Tassie teen on a roll

THE dust is still settling on his “dream” debut A-League campaign with Melbourne City but Tasmanian Nathaniel Atkinson is already looking ahead to how he can cement a starting spot next season.

Atkinson, 19, made his firstteam debut in December and quickly established himself as a regular starter, securing a two-year contract extension in January.

City’s season was brought to an end two weeks ago in the semi-finals by the Newcastle Jets, but Atkinson isn’t dwelling on the loss.

“It was obviously disappointing in the semifinals getting knocked out, but for me personally it’s been the highlight of my career so far,” Atkinson said.

“It’s been my dream ever since I was a young boy to play professional football and this is my first year of it, it’s a dream come true.”

The defender is setting his sights on securing even more game time next season.

“Coming into pre-season [my goal is] just to try and cement my spot in the starting 11,” he said. “If I come back into pre-season working hard, put the right foot forward, I think I can do that.”

In the meantime, Atkinson is looking forward to a well earned break in his home state.

“I think I’ll go back home, back to Tasmania. I haven’t seen my family in a while, I definitely haven’t seen a lot of my friends in a while, so it will be just be good to get back and just relax for a bit,” he said.