Port Adelaide’s Charlie Dixon pays tribute to Chad Cornes for his ‘massive’ influence

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While coach Ken Hinkley, who worked with Dixon at his previous club Gold Coast before luring him to the Power, has been given much of the credit for Dixon’s rise, the 200cm powerhouse named Cornes as an influential figure in his career.

Maligned in his five years at the Suns for being inconsistent and injury-prone — he never played more than 16 games in a season — Dixon player every game last year and has this season been voted into Port’s leadership brigade for the first time.

Revealing he still has “nightmares’’ about his wayward goalkicking in last year’s heartbreaking extra-time elimination final loss to West Coast, Dixon is coming off a season where he recorded career-highs in goals (49) and marks (149) and finished runner-up in the Power’s club champion award.

The 27-year-old’s marks tally was the highest at Port and smashed his previous best haul of 70 in his first season at the club in 2016.

And now — after his first full pre-season in years — Dixon is poised to have an even greater influence on the Power’s results.

“Chad Cornes has helped me a lot in the past two years,’’ said Dixon, who described the back ailment that forced his late withdrawal from the club's internal trial on Saturday as only minor.

“He’s helped me a lot with my craft work, my marking and my bodywork.

“They are the main things, getting the ball in my hands. He’s been massive for me.’’

Former key position player Cornes played in Port’s 2004 premiership side and is a development coach at the club.

Once fumbly with the ball, Dixon displayed a vice-like grip last season and produced what Hinkley described as a “one of the great finals games by a key forward’’ in the finals loss to the Eagles.

Dixon had 23 disposals, including 16 contested, but kicked 3.6 from nine scoring shots as the Power went down to the Eagles courtesy of a goal after the siren from Luke Shuey.

“I still have nightmares about that game,” Dixon said from Port’s AFL community camp at Port Broughton on the Yorke Peninsula.

“If I kick one or two more goals we win the game, it’s as simple as that, so I’m actually looking forward to playing them again this year.”

Dixon described being included in the Power's seven-man leadership group as a “massive honour’’.

“I’m very proud that the players have backed me in to be a leader and I sort of see that forward line as being my boys and the need to take ownership of that,” he said.

Dixon said he expects to be fit for Port’s first JLT Community Series match against West Coast in Perth on Sunday, February 25.

Originally published as Port Adelaide’s Charlie Dixon pays tribute to Chad Cornes for his ‘massive’ influence