappointed when I didn’t get called out.

“Again, it was so far from what I thought was actually possible, so it was never like I really got my hopes up.

“Mum and Dad will tell you as well, I told them the whole way through that I’m going to expect the worst and then if the worst happens then I won’t be let down.

“I was never shitty or anything.”

Tom Atkins (left) and Gary Rohan, two key members of the Cats’ new-look forward line.

This attitude is what endeared Tom to Geelong officials, with football boss Simon Lloyd still blown away about a text exchange between the pair when he told him that he’d missed out again.

“I understand putting a list together is a tricky job and not everyone can be a winner. Bigger things going on in the world mate I still get to have a run around in the 2s! Will catch you round the club,” Atkins texted.

The way he handled it, the dignity and class, is used as an example for anyone who now steps into the football club.

And Tom’s response?

He won his second best-and-fairest in 2018 as captain, was named in the VFL Team of the Season and produced double-digit tackles in 10 of his 20 VFL games.

Given forward pressure was the new direction for the Cats, Tom was called in with a month to go in the season and told that the wait was over, he would be selected with the club’s first pick in the rookie draft.

He was only allowed to tell his parents and girlfriend about the decision and it played on his mind, affecting his football until his old man intervened.

“It was a weird thing for me to deal with. They said, ‘We’re going to take you barring any injuries’ so I sort of had it in my mind if I do my knee here then … for the first two games after I didn’t play well.

“Then Dad said to me: ‘Are you going to go back to playing the way you were before they told you or not?’. I was playing a bit soft so after that I played a bit better.”

Tom Atkins says he owes dad Mick everything. Picture: Alex Coppel

Tom, 23, had been setting up life as an accountant after completing a commerce degree at Deakin University.

His lifestyle wasn’t one of an AFL player given he lived with three mates and takeaway was certainly at the top of the dinner list.

In the lead-up to his debut in Round 1, Tom let slip that he’d been forced to change his diet and give away his favourite fish souvlaki, which gained a lot of traction in the media particularly after it was highlighted on Channel 7’s popular program The Front Bar.

“That certainly took off,” he laughs.

He’s been pleasantly surprised how quickly he’s coped with the step up - he’s averaged over four tackles per week - but still can’t believe in many ways that he’s now a full-time AFL footballer.

His Dad can. Perseverance is in the family genes and Mick’s take on the son who has lived his dream sums everything up perfectly: “He doesn’t give up easy and he’s not intimidated easily.”