Former AFL player and coach Paul Atkins has died after being hit by a vehicle in his home town of Wynyard over the weekend.
Atkins, 57, was struck on Moore Street, east of the township, around 10pm on Saturday, July 11.
Atkins was born in Wynyard and rose through the Wynyard Football Club alongside his identical twin brother Simon before both went on to play in the AFL.
He made his senior debut for the Sydney Swans in 1992 and later returned to Tasmania, playing with distinction at the Burnie Hawks and Dockers before moving into coaching, including a stint coaching Wynyard.
Tributes have flowed since his death from football clubs and community groups across the north-west.
Wynyard Football Club life member and former president Paul McCormick said Atkins would be sadly missed by many.
“Paul will be remembered as an enigmatic person blessed with a great wit, he was an outstanding raconteur, well-read intelligent man, who could carry a conversation at any level,” McCormick said.
The club said Atkins’s mother Margie and sister Kim had also given thousands of volunteer hours to Wynyard over the years.
The Seabrook Golf Club, where Atkins was a member, remembered him as a “larger-than-life character” whose friendship and enthusiasm would be greatly missed.
AFL Tasmania described Atkins as a passionate advocate for football.
“Paul’s legacy is reflected not in statistics alone, but in the people he supported, the standards he set and the communities he helped strengthen,” the organisation said.
“Our thoughts are with Paul’s family, friends and all those who shared in his football journey.”
Moore Street was closed while police examined the scene and a report will be prepared for the coroner.
