Shaun Atley’s end-of-season football trip will have one rather significant difference to his Rochester teammates — he won’t be returning to Australia, at least not in the short term.
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The 234-game AFL star, who returned to the Goulburn Valley league this year to play alongside younger brothers Jacob and Joe, will join his wife Julia in Sweden at the end of the football season.
At Rochester Sports Museum on Friday evening Atley was the centre of attention when a tribute to his football career was unveiled by members of the Rochester Lions Club.
There were more than 20 uncles, aunties, cousins and extended family involved in the launch of the exhibition, which includes an eclectic collection of memorabilia and the boots he wore in his final game last year.
Atley has been living with parents Brendan and Christina, in Rochester, during the 2022 season.
He has played 11 games with the Tigers and leads the competition for average disposals per game.
This will be his only season with the Tigers, the soon to be 30-year-old re-locating to Sweden to continue working in the building industry.
Shaun and Julia were married at Easter this year, three previous attempts to bring the international families together for the event frustrated by COVID.
The couple will have a second ceremony in front of a more complete gathering of family and friends when Shaun returns to Sweden.
Her will then work with Julia’s father, who is a builder.
Shaun missed six weeks of the GVL season while travelling with his Swedish partner of the past six years through Europe.
Middle brother Joe and the youngest of the trio, Jacob, live and work in Melbourne — parents Brendan and Christina living on a property at Corop.
The family moved to Murray River town Corryong when Shaun was in Year 5, Brendan accepting a principal’s role before later returning to work at St Mary’s Primary School at Echuca.
There was strong representation from his parents’ family at the museum launch, a haundful of his father’s six siblings — Loretta, Adrienne, Carolyn, John, Nicole and Timothy at the launch.
Shaun’s mother, Christina, is also from a strong sporting family. Her four brothers (Kevin, Anthony, Stephen and Mark) all followed in the footsteps of father John Vagg and his former Hawthorn footballing brother, Bob (Robert).
The eldest member of the Atley family — Shaun’s 87-year-old grandfather Peter — was also at the celebration.
His wife, Kaye, died last year — a proud follower of Shaun’s AFL career.
One die-hard kangaroo, Mary Knight, reminisced on her role in Shaun’s life.
She was a long-time nurse in Rochester who has a long-time connection with the family.
Shaun has been working in Melbourne as a builder during the football season, a career choice shared by brother 24-year-old Joe — who has spent this season with Essendon in the VFL.
He has played four home and away games with the Tigers, the first time the three brothers had ever played in the same team.
Shaun spent 11 years, from 2011, at North Melbourne and the decision to return this year was planned around him wanting to play with his siblings.
Twenty-two-year-old Jacob works in architecture.
The boys have two sisters, 28-year-old Jacqueline who is a netball-playing primary school teacher in Melbourne and a former winner of two state hurdles titles.
Dominique, 25, continues the theme of high achievers in the family and is coming to the end of eight years of studying medicine at Melbourne University.
She will be an intern at Ballarat next year.
A 2010 AFL Draft frame, featuring current players Cam Guthrie, Brady Smith, Isaac Smith and Mitch Wallis, is among the interesting pieces in the exhibition.
Christina Atley said her son had decided some time ago that once he had finished up his AFL career he and Julia would live in Sweden.
“Julia had spent six years living in Melbourne while Shaun was playing football,” Christina said.
“They will eventually set up a gym in Sweden. They have bought an apartment in Gothemberg where they will live.
“We will go over for six weeks for the second wedding ceremony October.
“It will be in France.”
Shaun said the Rochester season had been “good fun’’, not least the chance to have a beer after the game.
Playing with his brothers, while enjoyable, has also rekindled backyard contests.
“I’ve given them a bit of onfield feedback this year. They have told me to stop yelling at them,” he said.
The three Atley brothers will contest an elimination final this weekend against Mooroopna.
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