Essendon speedster Jarrod Atkinson sees season 2010 as a make or break year.
After battling to make it into Essendon's best 22 as a mature age recruit, the 24-year-old has just one year on his contract and knows he must deliver or watch his AFL career pass him by.

“Next year is do or die for me,” Atkinson said.

“Knowing you are going into next season in the final year of your contract is a bit of a reality check - you know you need to be on top of your game and come out firing.”

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Matthew Knights has told the playing list about the committment required to make it to the top and that message resonated with Atkinson who is now one of the more senior players on the young list.
“With such a young list, spots in the 22 will be tight next year,” Atkinson said.
""Those who make the 22 will need to earn their spot and I want to make sure I work hard and put my hand up to be there consistently.

“Looking back, I guess I wasn’t fit enough last season and I probably became more injury prone because of that.

“I think I’ve matured a fair bit as a player and I’ve learnt a bit more about myself and the game and I need to put that into action.

“Knighter has given me a lot of opportunities and I need to repay the faith he has shown in me as well as acting as someone who the younger guys respect and can look up to.”

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Atkinson has tallied 10 senior games since being selected by the Bombers in the 2007 rookie draft and is determined to build his fitness base and earn himself more game time.

“I’m planning to use the pre-season to really work on my fitness so I can hopefully spend some more time in the midfield,” he said.

“Obviously I will still play my role down back but want to get my fitness to a level so that I can push into the midfield at times to help out.”