Paul Atkins (born 23 December 1968) 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 two games for the

Sydney Swans The Sydney Swans are a professional Australian rules football club based in Sydney, New South Wales. The men's team competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), and the women's team in the AFL Women's (AFLW). The Swans also field a reser ...

in the

1992 AFL season The 1992 AFL season was the 96th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989. The season featured fifte ...

. He had a similar build to his twin brother Simon Atkins who was a successful player at Footscray, the club with which Paul had originally tried out. He was recruited from Burnie Hawks in Tasmania.

1992 AFL season

Atkins wore the number 32 jumper for the Sydney Swans in the 1992 AFL season and it took until Round 23 for Atkins to make his debut against the

Brisbane Bears The Brisbane Football Club, nicknamed the Bears, was a professional Australian rules football club based in Queensland on the Gold Coast (relocated to Brisbane in 1993). The club participated in the Victorian/Australian Football League (VFL/A ...

Carrara Carrara ( , ; , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, in central Italy, of the province of Massa and Carrara, and notable for the white or blue-grey marble quarried there. It is on the Carrione River, some Boxing the compass, west-northwest o ...

. The Bears were a struggling team that finished on the bottom of the ladder in 1992. Atkins had seven kicks and 10 handballs in a losing Sydney side. He also played the following week against Richmond at the SCG. Atkins had 11 disposals, of which eight were handballs.

North Launceston 2010

Atkins was appointed coach of

Tasmanian State League The Tasmanian State League (TSL), colloquially known as the "Tasmanian Football League (TFL)" (formerly known as the "Tasmanian Australian National Football League (TANFL)" and several other short-term names) is the highest ranked Australian r ...

club North Launceston before the start of the 2010 season and was seeking to get North Launceston back into the finals. The club last won a premiership in 1998. The side was inconsistent throughout the season, although a memorable victory over Glenorchy was one of the highlights of the season. North Launceston finished sixth after the home and away season and lost a close Elimination Final to North Hobart at

North Hobart Oval North Hobart Oval is a Stadium, sports venue in North Hobart, Tasmania, used for Australian rules football. History North Hobart Oval started its existence as Hobart Town's brickfields in 1844 before becoming a Brickfields Hiring Depot, convi ...

to finish sixth. Atkins was not reappointed for the 2011 season.preview/ talkfooty.com.au

References

Living people 1968 births Sydney Swans players Burnie Hawks Football Club players North Launceston Football Club coaches North Hobart Football Club players Australian rules footballers from Tasmania Australian twins Twin sportspeople {{AFL-bio-1960s-stub