Joe’s season measures up to the ‘big league’

In disposal terms, Atley’s 17-game average of 30.5 is sixth in the GVL (fifth if you remove top-of-the-list Michael Barlow who played just one game), but his 519 possessions for the season is second only to Will Hayes, whose 549 is the only other 500-plus total for 2023.

In AFL terms Atley’s disposal count is the equal of Clayton Oliver, Caleb Serong and Darcy Parish, and only marginally behind this season’s top two players: Giant Tom Green and Collingwood’s Nick Daicos.

Atley’s 16.5 contested possession average is however better than any other player in not only the GVL, but also the AFL comparatively.

Green, Tom Liberatore, Parish, Oliver, Serong, Marcus Bontempelli and Matt Rowell are the only players to average more than 14 contested possessions a week.

That list reduces even further when you take into account the clearance averages of the AFL’s most prolific ball-winners.

Atley has averaged 8.4 clearances a week with Rochester this year, more than any other player in the AFL (Lachie Neale’s 8.13 is the only figure above eight in the competition).

Only five other players average more than seven: Liberatore, Parish, Rowell, Bontempelli and Serong making up that list.

Add tackling to the all-round equation and only Rowell (AFL number one with 8.26 a game), Bontempelli and Liberatore remain in the top 10.

Atley averages a tick under five tackles a game, with teammate Grant Fuller the top Tiger in the category.

If we were to dig a little deeper, maybe unfairly given the amount of work Atley does in the back end (having the fourth most rebound-50s for his team), then the 10 goals he has kicked this year may count against him in comparison to some of the AFL’s champion players.

Again it is Western Bulldogs captain Bontempelli who comes up trumps. He has kicked 19 goals this season, one ahead of Daicos and streets ahead of Neale (three), Serong (four) and Green (eight).

While Atley’s season will be celebrated internally, due to his report against Shepparton late in the season he will be ineligible for any individual honours at league level.

From a best-and-fairest point of view he appears set to add to last year’s Essendon VFL title by matching the achievement of older brother Shaun from last season (who won Rochester’s best-and-fairest award before relocating to Sweden).

Hot on his heels however will be key defender (come pinch-hitting ruckman) Hamish Hooppell, hard nut Bailey Wileman, defensive running man Blake Evans and, by no means last, Mitch Cricelli.

Cricelli has become one of the most admired players in the competition by taking the skill-set which made him a 40-goal-plus player last season and adapting the high leap and spectacular marking to a rucking role.

Sean Williams’ work inside 50 made him the club’s most outstanding forward, while Reid Gordon’s ability to fill gaps in defence, attack and the midfield was also a feature of the Tigers’ season.