Martin Paul "Marty" Atkins (born 4 May 1969) is a former

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

er who played for in the

West Australian Football League The West Australian Football League (WAFL) is an Australian rules football league based in Perth, Western Australia. The league currently consists of ten teams, which play each other in a 20-round season usually lasting from March to September, ...

(WAFL). Atkins holds the record for the most WAFL matches played for South Fremantle.

Early life

Atkins was born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, England and arrived in Australia as a teenager. He attended Kwinana Senior High School.

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 In Australian sport, the best and fairest award recognises the player(s) adjudged to have had the best performance in a game or over a season for a given sporting club or competition. The awards are sometimes dependent on not receiving a suspensi ...

player award, ultimately losing both times on countback.

South Fremantle

After making his WAFL league debut in 1989, he played 266 times for the ''Bulldogs'' including the 1997 premiership. In July 2003 Atkins overtook

Tom Grljusich Duje Tomy "Tom" Grljusich (born 13 August 1940) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for South Fremantle in the Western Australian National Football League and Central District in the South Australian National Football League. T ...

as the South Fremantle games record holder.

Donnybrook

In 2004 Atkins joined Donnybrook in the

South West Football League The South West Football League is an Australian rules football league based in the south-west of Western Australia. The league is affiliated to the West Australian Country Football League. History The idea of creating a larger league was discu ...

(SWFL) where he made an immediate impact, finishing the season as runner-up for the Hayward Medal, the league's award for

player. Between 2004 and 2007, Atkins played 65 times for the ''Dons''.

Wesley-Curtin

Atkins was appointed playing coach of Wesley-Curtin in the

Western Australian Amateur Football League The Perth Football League is an Australian rules football competition based in Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a ...

(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.

State football

Atkins played five matches for

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

, making his debut in 1992 against South Australia. He was awarded the

Simpson Medal The Simpson Medal is an individual prize awarded for Australian rules football in Western Australia. The medal has been donated by Dr Fred Simpson and family since 1945. Simpson Medals are currently awarded to the following players: *The best pla ...

as best player in the 1993 clash with South Australia.

Working life

In 1988 Atkins joined

Western Australia Police The Western Australia Police Force, colloquially WAPOL, provides police services throughout the state of Western Australia, an area of 2.5 million square kilometres, the world's largest non-federated area of jurisdiction, with a population ...

. 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 as football operations manager. In early 2012 he joined as CEO.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Atkins, Marty 1969 births Living people South Fremantle Football Club players South Fremantle Football Club administrators Perth Football Club administrators Peel Thunder Football Club administrators English players of Australian rules football