It’d been a long time since Tom Atkins had a summer like this.

Atkins’ VFL origin story is now well known, and since landing his first senior game in 2019, the Cats haven’t missed the finals.

And generally, when the Cats made the finals, it was usually a deep run.

So, in news that will surprise nobody who knows Atkins’ body of work, when preparation started significantly earlier than usual for the 2024 AFL season, he had to be reined in.

“It's probably been something I've had to temper," he told media this week about a preseason that is set to officially end next week against the Saints.

“We’ve had such a long break that I was way too keen to get into things and we were still at the time, three months away from playing against opposition.

“Now, I feel like I've had a good body of work behind me and am more than ready to launch into St.Kilda.”

From a hard-nosed defensive stopper to a bona fide midfield dynamo, Atkins himself, now with 105 games under his belt, is ready to launch into the next stage of his career.

Last season his average disposals per game jumped to 19.3, a career high, he laid 7.6 tackles per game, also a career high, and the total figure of 175 ranked third overall in the AFL.

But most notably, he is now a key cog in the Cats engine room, something that was reflected in his second place finish in last year’s Carji Medal voting.

Now 28, Atkins is part of a core group of experienced players looking to gel with a younger set now making their own claims on the Cats’ first 23.

It’s in this group that he sees a player who strikes an uncanny resemblance to himself: Jhye Clark.

“I love Jhye,” he said. 

“He's a similar player to me, he works really hard at his pressure and he values the in and under stuff. I'm looking forward to watching him play, I've already enjoyed playing with him so far this year.” 

Get your tickets to the Cats' Round 1 blockbuster next Saturday night here.