Port Adelaide star Charlie Dixon addresses claims Brisbane is trying to lure him away with a blockbuster deal
Port Adelaide spearhead Charlie Dixon has addressed reports Brisbane is circling the man mountain in a bid to lure him to Queensland with a multi-year blockbuster deal. Will he be in Power colours in Round 1, 2021?
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Port Adelaide spearhead Charlie Dixon says he thinks he will be at the Power next year despite Adelaide football director Mark Ricciuto claiming Brisbane is trying to lure him back to Queensland with a four-year deal.
Speaking on his Triple M breakfast program on Monday, Ricciuto said his mail was that Dixon had been offered a deal north of three years and he found it strange the key forward was yet to recommit to the Power which sits on top of the AFL ladder.
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On Fox Footy on Wednesday night Dixon joked that the idea of a four-year deal sounded “pretty good” but said he wasn’t aware of any offer from a rival club.
“There’s not a lot else going on at the moment and that is just a talking point,” he said.
“At the end of the day we just have a job to do on the weekend and that’s all I’m focusing on.
“Not that I’m aware of (has his manager fielded any offers) at this stage we will just keep playing footy and keep moving forward and hopefully all that stuff will come to a head.”
When asked if he would be at Port Adelaide come Round 1 in 2020 Dixon said: “yeah I think so, I’ve been here for a while now and hopefully it gets all sorted out and I can be”.
Port Adelaide general manager of football Chris Davies said last week he was confident Dixon would remain at the Power post 2020 despite Dixon’s links to Queensland.
But Power record games holder Kane Cornes said on SEN SA on Tuesday Port would be reckless to offer Dixon any more than two years and should let him walk if the Lions come calling with four-years and Dixon wants to take up the offer.
“I don’t think it’s tough at all, I’m offering you a two-year deal, Charlie, take it or leave it,” Cornes said.
“Good luck to you, happy days, off you go. I wouldn’t blame him (if he left).”
The comments by Ricciuto has put his dual roles of football director of the Crows and morning radio host again squarely under the microscope, especially with it coming about the star player of Adelaide’s fierce rivals.
Dixon said it was a strange scenario but he didn’t really mind.
“Oh yeah I suppose but what else do we have to talk about down here,” he said.
“You have to talk about something, so yeah whatever I don’t really mind.”
Dixon was drafted by Gold Coast and played 65 games for the Suns from 2011-2015 before joining the Power on a five-year deal which expires this season.
He comes out of contract at a time when he is in career-best form.
MORE THAN TWO YEARS TOO MANY FOR DIXON: CORNES
Port Adelaide would be reckless to offer Charlie Dixon any more than two years and should let him walk if he wants to take the four-year deal from rival club Brisbane which is reportedly on the table, Kane Cornes says.
Dixon remains out of contract at Alberton and his future was back on the agenda on Monday when Adelaide football director Mark Ricciuto claimed the Lions had offered him a four-year deal to lure him back to Queensland.
While the Power remains confident Dixon will stay, rival interest may force the club to make a decision to either up their offer or stand their ground, and Cornes believes they should do the latter.
“I don’t think it’s tough at all, I’m offering you a two-year deal, Charlie, take it or leave it,” Cornes said on his SEN breakfast show on Tuesday.
“Good luck to you, happy days, off you go. I wouldn’t blame him (if he left).
“But I would think it’s pretty rich for a bloke who has been on big money at Port Adelaide for five seasons, hasn’t delivered to expectations apart from this year and in 2017 when he finished second in the best-and-fairest.
“He played nine games last year, he has not set the world on fire at Port Adelaide let’s be honest, and he’s not setting the world on fire right now, the last two weeks he’s had 10 possessions combined and kicked two goals.
“If I’m Jason Cripps at Port Adelaide I’d say ‘Charlie, here’s two years at $500,00 or $600,000, we’ve looked after you at a time where you haven’t delivered, anything more than that I’m not even prepared to entertain.
“It’s two years or nothing, if you say no we’ll invest in Georgiades, in Marshall, and we’ll go and have a look at someone else because there’s Ben Brown out there, Joe Daniher out there, Jesse Hogan, he’s not the only key forward on the market as much as we love him and he’s a cult figure at Port Adelaide.
“You’ve got to make the best calls for your club and I think Port Adelaide in the past have handed out long term contracts far too easily and it’s time they took a stand and took some of that power back.”
Cornes conceded he would be prepared to offer Dixon a third year as an incentive if he was able to meet the trigger points.
“First preference keep him, do everything you can to keep him, which I’m sure they will,” Cornes said.
“I’m sure this will be an issue that wasn’t worth addressing because he will sign and he’ll be there, but I’d be disappointed if Jason Cripps gave him anything more than two years.”
LIONS TRYING TO LURE DIXON: ROO
Adelaide football director Mark Ricciuto has claimed that Brisbane is trying to lure Charlie Dixon away from Port Adelaide and back home with a four-year deal.
Speaking on his Triple M breakfast program on Monday, Ricciuto said his mail was that Dixon had been offered a deal north of three years and he found it strange the key forward was yet to recommit to the Power which sits on top of the AFL ladder.
Dixon’s manager Peter Blucher said he would not break his policy of speaking about player contracts and declined to comment on the speculation, but as recently as Friday Port Adelaide’s football manager Chris Davies said he was confident Dixon would stay at Alberton ahead of big money offers from rival clubs.
The Lions told News Corp they do not comment on players from other clubs.
“It’s strange if your good player like that is not signed up at this time of year, especially when Port have got the money and everything,” Ricciuto said.
“There is very strong interest from a side, very strong interest in Charlie from (a place where) let’s just say he could get a tan.
“I’m not saying he’s going back to where he came from (Gold Coast), that state potentially, I’m not saying he’s going by the way, I’m just saying there is very strong interest.
“You’d leave for money would you? Port have got money.
“I hope he stays, he loves Ken Hinkley and has a great footy side with lots of young players, but watch this space.”
Dixon was drafted by Gold Coast and played 65 games for the Suns from 2011-2015 before joining the Power on a five-year deal which expires this season.
He comes out of contract at a time when he is in career-best form, having overcome an horrific broken leg in 2018 to kick 23 goals and provide a strong focal point for the Power with his contested marking.
While Dixon’s strong ties to his family remain in Queensland where he grew up in Cairns, Port Adelaide is confident the 29-year-old still stay at the Power beyond this season.
“I expect Charlie will be at our club longer term and we’ve got some other people we’d like to look at locking away over the next few weeks now the afl has lifted the player signing freeze during that initial covid phase,” Davies told SEN on Friday.
“You do rely on some good grace in these situations and by saying that, I mean Charlie has been at our footy club for five years, he has a good relationship with Ken and the playing group he knows the club has looked after and supported him through some tough times and I know he is happy living in Adelaide.
“He has some good friends including some of our coaches - Chad (Cornes) included - and I would be highly surprised if any of hat meant that Charlie wanted to chase money or years over what would be a good and fair deal with Port Adelaide.”
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Queensland-based Blucher, who also manages Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley, has been unable to travel to Adelaide to have contract talks with the Power and was unable to meet with club chiefs when they were on the Gold Coast due to the Covid bubble.
Ricciuto, who combines his role as Crows’ board member and football director with his media commitments on Triple M and Fox Footy, was criticised by some quarters of the footy world in June when he released the salaries some former Crows had been offered to leave West Lakes.
But he was defended by the club and some fans as being passionate about the Crows and congratulated for speaking honestly.
Originally published as Port Adelaide star Charlie Dixon addresses claims Brisbane is trying to lure him away with a blockbuster deal
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