All you need to know about Tom Atkins could be found in his post-match interview on Fox Footy on Saturday night.

Despite the interviewer’s best effort to get the match-winning midfielder to talk about himself, all the 26 year-old wanted to discuss where his teammates, and the players in the VFL working for their own shot at the top level.

“It's been a constant grind just trying to improve and I don't care where I play,” he said. 

“I'm just happy to be in the 22 at the moment and there's a lot of great guys in the VFL who are missing out at the moment so I think we owe it to them to play well, I owe it to them because I’m on the fringe.”

Ferocious, selfless, courageous and far from the fringe, Atkins was enormous when it counted most, collecting 12 disposals, seven contested possessions, and five intercepts in the final term, leading Geelong to a thrilling 12 point win over the Power in front of a raucous Port Adelaide crowd. 

If you look close enough there's as much Joel Selwood there as there is former Cat Max Rooke in his game at the moment. 

He would finish up with 24 touches, five clearances, seven tackles, and seven intercepts in yet another bullocking midfield display, and if he didn’t have the competition’s attention already, they’re positively standing at attention now. 

A see-sawing contest in the first half, the home team pressed hard on the accelerator in the third quarter kicking eight goals to one, and a 34 point deficit was turned into a 7 point lead at the final change. 

Enter Atkins, who grew into a match winner before our eyes, putting the Cats on his back and dragging his side to their ninth straight win, ably supported by Tom Hawkins who kicked two of his four in the final stanza. And like their rugged number 30, Geelong showed on Saturday night they’re made of stern stuff, absorbing everything Port had, only to slam the door shut by kicking four goals to one to close out the game.

“The whole team, just the resolve that we've got this year is something else,” he said. 

“They played an amazing third quarter, but we're just comfortable in those tough moments.

“We just got smacked around the ball and I think we answered his call in the fourth quarter. But honestly, it was a bit disappointing in that third quarter but we're just able to hang tough, we've just got such a resilient group of guys in there.”