He's approachable, yet he's not the type of coach that would be mates or have that 'outside footy' bond with his playing group.

The 39 year old has a school principal aura about him.

Respect him and stay on the right side of him - or face the consequences. He's not the most media-savvy coach in the league, but has the keys to getting the best out of his players.

His VFL coaching career has been a gradual learning process and this year he has been prepared to take risks with what he termed as a "young developing" group of players at the start of the season. Add his usual grunt and some preaching of one-percenters and emphasising the tackle count.

Throw in some dedication and an intimidating look in his eyes that gets players' full attention, and you have Atkins summed up. It's a unique package that has worked since 1995, when he took them to their best result under him, a grand final appearance.

He has a 61 per cent success rate since 2005 and has got the Tigers into the finals every season since, bar last year.

But Atkins' coaching style has had its detractors.

It is understood several members of the club's board were at odds midway through last year about his immediate future.

Atkins' tenure looked doomed at the end of the season when the Western Bulldogs ended their alignment with Werribee.

The Bulldogs requested one of their development coaches take over the helm at Werribee.

But the Tigers stood firm with Atkins and the new relationship with the Kangaroos.

Then after round 10 this year, with Werribee on the bottom rungs of the ladder, many pondered that it was just a matter of time before the ginger-haired coach was given the axe.

And he had a battle to retain the players' respect last year, with

some players showing little respect for the club's strict off-field code of conduct at the back end of the season.