Shaun Atley (born 13 September 1992) is a former professional

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 the

North Melbourne Football Club The North Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Kangaroos, is a professional Australian rules football club. The men's team competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), and the women's team in the AFL Women's (AFLW). The Kangaroos also ...

in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...

(AFL). Originally from

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

, Atley was taken with draft pick #17 in the 2010 National draft by

North Melbourne North Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. North Melbourne recorded a population of 14,953 at the ...

. Prior to being drafted, he played both as a half-back and as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. He debuted the following year, in the

2011 AFL season The 2011 AFL season was the 115th 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 s ...

. Atley made his debut in Round 1, against . 2012 was a much more successful year for Atley. He played every possible game, and was noted as one of the competition's most improved player. The catalyst of this change of form was a move to the backline, where he used his explosive pace and blistering speed to accelerate out of defence on numerous occasions to turn defence into attack. His kicking improved out of sight, and this was recognised with a fifth placing in the Syd Barker Medal. He is the brother of Joe Atley, who plays for the Essendon Football Club's VFL side after being delisted by the Port Adelaide Football Club. Atley was delisted by North in October 2021 after 234 games for the club.

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* * 1992 births Living people North Melbourne Football Club players Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) Murray Bushrangers players North Ballarat Football Club players {{AFL-bio-1990s-stub