Geelong midfielder Tom Atkins has backed in Mark Blicavs to return to action for Gather Round as the Cats prepare for life without Jack Henry in at least the short-term.
Atkins spoke to the media on Monday and addressed the status of the two defenders ahead of Geelong's Gather Round clash with Adelaide. Blicavs was a late out before the Cats' Friday night blockbuster against Melbourne, while Henry suffered a hamstring injury during the first half.
"[Henry] has obviously done something; he's waiting on scans. I don't expect to see him playing on Thursday," Atkins said.
"[Adelaide] are flying at the moment. It looks like we'll get Mark Blicavs back so that will help with our defence. Obviously, we lose Jack, but as always we don't try and rely on one or two people. It's a team effort, and often team defence helps out those matchups in the forward line."
competes for the ball during the round 03 AFL match between the Gold Coast Suns and the Geelong Cats at Heritage Bank Stadium, on April 02, 2023, in Gold Coast, Australia. (Photo by Matt Roberts/AFL Photos/Getty Images)
Atkins has excelled as a defensive midfielder to begin 2025, becoming the first player in AFL history to lay ten or more tackles in each of the first four games of a season. He currently remains out of contract at the end of the year, but remains humble in the hopes he can stay at Geelong from 2026 and beyond.
"[My future] is not really up to me," Atkins said. "Obviously, I love Geelong, I love the club and would love to stay here, but we'll just see what happens."
"I sort of just play footy. Brisbane was a really wet game and against the Saints, we were defending for a lot of the game, you can't read too much into those stats [as a player]," Atkins said of his impressive defence.
"It's just the way I play, what I fall back on. Sometimes that's the way the game falls, you can't really control that... In the pre-season games I had two and four tackles, so it might just be the stars have aligned."
Atkins also lauded the impressive play from youngster Connor O'Sullivan and star recruit Bailey Smith, both making enormous impacts at the club already.
"[O'Sullivan] has been amazing. He's always in here, working on his game, along with Lawson Humphries and George Stevens who has been playing well in the VFL. He's very handy. When those young players go well, it really lifts the team. We're very lucky to have Connor," Atkins said.
"I love Baz [Smith]. One thing I knew when he was coming to the club was I'd heard he works really hard and he's really diligent... I couldn't be more excited to get him to the club and he's delivered already in spades. Over the pre-season he's always wanting to do extras. He takes notes of our structures, always wanting to be across everything. You really appreciate that, especially as a midfielder, when you're working with him."
Atkins and the Cats will face Adelaide in the marquee opening fixture of Gather Round, playing the Crows at Adelaide Oval on Thursday night.
