AFL delistings and retirements: All the list management decisions made by every club

After spearheading Port Adelaide’s forward line for nine seasons, big man Charlie Dixon has called time on his career, one that began as an inaugural Gold Coast Sun.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - SEPTEMBER 20: Charlie Dixon of the Power celebrates kicking a goal during the AFL Preliminary Final match between Sydney Swans and Port Adelaide Power at Sydney Cricket Ground, on September 20, 2024, in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Last season, Ken Hinkley likened Charlie Dixon’s 200th game milestone to other players reaching 400, such were the setbacks the Port Adelaide forward had to overcome to get there.

All that extra mileage from a string of injuries eventually took its toll on the 200cm, 34-year-old, as he retired on Wednesday.

Dixon, who had been out of contract, bowed out after 221 games across 14 seasons, including 156 for the Power.

The Queenslander spearheaded Port Adelaide’s forward line for nine years.

He arrived from Gold Coast at the end of 2015 and went on to boot 263 majors, the fifth-most for the Power.

Dixon led Port’s goalkicking three times, earning All-Australian honours during the Covid-shortened 2020 season when he was also runner-up in the Coleman Medal.

Dixon’s last game was the prelim final loss to the Swans. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

After the Queenslander played all 24 of the Power’s games in 2021, injuries restricted him to 12, 14 and 18 these past three campaigns.

Dixon said he had been incredibly fortunate to have spent so long in footy and had made a lot of great memories.

“While there have been a lot of challenges along the way, I feel really grateful to both Port Adelaide and the Gold Coast for the opportunities those clubs have provided and the friendships I’ve made along the way,” Dixon said.

“It’ll be hard not coming through those doors and seeing some of my best mates every day but I’m looking forward to what comes next.”

Dixon led the Power’s goalkicking for the first time in 2017, a year he also finished runner-up in Port’s best-and-fairest.

But his next season ended with an injury that was described as car-crash-like – a badly broken leg and dislocated ankle that sidelined him for 10 months.

He bounced back, becoming instrumental to the Power’s preliminary final runs in 2020 and 2021, when he led its goalkicking with 34 and 48 majors apiece.

A Gold Coast zone selection after growing up in Cairns, Dixon was the first player the Suns signed, booted their opening AFL goal in 2011 and finished with 94 majors from 65 games.

Hinkley was with him at the Suns as an assistant then lured him to Alberton during the 2015 trade period.

The Power coach said Dixon had come a long way since starting as a rough, raw teenager with a lot of promise.

“To see him grow and develop into the footballer, and more importantly the man he is today, gives me a great sense of pride,” said Hinkley, who had seen all bar three seasons of Dixon’s career first-hand.

“Charlie has always put his body on the line for his teammates, willing himself to every contest – sometimes with a number of opponents hanging off him.

“He’s been so highly regarded at our club for the role he plays in-game in terms of bringing his teammates into the game.

“Whether he is stepping into the ruck or providing guidance and advice for our young forwards, we can’t be more grateful for the contribution Charlie has made to Port Adelaide.”

Dixon follows former Gold Coast teammate Trent McKenzie in retiring from the Power.

Read more about clubs’ delistings and retirements below.