Malcolm 'Mal' Atwell is a former Australian rules footballer who played 162 games for East Perth and 76 games with Perth in the West Australian National Football League (WANFL). He had a highly successful stint as Perth coach and was later named as the coach of Perth's official 'Team of the Century'.
Atwell was a tough, hard hitting footballer and spent most of his time as either a defender or in the ruck. He started his career in 1958 at East Perth and played in their premiership team that season as well as the next.
After making his interstate debut in 1960, Atwell represented his state in both the 1961 Brisbane Carnival and 1966 Hobart Carnivals. In all he made 17 interstate appearances and coached his state at the 1969 Adelaide Carnival.
From 1966 to 1969 he was captain-coach of Perth and led them to premierships in 1966, 1967 and 1968. He remained coach for the 1970 and 1971 seasons but retired as a player.
The following year he joined South Fremantle as non playing coach and spent two seasons in the role.