Charlie Dixon shows he can contend with Coleman Medal with dominant display against West Coast
Ken Hinkley said Charlie Dixon’s six-goal performance against West Coast was his best since the 2017 elimination final. But there are some small yet vital differences that Port Adelaide fans should be very excited about.
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Charlie Dixon put in the most dominant performance by a Port Adelaide big forward since — well himself in 2017.
But there are two key differences that should have Power fans very optimistic about 2020 after Port well and truly announced itself as a contender.
We all knew Dixon was in for a big 2020 season after footage emerged of him putting in some serious work with Travis Boak in the US last year, and then that photo of him and development coach Chad Cornes showing off their six packs in the Adelaide sun.
But could Dixon end up as the premier big forward of the 2020 season?
Against the West Coast Eagles on Saturday at Metricon Dixon looked like he could not be stopped, as he torched a Jeremy McGovern-less backline and jumped into the Coleman Medal lead.
He kicked 6.2, had 15 possessions of which 12 were contested and clunked seven big marks.
Ken Hinkley declared it his best game since the 2017 elimination final, against West Coast no less.
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That night he had 23 disposals in a performance Hinkley said was “one of the great finals games by a key forward” but kicked 3.6 as the Power lost in extra time.
Against the Eagles on Saturday he kicked straight, and that prospect must be a scary one for opposition defenders.
“Charlie we’ve said forever he’s really important for us (but) he hasn’t always kicked goals,” Hinkley said post-win.
“I’d say that’s probably his best game since we played the Eagles in a final. He dominated them in a final but he didn’t kick straight and he kicked straight (today).”
A Fox Footy graphic of Dixon’s career set shot from 23m out when he kicked for goal in the final quarter showed what Hinkley had talked about — showing three goals out of eight attempts from what should be a regulation distance for a player of his talent.
So far in 2020 Dixon has kicked 11 goals and 4 behinds with a scoring accuracy of 73 per cent.
In 2019 this scoring accuracy was just 48 per cent and in 2018 41 per cent.
When asked what had resulted in this change Hinkley said it was simple.
“He’s just fit, it helps, it helps him enormously,” he said.
“When you are fit and you are mentally feeling well and you are training all the time it gives you a chance to play well.”
Dixon told The Advertiser the work he had put in off the ground was paying off.
“I wanted to give myself the best chance and capitalise on the work all of us have done in the pre-season, it was a really fun pre-season,” he said.
“It was a bit disappointing have the season stopped but it also was an opportunity to make the body a bit more durable and keep our fitness and strength up and capitalise when training and games started back up.”
Hinkley said the ability of Dixon to get his body right after that horror broken ankle/leg against West Coast in 2018 should not be underestimated.
“Before the break in his leg and ankle, really badly, Charlie had a season where he kicked nearly 50 goals for us,” Hinkley said.
“There’s a bit that goes unwritten about what has caused him to not be as dominant as he has been in the last couple of years, but to come back from the injury he had it’s a tremendous performance.”
Dixon’s body being the best it ever has been at AFL level and his improved goal kicking accuracy aren’t the only differences from the last time he looked so dominant.
He now has an excellent foil with Todd Marshall continuing to show he has arrived at AFL level.
Before the Eagles game Dixon was rated as the second best forward in the AFL, Marshall was number one.
For the first time in a while Port have a genuine two-pronged big man attack.
Add in veteran Justin Westhoff’s 199cm frame to Dixon’s 200cm and Marshall’s 198cm, it’s a tall order for defenders to overcome.
This was no more evident than at the 17 minute mark of the third quarter, when the Eagles key defenders tried to stop yet another Dixon flight at the ball and took their eyes off Marshall who took an easy mark and goal.
“Our forwards work really well together now and it gives me an opportunity to fly at the footy,” Dixon said.
“It is good and having Hoff (Westhoff) there as well we can keep the key backs accountable.
“So if all three of us can get that one-on-one match up even if we don’t mark the ball our smalls are very dangerous and can capitalise on our forward 50 entries.
“We are getting the ball in there and we are keeping the ball in there and getting those opportunities.”
Dixon will rightly get the bulk of the plaudits for his performance but special mention should also go to the Port Adelaide defence for the way they went about nullifying the Eagles attack for much of the game — and then recovering when West Coast did come out firing in the third.
“It comes off our defence to start with,” Dixon said.
“Yeah we are getting opportunities but we are keeping the ball in there.”
And with a new and improved Dixon and a forward line firing, the last thing opposition teams would want is Port Adelaide keeping the ball in its forward 50.
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