Toast Atkinson

[Red Black and Blue]

I have been indecisive when thinking about Atkinson's long term prospects, but today when he backed back in front of a Kozi lead, he won me as a fan. He knew what was coming as he looked behind first. From where I was standing I could see the look in his eyes when he realized it was Kozi coming (and fast), yet he swallowed hard and still went in, allowing Fletcher to mop up.

From that moment on I knew it would be our day.

Just thought he deserved some recognition for one of the bravest acts from a dons player in recent memory.

I also loved his goal, great to see someone back their pace and make it certainty by running to the goal line.

 

[EssendonPride]

Completely agree.

Has struck me as pretty unfairly maligned, but has been playing good football so far this year.

Borderline 22 maybe, but absolutely love the way he goes about it. Suits the game play, and his disposal so far this year has been great.

On another note, he seems to be loved by the commentators too, noticed in the last few matches they've been getting pretty excited.

 

[adii_7]

ahhh the forum finally agrees with me.

atkinson is a gun

 

[The Donners]

I have been indecisive when thinking about Atkinson's long term prospects, but today when he backed back in front of a Kozi lead, he won me as a fan. He knew what was coming as he looked behind first. From where I was standing I could see the look in his eyes when he realized it was Kozi coming (and fast), yet he swallowed hard and still went in, allowing Fletcher to mop up.

From that moment on I knew it would be our day.

Just thought he deserved some recognition for one of the bravest acts from a dons player in recent memory.

I also loved his goal, great to see someone back their pace and make it certainty by running to the goal line.

Prismall also did something similar to this in the last IIRC.

 

[stander]

ahhh the forum finally agrees with me.

atkinson is a gun

As I have said, he's a goer, but some of the astute judges on this board call him a local footballer. A bit unfair I think.

 

[bacon buster]

one of the knocks on him has been his kicking, but i thought his disposal was pretty nice last night.

 

[Longy413]

Great to see him go back, you could see it took him out of his comfort zone and made him think. Ducked the head a little (and I can't blame him) but he went anyway.

He's not a gun and he's not in our best side.
We have to move on three players as a minimum and given he's 25 and hasn't yet cemented a spot (he might do before the end of the season), he's pushing it to keep a spot on the list.

NLM, Slattery, Pears, Reimers, Welsh, Lonergan are better footballers than him.

He can consider himself very luck to have received a game ahead of Tyson Slattery, who has been much better than Atkinson at VFL level and Silverlock is showing himself to be every chance to get promoted after Round 12.

Great to see him do well with his chances and I hope he keeps it up. He's one player player, more than most that can't afford a bad game.

 

[Ben the Gooner]

Prismall also did something similar to this in the last IIRC.

Stanton.

---

I've been a big knocker of Atkinson, but his form in his three games has been impressive. I'm not convinced by any stretch yet. He deserves his spot on form, so hopefully he proves me wrong. I did think he'd lapsed back to his worst in the last quarter when he almost got caught after running into traffic but he broke the tackle so catastrophe was averted.

I don't think I'll ever be confident with the ball in his hands.

As a side note, how perfect was Gumby's kick for Atko's goal? Didn't have to break stride one little bit.

 

[Knight Ryders]

Atko is being asked to play a more defensive role than last season and he is playing this role very well. He's very hard to beat one on one given his pace and strength; he could yet be a good AFL player if he finds the perfect balance of attack and defence, but I'm happy with his defensive side atm (which he seems to be concentrating on).

 

[The Donners]

Stanton.

---

Thanks... I loved it!

 

[Ben the Gooner]

Thanks... I loved it!

Compare it to Stanton's effort with Fevola Rd 3, 2008. Anyone calling him soft is about 2 1/2 years out of date. I haven't seen him squib since then.

 

[Towno78]

That contest with Kosi was pivotal.

But apart from that, really loved everything Atko did today. His hard and fast run out of the backline came all day long and we looked a better side for it. I hope he gets a lot more games this year.

 

[HighettBomber]

I did think he'd lapsed back to his worst in the last quarter when he almost got caught after running into traffic but he broke the tackle so catastrophe was averted.

I don't think I'll ever be confident with the ball in his hands.

That very bit of play is why he should be in our side. He had absolutely nobody to kick to who wasn't outnumbered and so used his pace and strength to break the tackle and then run it through their zone. From memory we ended up kicking a goal from that bit of play. In that situation most other players would have coughed it up. That was possibly a 12 point turnaround, specifically because of his effort.

There were a number of other occassions where his pace created pressure on the ball carrier and forced turnovers. It was a very impressive effort by Atkinson all around.

 

[blitzer]

I really liked what Atkinson has shown the last few games. Been getting less possessions but doing a much better job defensively and his run through the middle is terrific. Whilst he's probably not in our best 22, you rarely have your best 22 fit anyway, and i can't see why we would delist someone that could provide depth for our speedier players in the mid and can also play as a defender. He also fits our gameplan perfectly. I wouldn't be surprised if part of the reason Knights has him in the team at the moment is to see if he is worth persevering with in the future and my answer at this stage would be, that if he keeps playing like this then yes.

 

[Ben the Gooner]

That very bit of play is why he should be in our side. He had absolutely nobody to kick to who wasn't outnumbered and so used his pace and strength to break the tackle and then run it through their zone. From memory we ended up kicking a goal from that bit of play. In that situation most other players would have coughed it up. That was possibly a 12 point turnaround, specifically because of his effort.

There were a number of other occassions where his pace created pressure on the ball carrier and forced turnovers. It was a very impressive effort by Atkinson all around.

Let's say the tackle didn't slip/get broken. We lose all momentum, they get a goal and probably win. Full credit to him for breaking it, but he has prior with getting caught (c.f. his abysmal 2nd quarter against Adelaide).

 

[Childish Gambino]

Haha I could see from my seat on the third level Atkinson's pants fill up when he saw big Kosi coming. To be fair to him he did hold his ground, but Kosi really should have put the knee in and made him earn it!

 

[HighettBomber]

Let's say the tackle didn't slip/get broken. We lose all momentum, they get a goal and probably win. Full credit to him for breaking it, but he has prior with getting caught (c.f. his abysmal 2nd quarter against Adelaide).

If he had of kicked it we would have been in the same predicament as if the tackle stuck, he had no good options. The fact is he is one of the few players we have who could have got out of the situation, not only did he get out of a bad situation but he turned it into attack.

Atkinson stuffs up occasionally, nobody claims he is a great footballer. You're never going to get 22 great footballers in one side. But his pace and strength add a lot to our side. His skills and decisionmaking are not that bad and seem to be getting better.

He is a far better option in the backline than his possible replacements.

 

[anf06]

Prismall also did something similar to this in the last IIRC.

It wasn't in the last, but yes Prismall also put his body on the line in front of the big Kosi monster. You may have heard me, I was the one clapping. But in all seriousness it was plenty of courage from Pris and Atko in this two instances.

 

[anf06]

Compare it to Stanton's effort with Fevola Rd 3, 2008. Anyone calling him soft is about 2 1/2 years out of date. I haven't seen him squib since then.

The Stanton one you are thinking about is when he backed back into the oncoming Ryder and Dawson in the last. Prismall was the one who backed into Kosi.

 

[Pweter]

If he had of kicked it we would have been in the same predicament as if the tackle stuck, he had no good options. The fact is he is one of the few players we have who could have got out of the situation, not only did he get out of a bad situation but he turned it into attack.

Atkinson stuffs up occasionally, nobody claims he is a great footballer. You're never going to get 22 great footballers in one side. But his pace and strength add a lot to our side. His skills and decisionmaking are not that bad and seem to be getting better.

He is a far better option in the backline than his possible replacements.

to this.

Atkinson could've also handballed to a flat footed team mate under pressure, something which has hurt us a lot this season, but he didn't and turned a bad situation around by backing himself.

I reckon he is doing a little of what we relied on Lovett for last season. Lovett got the ball at half back and tore throuigh zones quite often to set up attacks, Atkinson has been using his greatest asset (pace) to attempt the same when the opportunity presents, yesterday it came off a few times. Winderlich could take a leaf out of his book here.

 

[Oh Tayteridge]

I thought his dash really broke the game open in the last quarter and was pivotal to the win. Was prepared to break the lines and take the game on when it was needed.

Reminded me a lot of vintage Lovett. Could be a very important player for us if he continues his improvement.

 

[Mad Bomber Sean]

I didnt see the game here in Indonesia, but by all accounts he played a pivital role in the victory. I have always been a fan of this kid & whilst he does have flaws in his game I feel that he deserves a spot in the first 22. Without question he will be on the list next year.

Could it be that one day even the blind will see....

 

[Ben the Gooner]

If he had of kicked it we would have been in the same predicament as if the tackle stuck, he had no good options. The fact is he is one of the few players we have who could have got out of the situation, not only did he get out of a bad situation but he turned it into attack.

Atkinson stuffs up occasionally, nobody claims he is a great footballer. You're never going to get 22 great footballers in one side. But his pace and strength add a lot to our side. His skills and decisionmaking are not that bad and seem to be getting better.

He is a far better option in the backline than his possible replacements.

Most would have turned back and kicked to Fletcher. When it works, Atkinson's game is fantastic, but when it doesn't, it's horrible. It doesn't work often enough IMO.

As for your last comment, Slatts and Dyson are well ahead of him. Plus Pears + Hooker in frees up Fletch which frees up Dempsey. Atkinson came in to indirectly replace Pears.

The Stanton one you are thinking about is when he backed back into the oncoming Ryder and Dawson in the last. Prismall was the one who backed into Kosi.

I don't recall the Prismall one, but that's the Stanton one I was talking about.

 

[Kong]

I've been a big knocker of Atkinson, but his form in his three games has been impressive. I'm not convinced by any stretch yet. He deserves his spot on form, so hopefully he proves me wrong. I did think he'd lapsed back to his worst in the last quarter when he almost got caught after running into traffic but he broke the tackle so catastrophe was averted.

This.

Another thing that impressed me at the ground was his ability to sum up a situation and act accordingly. I counted three occasions where the ball was either passed to him or heading his way, and with a player hot on his tail, he either tapped or thumped it to the advantage of a running team mate. Once is lucky, twice is good work, but three times means he's clearly made an art form out of such a small, 1%, I guess. Every time it paid off and released a player, too.

As a side note, how perfect was Gumby's kick for Atko's goal? Didn't have to break stride one little bit.

Perfectly weighted!

 

[Walesy]

Last year, Atko was unaccountable, made terrible decisions and backed those decisions with even worse kicking. So it was a fair knock.

This year, we are seeing a better footballer and that makes me happy. While I still cringe when I see it's him with the ball, I think by years end I won't.

It's always nice to see a diamond emerging from the rough- particularly when it's your own rough.