SEEING his name added to the number 22 locker in the changerooms at Alberton alongside some of the greats of Port Adelaide is something that will fill Charlie Dixon with pride.
The big forward will get that honour after playing his 100th game for the club in Thursday night’s loss to Geelong, having played 65 games in five seasons with the Gold Coast Suns before crossing to South Australia at the end of 2015.
While he would have liked a better result in the milestone game, the moment of having his name etched in Port Adelaide’s history is something Dixon will savour.
“It’s something special to be a part of this club and I will be a part of this club til I finish,” he told portadelaidefc.com.au.
“It’s a great honour to be on the locker with all the other greats who have won premierships and I just want to win a premiership.
“That’s the next box to tick.”
Dixon was among Port’s best with his four goals against the Cats in the 21-point loss.
In front of a vocal Adelaide Oval crowd, the home side took a nine-point lead after he booted two last quarter goals and Connor Rozee added another inside the first seven minutes.
But from there the Cats went on a run of five straight goals to kill off the contest and claim the four points.
“We were in it, well and truly, in front in the last quarter,” Dixon lamented.
“We turned the ball over a little too easily and weren’t really able to play the way we wanted to play but we were still in the game.
“They kicked some quick ones and we weren’t able to wrestle it back.”
Dixon’s task was made harder when fellow tall forward Todd Marshall left the ground after a head knock inside the first five minutes and was substituted out of the game.
It left an extra tall defender to double team Dixon and the Cats reaped the rewards on the counter attack.
“It killed us that they were able to take those contested marks (inside 50),” Dixon explained.
“Losing Toddy didn’t make it easy but we’ve got to be able to compete better and bring it to ground, and then lock it in.
“We’re a good front-half team and we should be able to lock that ball in but it was coming out too easily and they were able to get out the other side and run in to goal.
“We’ve just got to stay in the contest for longer and put four quarters of footy together.
“I don’t think we’ve been able to do that all year so that’s the key for us.”
Despite the outcome, Dixon was proud of fellow forward Connor Rozee, who returned to form with a blistering four-goal opening quarter before adding his fifth in the final term.
“It was awesome,” Dixon said of the 21-year-old’s game.
“I think he’s been building for the last month or so, so it’s good to see him get some reward for his effort.”
Dixon becomes the first player to play 100 AFL games in the number 22 guernsey for Port Adelaide and just the fifth in the club’s history to achieve the feat, following John Abley, Keith Spencer, Greg Phillips and Greg Boyd.
