Beard. Check.
Man bun. Check.
Rides a bike. Check.
Vegan. Check.
Passion for his footy. Check.
Great bloke. Check
Jack Atkinson ticks every single box for all things Fitzroy.
On Saturday, the Reservescaptain will run out for his 150th game for the club.
A long-time defender, Atkohas risen to become one of the clubs most respected blokes and his hard work and effort over many years has resulted in his appointment to skipper for season 2017.
Atko has grown into one of the first blokes picked in the twos each week after several seasons split between the reserves and thirds.
A hard worker on the track, 2016 coach Sam Buckley told Attythat he would remain in the side for several weeks regardless of form, giving him the confidence to attack the game without worrying about selection.
And it worked. Atko had a stand-out 2016, taking his form into this year.
Buckley, who is also a former teammate, says Atko is a pleasure to coach.
He absolutely gives his all for the jumper and has improved as a player year-on-year for the last five years,Bucks says.
He is one of the terrific blokes at the club and a guy that you just love playing football with. Its great seeing the leader he has become and hes doing a stand-up job captaining the twos./p>
High school buddy and fellow defender, Jono Anderson, says he has a huge amount of love and respect for Atko.
We became best mates on day one of high school and stuck with each other the whole way through. It was actually a happy birthday Facebook post from Atko that got me back down to the club a few years ago,?he says.
Its great to see Atko captain the Reserves this year. Hes always led by example on the field, but hes also taking on the off-field leadership role really well too. I think hes getting some confidence from the role because hes playing some awesome footy./p>
