Past #18: Shaun Atley - delisted end '21 - 237 NM games / 44 NM goals - thanks Ats

[king of the road]

Some pretty harsh commentary on here.
I don’t think he’s been as bad as most have made out.
Saw the same written about Lmac last year before he turned it around - I called him to have a good one this year last off season.

I’ll back Atley in to have a better year if the midfield can hold its own with more pressure around the ball.

 

[RossHenshaw]

Been very consistent for his career though... you know what you will get every week

Yep we know what we will get with Atley ...
1 . (run with ball , stop , prop , reverse , kick ball to the wing (no pressure around him) 20 meters above our leading player , wash , rinse , repeat .
2 . (Run with ball sideways , stop prop , reverse , deer in the headlights , s**t quick handball to team mates feet “hot potato style “ pass the problem somewhere else , wash rinse repeat

 

[RHLK]

Hope to see Atley (and Turner) only if we have an injury crisis. Perez, Hayden, Young have to play before him.

 

[Go_Roos!]

Yep we know what we will get with Atley ...
1 . (run with ball , stop , prop , reverse , kick ball to the wing (no pressure around him) 20 meters above our leading player , wash , rinse , repeat .
2 . (Run with ball sideways , stop prop , reverse , deer in the headlights , sh*t quick handball to team mates feet “hot potato style “ pass the problem somewhere else , wash rinse repeat View attachment 1027537

Haha , very good!

 

[roos_fanatic08]

With Marley gone I’d be happy for him to just continue to play that lockdown small defender role until Hayden and co develop.

Unless Noble can get a bit more out of him, then he is always going to be that 15-16 touch per game player.

 

[Go_Roos!]

Hope he never loses the deer in the headlights stuff, gotta luv it!

 

[ChoppyGun]

I hope he is pushed out by the end of the year.

Will mean we finally have better, younger options coming through.

I can't see him improving his weaknesses after this long.

If he does improve then that's great too, as his contract depends on it.

 

[ferball]

The million dollar question. My heart says flourish, my head says diminish.

He needs to stop playing dumb football. Is it too late for that?

If someone is running off the backline with him, and doing it fast then he may flourish. I think alot of his brain fades come from not having a partner to handball to.

 

[ferball]

Remember this:

Roo-lentless pressure

North Melbourne's pressure acts are amongst the best in the competition, and aren't set to slow down in 2019.

www.nmfc.com.au

 

[Long Live the King]

Atleys one of those guys...you just know he is loved around the club would be a top bloke, hard trainer etc etc I think the disappointment is that when he came on board we thought he would be that burst player who would devastate opposition with his speed but not sure if he has lived up to that. Whether he has been played out of position who knows....yep his pressure acts are up there but Id like to see more with the ball in hand...

 

[Themanbun]

Felt in his junior and early days he always showed his best in the contest. We were so bereft of speed we threw him into a back pocket and here we are. Not sure he can dig himself out of this now but he is a very serviceable player.

 

[DesertRoo]

Consistently underwhelming unfortunately. Not God awful, but rarely inspiring.
Which year did he look like his career was about to take off? 2012 or 2013? Whichever it was the following year he got a bit more attention from opposition coaches and then that was it, he just settled into a role player and good ordinary footballer, and no opposition ever needed to put work into him again.

Also when Atley went on a run, his direct opposition would never go with him, they drop back knowing if he turned it over, they’d get a goal out the back with McDonald or McMillain often trying to cover two.
Yes we were woeful defensive team full of one way runners.

 

[amaz199]

With more pace and skill around him, I think he can become a dangerous link.

His best footy was 8 years ago, and it was when we were full-on attack waiting for Atley to burst. We didn't have quick enough players, we just had them positioned to benefit Atley. Since then, we slowly backed off that style to balance things nullifying his output. He can't get that kick right if his target isn't perfectly timing his run.

2014 we saw a bit of the old Ats at times when we switched the style after HT. Alluva sudden Atley got room and used the ball to devastating effect.

So it comes back to what we've gone after, can Ats get back to his former brilliant self?

2021 would be his last year to have the season that can remind us of how good he can be with the right tools around him.

He second guesses himself too often and that split second hesitation can be costly. Was he doing that because the options weren't ready up the ground? Probably. I can think of multiple occasions this was the case since we were in such dire situations in most games.

 

[hilly]

Hope he never loses the deer in the headlights stuff, gotta luv it!

Like when he cost us the game v Essendon in 2019.

On SM-G950F using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[the flying ham]

Plays round one and has another unremarkable but solid season

 

[LuvtheKangas]

Plays round one and has another unremarkable but solid season

My hope (and expectation) is that he doesn't get away with that again this year. Agree he plays Rd 1, but if he's still vanilla by Rd 4, I'm hoping Noble moves him along.

 

[ChoppyGun]

My hope (and expectation) is that he doesn't get away with that again this year. Agree he plays Rd 1, but if he's still vanilla by Rd 4, I'm hoping Noble moves him along.

I'm not convinced he has to play round 1.

He either plays well in the lead up games to confirm his spot, or he doesn't play round 1 and he can try and win it back via VFL.

 

[amaz199]

Needs to be calm when he does use his pace. He gets in a really good position but our players still trail him not ready for his rebound.

He should just put the afterburners on and just go all the way. Has he lost that extra speed?

 

[Psicosis]

My concern is that with the addition of Corr & Young, Atley getting a game will likely be at the expense of Perez.

 

[The Nostradamus]

My concern is that with the addition of Corr & Young, Atley getting a game will likely be at the expense of Perez.

Starting back 6 should have Perez and Hayden as locks

Atley should not play ahead of either

 

[Lomas]

Needs to be calm when he does use his pace. He gets in a really good position but our players still trail him not ready for his rebound.

He should just put the afterburners on and just go all the way. Has he lost that extra speed?

This is an interesting one. He does seem to get ahead of the play and panic sometimes, leading to those awful turns and handballs behind team mates or at their feet. Having a couple of new midfielders with a bit of toe, and the nous to be in the right spot, may help him.

 

[shinboner magic]

I’d play atley in the boomer role - start half forward and just the roam the whole ground.
We’ve tried everything else

 

[Rod Stroker]

Hope to see Atley (and Turner) only if we have an injury crisis. Perez, Hayden, Young have to play before him.

While I don't disagree, if the plan is to play him mostly in the reserves, you'd think they would have tried to trade him this year while he still has some value.

 

[Psicosis]

While I don't disagree, if the plan is to play him mostly in the reserves, you'd think they would have tried to trade him this year while he still has some value.

I don’t think he has any value, which is part of the problem.

 

[The Nostradamus]

id play him on the wing or not at all

rather him there than dumont or polec