Ben Dixon

[Alex_au]

I know a lot of Hawkers on BF want Dixon axed from the team after his previous few poor seasons for the Hawks. Even talk of using him as possible trade bait come season end.

Do you guys think he has the potentual to be a usefull forward in our rebuilding for the next few years or do you simply think his time is up?

In my view he has had a quiet year averaging about 5 kicks a game. Is it worth having him in the team if he can return atleast 2 goals a game with those few kicks he is getting ? I have the feeling a good game by him is just around the corner where he will surprise and kick 5 goals+ like he used to contribute with back in his early days.

 

[jacqui9]

He has had ten years of average footy. He is lucky to still be around. One good game in ten is not good enough.

We have blokes like Murphy, Miller and Little coming through, so Dicko will be waving goodbye soon. I doubt he is worth anything on the market at the moment. Only thing we could ask for is an equally mediocre player. I have big doubts Alastair Clarkson wants to start this type of trading, unless it is a young player with the potential to work with.

 

[CyberKev]

He has had ten years of average footy. He is lucky to still be around. One good game in ten is not good enough.

We have blokes like Murphy, Miller and Little coming through, so Dicko will be waving goodbye soon. I doubt he is worth anything on the market at the moment. Only thing we could ask for is an equally mediocre player. I have big doubts Alastair Clarkson wants to start this type of trading, unless it is a young player with the potential to work with.

100% agreement with this.

Dixon has never set the world alight for us and never will.

We'll need to cut 8 players at the end of the season, and the options for who these players can be are surprisingly limited.

Dixon MUST go and almost certainly will.

 

[Bantum9]

If he is keeping a kid out of the team he has to go

 

[superstar]

Every two or three weeks Dixon puts in the hard yards and plays a good game.

It's been that way for a decade. He'll keep getting games while our forward line lacks options, but his time is nigh. He'll never change.

 

[LoneStar]

Every two or three weeks Dixon puts in the hard yards and plays a good game.

I have to disagree! Every 2 or 3 weeks Dixon gets up off his pampered butt, plays 20 minutes of above average football, takes two or three shots at the sticks, misses one or two, kicks a goal or two, celebrates like he's a star, and then gets back to the job he knows so well - pursuing a mediocre career as the AFL's invisible man.
Seriously...what would any team trade to the Hawks for this hack when most the football world know you could wait and nab him with the 382nd pick in the draft? But who would want to?
Perhaps Benji could find his footy home and become a star for the Moe Reserves in the West Gippsland Latrobe league. Imagine the buxom farm girls in places like Maffra and Leongatha who could be wooed by his silky skills on and off the ground. Goooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Ben! No....really...go...soon.

 

[Alex_au]

If we do keep him, he would need to take a massive paycut and play on minimal wage, maybe then he will decide to get off his arse and do something

 

[Katthawk]

I agree about the pay cut. He has this frustrating habit of having a good game but going missing. We need to be final although I like the guy he seems to be a lucky one. If there is a decision to cut him this year, who will replace him that we currently have?

 

[Gary Shadforth]

Retirement is nigh.

 

[Hawk Dork]

If we do keep him, he would need to take a massive paycut and play on minimal wage, maybe then he will decide to get off his arse and do something

I agree if he takes the cut and is willing to spend some time in the Stangers, then he would be a good odd jobs man, that gets a game due to injury or bad form of someone else.He would be there for depth.

 

[Jimmyboy9]

Ben Dixon has the ability to be a great forward. Strong hands, good at leading, great kick for goal. Give the man a chance he kicked 2 against sydney and 2 against melbourne and he has spent a load of time on the bench. He hasnt really been given a chance as the first option. Him and Williams should play out of goal square together and thats it for mine.

forward line should be

Dixon Williams
Miller Franklin Roughead Clarke

with the half forwards playing on 50 arc or bout 40 out.

 

[Alex_au]

You have to admit though that this year, Dixon is not falling into the Hawthorn game plan.

The current game plan is to leave a paddock for Williams and to kick to him on a lead. 70% of the time the hawks aim for Williams chest which does not leave a lot of opportunities for poor Dicko.

I still think if he can buy us 2 goals a game, that is usefull to us. And we need one experienced player in our forward line with all the 18 years olds in there.

 

[bear19]

For all you knockers out there, he plays his 150th this week against Freo
Congrats Dicko!

 

[butchy]

have a read of tuesdays with todd on the hawks website.
it says how the coaches are very happy with his play so far, and can see some massive games for him in the near future.
if he is making the coach happy, im happy!!

 

[LoneStar]

For all you knockers out there, he plays his 150th this week against Freo
Congrats Dicko!

Mercy...Mercy...ME! The president of the Ben Dixon fan club is back in the BF house. Not a single post since you hosted the last Benji Lovefest here a few weeks ago, and you reappear to help us celebrate Bennie's 150th game.
His banner should read:
Congrats
Ben Dixon
150 Games!
17 of Them Well Played!!
Now Go AWAY!!!

BTW-Do you still think of Ben when you're alone in bed at night?

 

[butchy]

how many games you played for hawthorn lonestar???????
my guess would be 0!!!
dicko is about to play his 150th game of league footy at the mighty hawks. anyone who can do that deserves praise. name a player that has never played a bad game. there wouldnt be one.
fine he has had some shockers, but you can put that down to injury.
against the roos this year, he played a blinder, yet injury struck again.
when hawthorn was rebuilding, and then making finals in the late 90s and early 00's, he was half the reason. he was one of the better forward flankers in the game. since then, along with a few others, injuries, although not as serious as barks or dutchy, have restricted his progress.
is holland past it?? yes.
is dicko?? hell no!!!!!
if he can get his body right, he will kick 40 a year off the flank.
he has superb skills, and puts his body on the line. you dont just get rid of players like him.

WELL DONE DICKO. THE REAL HAWKS SUPPORTERS CONGRATULATE YOU!!!

 

[Binxy]

how many games you played for hawthorn lonestar???????
my guess would be 0!!!
WELL DONE DICKO. THE REAL HAWKS SUPPORTERS CONGRATULATE YOU!!!

Settle down Butchy. Just because Lonestar's had a gutful of Dicko's 10 years of inconsistency doesn't make him any less of a supporter.
Having said that, you are quite correct in stating -

if he is making the coach happy, im happy!!

We would all like Dicko to be a contributing part of the side - me, Lonestar, hell, even Andrew Coombes...... let's hope it happens.

 

[LoneStar]

You are right Butchy - zero games played for Hawks - zero games played after school days...period. Most of what I feel about Dicko is simply my opinion.
But that doesn't prohibit me from being a "real" Hawk supporter. I was a "real" Hawk supporter when they won the 1971 GF in front of almost 120,000 @ the MCG and I was a "real" Hawk supporter when they lost to the Lions last year in the same stadium and the place was 90% empty. I am a "real" Hawk supporter today and I'll be a "real" Hawk supporter tommorrow!
The fact is, I used to respect Dixon. I think he used to play with enthusiasm. I think he used to give a 100% effort. The fact that I once rated him a good player makes watching him recently all the more frustrating. And by recently, I'd say approximately his last 50 games.
I don't have much respect for him now. I don't think he plays hard or with enthusiasm. If he's giving a 100% effort now, then it there's not much left in the tank and it's time for him to move along because there's nothing left to see here. I feel he gave up on being a good footballer about the time he started depositing the big paychecks.
All that said, the real target of abuse for my last post in this thread was meant to be Bear19 and not Bennie. Take a look at this tosser's posts on BF and I'll think you'll get the point. 15 of the impressive total of 17 posts in the past 7 months made by Bear19 have dealt with Ben Dixon. The passion for the beloved Dicko shown by her (hopefully it's a her) is ridiculous!
Obviously the screen name Bear19 is a play on Tige19's screen name. Surely, anyone who hates Vandenberg and Clarke with the passion that Tige does would not make such a shallow attempt to hide behind a similar screen name to profess undying love for a footballer (Dixon) that makes Vandenberg and Clarke look like guaranteed AA selections.

 

[butchy]

i am not doubting your support of the club over many years, but i believe that a 'real' supporter backs the club, it's coaches and all of its players.
it is one thing i cant stand when i am at the footy.
these guys are out there representing the HFC, and i dont think we should be sitting at the footy bagging any player, or having any doubt as to why they are out on the park. we have seen this year that players will not be given free rides eg- holland.
in previous seasons, holland would have come straight back in, but this year, he hasnt as there just hasnt been a bad player to replace with him.
for that reason, i dont believe dixon to be getting carried along. he is not getting a game just because he 'was' a good player.
i have seen some good signs so far from this year from all our senior players.
barker was sensational before injury, hollands game against sydney was pretty good, and i think dicko has played some pretty good footy in patches this year.
i think, in any year, but especially this year, we should be backing the decisions of the coaching staff. i havent seen them put a foot wrong this year, and if dicko is getting a game, it is obviously because he is doing the right things on the track, and on the ground!!!
(also, when roughy, buddy and taz were in the scuffle, he was the only senior player to go and help, and came out worse than anyone. i love seeing that kind of thing!!!)

ps- sorry to single you out lonestar!!!!!! seeing bagging of hawthorn players hits a nerve with me, thats all!!

 

[LoneStar]

ps- sorry to single you out lonestar!!!!!! seeing bagging of hawthorn players hits a nerve with me, thats all!!

No apologies necessary, mate. If I put my opinions out on BF then I'm happy to accept the opinions of others. If my opinions are different than yours, and you think that you are right, take your best shot at me. That's one of things this forum is for and I don't take it personally. It's not a personal thing if I might one day take a shot at you when I believe my opinion is right and yours is wrong.

I'll back a player on here if I think he's getting flak he doesn't deserve. You have the right to do the same even if it is Dicko's back you're covering. You won't find me taking shots at many Hawks players. I reserve that for a select few that don't know how to spell E-F-F-O-R-T, much less give it.

Occasionally I am wrong and pick a target that is undeserving. For example, I was a bit hard on Radar when he retired last year (it seems a certain turnover that cost the Hawks a win vs. Port was stuck in my mind) because I had forgotten the hard yards he'd put in over the years. Grendel pointed out the error of my way and I now have fonder memories of Radar. Time has helped as well. In 10 years I might have forgotten about Radar and Byron Pickett completely!

Perhaps in time, after Dixon has departed, I will only have the fond memories of his old millenium performances and forget about his lack of form and effort during the latter third of his career. But for now, I still think he's a hack!

 

[Jimmyboy9]

I remember a game against Carlton when he kicked the winning goal. I also recall Dixon kicking 5 goals on a handful of occasions!!

 

[LoneStar]

I remember a game against Carlton when he kicked the winning goal. I also recall Dixon kicking 5 goals on a handful of occasions!!

What did he do this season in round 6 against the Blues when the Hawks were trailing by 7 and badly needing a goal in the closing minutes? And for every game in your handful where he kicked 5 goals, I bet you could find 2 handfuls where he kicked less than 2! Were any of those occasions you so fondly remember during his past 22 games? How about in his past 50 games? What has he done since he got a sizeable contract? 1.3 goals/game is very ordinary imo.

 

[rph]

right now Dixon is doing whats asked of him in my opinion....take an opportunity if you get one but get up the ground and leave some space for Williams to lead into....its a John Barker role in some ways from a forward pocket or flank rather than from centre half forward....I for one have no issue with him playing for the TEAM....seems like everyone out there expects every player to be in the best six every other week or they should just get the bullet - it doesn't work that way....it takes 22 blokes playing for the structure/game plan to achieve anything, until there is a better option to Ben Dixon he will be in the team pulling his weight....and if he can kick 2ish goals a week and help to lock the ball in the forwrad line I reckon he deserves a spot

 

[thurgood33]

agree he should take a paycut... but in our young forward line (roughead, franklin miller etc) experience is vital... dixon can be used as an impact player off the bench.. and regardless of what you say... he can play good football. keep him on a paycut and use of the bench. maybe AC should give him an ultimatum mid season? we should easily be able to get 30-40 goals a season out of him.

 

[rph]

agree he should take a paycut... but in our young forward line (roughead, franklin miller etc) experience is vital... dixon can be used as an impact player off the bench.. and regardless of what you say... he can play good football. keep him on a paycut and use of the bench. maybe AC should give him an ultimatum mid season? we should easily be able to get 30-40 goals a season out of him.

who give's a rat's jackson what he's paid, the club will sort that out....and its not about how many goals he kicks - its how he fits into the team stucture and his input as one of the twenty-two....