Milestone man Shaun Atley could easily be dubbed ‘Mr. Reliable’.
Not many players reach the 200-game mark early in their tenth season, but Atley has been a picture of consistency since his debut in 2011.
Remarkably, he’s missed just nine games, with six of those in his first season.
Atley’s statistics are also intriguing. In the last 106 games he’s never had below double-figures in disposals.
As the Roos’ number 18 prepares to become just the 33rd Shinboner to break the magical 200-game barrier, he reflects on one teammate who helped set the standard.
“Early days I looked to ‘Boomer’, and he never missed a training session, he never missed anything,” Atley said.
“I tried to model myself on that and never miss a session, and just get through, and eventually that leads to keeping playing games.”
That mentality clearly held Atley in good stead. He’s known for his meticulous preparation and is hoping to influence the Roos’ younger brigade.
“I draw on the experience of when I got first here and the guys I looked up to,” Atley said.
“You probably watch those guys like Brady (Rawlings) and ‘Drewy’ (Petrie) and ‘Boomer’ (Harvey) and Spud (Michael Firrito), and they wouldn’t even know you were watching them.
“(I) try and make them (young teammates) feel welcome and to train hard out on the track, because I feel like they definitely watch the older guys doing that, and be consistent and perform on game day.
“I feel like I’ve really grown over the years I’ve been here.”
Atley said he was “very proud” to achieve such a significant milestone.
“It can be a little bit embarrassing when you look at some of the names who’ve got 200 games, but what I’m most proud of is that it’s at North Melbourne.”
“Coming in as a young kid you don’t really know much and how long you’re gonna be here, but I’ll never be able to repay the footy club for what they’ve shown in me and given me and helped me develop as a person.
“I love the place and I’ll be forever grateful to the footy club.”
Across 199 games, Atley has averaged close to 18 disposals, and played in eight finals.
Watch the Atley interview below.
