TALKIN’ ABOUT AN EVOLUTION
YOUNG GUN OUT TO GET EVEN BETTER
GEELONG forward Tom Atkins says he does not want to be a one-trick pony and will use the second half of the season to add more strings to his bow in a bid to help the Cats on their finals path.
But that does not mean Atkins will move away from the reputation he has forged as a tenacious tackling beast inside Geelong’s attack. Far from it, in fact. The mature-age recruit has been a revelation in Geelong’s forward line in his debut season but said it was crucial his game continued to evolve, starting with tonight’s clash with St Kilda at GMHBA Stadium.
“I don’t want to go away from that (being a pressure player), because I think that was one of the main reasons why I got drafted,” he said.
“But you need to look at yourself as a whole player and your whole game, and make changes based on that.
“You certainly don’t want to get tunnel vision and just focus on one aspect.
“There’s heaps of different roles within the forward line that I need to keep learning.
“I certainly am nowhere near a good player at AFL level yet.
“I need to keep finding little things to improve my game and just keep contributing.
“The main thing, I think, is just knowing your role and trying to execute that as well as you can.”
Atkins said the Cats were stung by last week’s shock loss to the Western Bulldogs.
“We spent the time we needed to (reviewing) the game and got what we needed to out of it,” he said.
“But we certainly don’t want to dwell on it. We’ve got St Kilda to worry about and it is a totally different team.
“This week we have been focusing on our ball movement and trying to get back to the way we have been playing at the start of the year.
“I think the way we were playing at the start of the year — with our pressure and our intent to get after the opposition — if we can get back to playing that way then it’ll put us in good stead.”
Atkins said Geelong had no reason to take St Kilda lightly, despite the Saints sitting 15th with only six wins.
“This year any team on their day can compete with the best,” he said. “We certainly have to be ready and just play our way.”
The Cats will be boosted by the return of Esava Ratugolea and Brandan Parfitt, with both playing key roles in attack.
Ratugolea, in particular, will have a significant impact on Geelong’s structure, with the key forward a valuable foil for Tom Hawkins.
“He is a super important piece of our forward line,” Atkins said of Ratugolea.
“Just the contest he creates and the presence he has, has certainly been missed.
“It’s great to have him back and it’s great for our forward group as well, having him around.”