Marty Atkins

Martin Paul "Marty" Atkins (born 4 May 1969) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for South Fremantle in the West Australian Football League (WAFL).[lower-alpha 1] Atkins holds the record for the most number of WAFL matches played for South Fremantle.

Marty Atkins
Personal information
Full name Martin Paul Atkins
Date of birth (1969-05-04) 4 May 1969
Place of birth London, England
Original team(s) Kwinana
Position(s) Ruckman
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1989–2003 South Fremantle 266 (122)
Representative team honours
Years Team Games (Goals)
1992–2000 Western Australia 5 (2)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2003 WAFL season.
Career highlights
  • Simpson Medal – 1993
  • WAFL Premiership – 1997
  • WAFL Top 25 Over the Past 25 – 2012[1]
Source: AustralianFootball.com

Early life

Atkins was born in London, England and arrived in Australia as a teenager. He attended Kwinana Senior High School.[2][3]

Playing career

Junior football

Atkins began playing for Kwinana at under-16 level. Making an impression as a ruckman, Atkins twice tied for club best and fairest player award, ultimately losing both times on countback.[2][4]

South Fremantle

After making his WAFL league debut in 1989, he played 266 times for the Bulldogs including the 1997 premiership.[4][5][6][7][8]

In July 2003 Atkins overtook Tom Grljusich as the South Fremantle games record holder.[9]

Donnybrook

In 2004 Atkins joined Donnybrook in the South West Football League (SWFL) where he made an immediate impact, finishing the season as runner-up for the Hayward Medal, the league's award for best and fairest player. Between 2004 and 2007, Atkins played 65 times for the Dons.[4]

Wesley-Curtin

Atkins was appointed playing coach of Wesley-Curtin in the Western Australian Amateur Football League (WAAFL) for the 2008 season. His form in 2009 was rewarded when he won the CJ Jamieson Medal as the best and fairest player in the WAAFL. He played until the 2010 season when he retired mid-season.[2][4][10]

State football

Atkins played five matches for Western Australia, making his debut in 1992 against South Australia. He was awarded the Simpson Medal as best player in the 1993 clash with South Australia.[8][11][12]

Working life

In 1988 Atkins joined Western Australia Police. He spent time based in Wyalkatchem and Trayning, towns over 200 km from Perth. He returned to Kwinana Senior High School for a three-year posting as school police officer. After 15 years, Atkins left the police in 2003 to take up a role with South Fremantle as football manager. He later joined Peel Thunder as football operations manager. In early 2012 he joined Perth as CEO.[2][3][13][14][15]

Notes
  1. The WAFL changed names several times during his playing career and was known variously as the WAFL (1989, 1991–1996, 2001–2003), the Western Australian State League (1990) and Westar Rules (1997–2000)

References
  1. Foreman, Glen (13 March 2012). "South Fremantle great Marty Atkins urges unlucky kids to stay in WAFL". Perth Now. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  2. Head, Ron (2 April 2014). "Marty Atkins". OzFooty.net. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  3. "Footy stars challenging new role". Weekend Courier. News Limited. 1 August 2008.
  4. Elborough, Brad (2008). "Catching up with... Marty Atkins". Football Budget (Round 2 March 28–29, 2008): 8–9.
  5. "WA Two Hundred Club player members". West Australian Football Commission. November 2014. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  6. "Every League Premiership Player in Page Finals System Era - 1931-2009". West Australian Football League. West Australian Football Commission. 16 January 2010. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  7. Reid, Russell (24 June 2000). "Atkins Reaches Milestone". The West Australian.
  8. Devaney, John. "Marty Atkins". Australian Football. The Slattery Media Group. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  9. Sprigg, Trevor (13 July 2003). "A lion-hearted display". The Sunday Times. In the process, the Lions, who conceded the first four goals of the match, spoilt the celebrations of Bulldogs stalwart Marty Atkins. Atkins yesterday broke Tom Grljusich's club record of 258 league games.
  10. "WAAFL Fairest & Best - A Grade (C.J Jamieson Medal)". Western Australian Amateur Football League. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  11. "Western Australian Interstate Football Representatives". West Australian Football Commission. 22 May 2013. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  12. "WA State Match Results". West Australian Football Commission. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  13. Reid, Russell (19 July 1999). "Busy Schedule Does Not Slow Top Bulldog". The West Australian.
  14. Harvey, Ben (9 August 2000). "Marty Cops Bumps On All Sides". The West Australian.
  15. "Marty Atkins quits Peel Thunder to join Perth Demons as new CEO". Perth Now. 28 March 2012. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
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