After more than 300 days out of the game, Charlie Dixon makes a happy home coming — and kicks his 200th goal to boot

After 10 months out of the game, big man Charlie Dixon made a welcome return to AFL football and provided Port Adelaide’s forward line with what it had been missing.

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Was Charlie Dixon the missing piece of Ken Hinkley’s forward-line puzzle all along?

The 200cm big man made a welcome — and safe — return to AFL football after 315 days away, while recovering from a broken leg and damaged ankle suffered in August last year.

And what he brought with him was something that Justin Westhoff had been largely unable to do this season: provide Port Adelaide’s midfielders with a target to aim for.

He may not have set Adelaide Oval on fire in his return — and he finished the game with eight disposals, comprising four kicks and four handballs — but he was critical off the ball.

Charlie's pumped to be back 😎#AFLPowerCats pic.twitter.com/389TMrhWB5

— AFL (@AFL) June 22, 2019

Dixon was making telling blocks on Geelong’s defenders when they were trying to move the ball outside 50, and that troubling of the Cats defence meant the other Power forwards: Connor Rozee, Sam Gray and Robbie Gray were freely running through the inside 50.

Then there was his stand-in ruck work: Dixon combined superbly with Scott Lycett (who was missing his usual partner in crime, Paddy Ryder) and by the third quarter the duo had combined for 12 hit-outs to advantage (Lycett eight and Dixon four).

One of those in the third quarter saw Dixon knocking one beautifully to Karl Amon who cleared the ball to Sam Gray and he was able to kick a goal at a critical time in the game when Geelong had kicked two quick consecutive majors. He finished the match with seven hit outs (Lycett finished with a spectacular 41).

Port Adelaide’s Charlie Dixon is swamped by his teammates after kicking his 200th AFL goal in the Power’s win over the Geelong Cats at Adelaide Oval. PHOTO: Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images

From where he’s come: Port Adelaide’s Charlie Dixon recovers from his 2018 season-ending ankle injury. PICTURE: Instagram.

Then, Port’s 2017 leading goalkicker capped off his AFL return by kicking his 200th career goal from a free kick after he was pushed in the back by a pack of Cats.

And as he pumped his fists, he was swamped by his teammates, thrilled to have their big man back in the team, which was a beautiful moment in a win that was big for the Power.

He was denied his 201st goal in the third term after the umpire’s call was overturned by the score review, but he told Channel 7 after the game that he was thrilled to feel so much “love from the crowd and all of Adelaide”.

”There were definitely doubts (about coming back from injury), I just had to bury myself in my training and try to dig myself out of the hole I was in,” he said.

Dixon’s marking will certainly need improvement; he dropped a couple in the fourth term, and finished last night with two (one contested).

He’s back! Charlie Dixon made a happy and safe return from injury in Port Adelaide’s impressive win over Geelong at Adelaide Oval. PHOTO: Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images

But he managed to lay four tackles, which wasn’t bad considering 13 were laid inside the forward 50.

After kicking eight goals in two games for the Magpies in the SANFL, Dixon could be disappointed he couldn’t kick more than the solitary major, but he couldn’t be disappointed with the team result — particularly one that was as hard-earnt as this one.

So, if there was any question hanging over Hinkley’s decision to drop Westhoff and Ryder and bring in Dixon (to potentially cover them both), then those were answered.

And the good news for him? He may have seemed puffed by the third term when trying to keep up with Geelong’s sturdy defender Mark Blicavs (understandable given the delayed start to his pre-season after ankle surgery in March), but he will be all the better for the run around. Match fitness never came from sitting on the sidelines.

QUARTER-BY-QUARTER UPDATES

FIRST QUARTER

Power 3.4 (22)

Cats 1.2 (8)

Smooth moving from the Little Master! #AFLPowerCats pic.twitter.com/Bzcd8cwYW8

— AFL (@AFL) June 22, 2019

Port Adelaide was off to a flying start early, leading the inside-50s count 9-3 halfway through term one and unsurprisingly it showed on the scoreboard. Robbie Gray opened the goal count at the five-minute mark, with a running Conor Rozee booting the second. Rozee’s goal came after Brad Ebert — returning from six weeks away recovering from concussion — put the ball forward, with a beautifully timed kick. It was as if Geelong had arrived at Adelaide Oval asleep and the Cats were uncharacteristically beaten around the stoppages with the Power well ahead on that count — at one point it was a whopping 10-0, but by the time the quarter ended, clearances were 11-7 Port’s way. A late Gary Ablett goal gave the Cats their first major, but the scoreline was flattering only Port and they were up by 14 points.

SECOND QUARTER

Power 6.5 (41)

Cats 3.4 (22)

Big goal from Burton! #AFLPowerCats pic.twitter.com/B4p8qy7Nsb

— AFL (@AFL) June 22, 2019

It took eight minutes for either side to score, and it was Patrick Dangerfield, with a day-old baby girl back home in Geelong, who bombed one long from the 50m line. It wasn’t a pretty quarter: free-flowing footy was not the order of the day, as the Cats fought their way back into the contest, at one point drawing level on inside-50s. Goals to Port co-captain Ollie Wines and Ryan Burton stopped the Geelong onslaught, before Ablett manufactured a beautiful kick to Darcy Fort in the goalsquare. But for all their work the Cats could only manage two goals for the quarter, while a goal to Kane Farrell on the siren put the Power 19 points up at half time.

THIRD QUARTER

Power 7.9 (51)

Cats 6.6 (42)

Gary Rohan is getting medical attention after this incident with Karl Amon. #AFLPowerCats pic.twitter.com/IDjmEIXxAq

— AFL (@AFL) June 22, 2019

“Hit the post” almost became the leading scorer of the third quarter, after a Dixon goal was

overturned by the Score Review, and then minutes later Jordan Clark shaved the post for the Cats. So, there the game was: 10 minutes in and no goals, despite a wasteful Power having nine set shots. But all of a sudden, Geelong burst with two majors inside a minute — to Tim Kelly and Gryan Miers — and the Cats were within nine points.

FOURTH QUARTER

Power 9.13 (67)

Cats 8.8 (56)

A shocker from Blicavs allows Robbie to kick his second! #AFLPowerCats pic.twitter.com/3u8v3q1AD9

— AFL (@AFL) June 22, 2019

Port’s rising star Rozee became his side’s first multiple goal-kicker for the night, 90 seconds into the fourth term and another to Gray came quickly afterwards. Xavier Durrsma had the chance to put the Cats away, but he missed his set shot, while Ablett kicked his second. As Scott Lycett completely dominated in the ruck (finishing with 41 hit-outs), the Power continued to be wayward in front of goal, while a late goal to Rhys Stanley put Geelong within 11 points. But the Power had done enough to beat the league leaders thanks to good old-fashioned team football.