As a true wingman, Rory Atkins' game is highly dependent on things going on elsewhere in the team. With an engine room slipping from the top echelons to mid-table in clearances, supply has gradually dried up since the Crows' grand final run in 2017. He led the club for inside 50s, but ranked just inside the top 50 for the league. A gradual tailing off in output, sadly not for the first time, saw him dropped last August. Atkins is capable of purple patches when he can deliver a string of startable scores as a rising tide lifts all Crow boats, but he's also susceptible to sucking when the inside mids do too. Adelaide is about to undergo some level of rebuild, and he's the sort of expendable item with a ceiling low enough that his spot could be used to blood kids. BAC eligibility lifts him well into startable range, though his job security is questionable.
Rat chases tastier cheese
As a true wingman, Rory Atkins' game is highly dependent on things going on elsewhere in the team. With an engine room slipping from the top echelons to mid-table in clearances, supply has gradually dried up since the Crows' grand final run in 2017. He led the club for inside 50s, but ranked just inside the top 50 for the league. A gradual tailing off in output, sadly not for the first time, saw him dropped last August. Atkins is capable of purple patches when he can deliver a string of startable scores as a rising tide lifts all Crow boats, but he's also susceptible to sucking when the inside mids do too. Adelaide is about to undergo some level of rebuild, and he's the sort of expendable item with a ceiling low enough that his spot could be used to blood kids. BAC eligibility lifts him well into startable range, though his job security is questionable.
Purge works for Atkins
2018 for Rory Atkins can be divided into three parts: round 1 through 8 where he averaged 87, 9 through 12 where he could only manage 51 then was dropped for poor form, then round 17 onward to put up a more impressive 91. His best run produced a rate of ten points better than his 2017 campaign, but despite his midseason blip he ranked about 30 in both years for metres gained, with 70% of his possessions being uncontested. As a club, Adelaide suffered during the middle of the year dealing with the aftermath of a tumultuous preseason, and Atkins was the canary in the coalmine as it went 5-3, 1-3 and 5-2 respectively in those three sections of the season. Assuming that the Crows can avoid such silliness going into 2019, Atkins should push further toward the top echelon of fantasy accumulators.
Napkins for Atkins
After cementing a spot on a wing in 2016, Rory Atkins consolidated last year as the firing Crows engine room fed him more ball on the outside. His metres gained stat jumped over 50 per game to put him in the top 40 in the league, and while he drew some media criticism for his disposal quality the numbers don't suggest it's all that bad for a wingman. His average dropped around 20 points after the byes, culminating in a poor grand final. Atkins is best 22 in a top four side, and going into his fourth year there is upside left in his game. The addition of Bryce Gibbs will probably help him, as Gibbs tends to float behind packs and use vision to hit targets in space. With Brodie Smith gone for the year, the Crows will lean on their wings more to deliver inside 50 and Atkins is the best they have. His stamina over a season should improve to lift his numbers even further.
