AFL legends Tim Watson and Garry Lyon have slammed Charlie Dixon's short career at Port Adelaide so far, believing the key forward hasn't repaid them for the lucrative contract he received at the end of the 2015 season.
Dixon signed a big five-year deal with the Power after five seasons with Gold Coast prior to the move, but Dixon initially struggled to get on the park early last season.
Even once he did, Lyon said the 26-year-old simply failed to stamp his mark on the season.
“Charlie Dixon is the man that they recruited to stand in that hole and kick 55 plus (goals) and to take six to eight contested marks,” Lyon told SEN.
“He ended up with 30 goals for the year. But more than that, he wasn’t anyone that you could rely on.
“He’s got presence, I’ll give him that. But he hasn’t backed that up.”
Watson agreed with his morning radio co-host, believing that in Paddy Ryder's absence, Dixon didn't do enough to convince the Power they made the right choice in signing him to a long-term deal.
“They go after Dixon, big Charlie Dixon, and at this stage he hasn’t fired a shot for them,” Watson said.
“They’ve put eight of their dozen eggs in this basket, which is their big man power forward, and at this stage we haven’t seen any evidence of it actually working for them.
“He was one of the top five targets in the competition, so they went to him, believing he was going to be able to deliver, and he didn’t take enough in the air.”
Not only did Watson have harsh words for Dixon, but the former Essendon great didn't hold back on his assessment of where Port Adelaide have gone since 2014.
After losing a preliminary final to Hawthorn by just three points that season, the Power have been unable to recapture their 2014 form since, and Watson can't see it happening this season either.
“I can’t at this point, after two games, see anything new or different about the way they’re going about it,” Watson said.
“They had this one thing that probably set themselves apart from the rest of the competition (in 2014) and that was their running capacity and their belief they could outrun everybody.
“That was set up from their work deep in their backline. Now they’re one of the worst sides in the competition at being able to do that.
“They’re one of the worst sides in the competition at being able to hit targets. And they’re one of the worst sides in the competition at being able to clear the ball from stoppages.”
