Thank god for a sensible perspective and thank god again that some on here are not picking the team, Dixon is lightning fast and a threat to any defence, he maybe small but is deceptively strong with great feet when running the ball out, in fact some friends of mine who are FC fans and watching the game with me on Saturday night commented on that particular attribute of his, they also said he reminded them of a young Jason Robinson the way he runs with the ball and would absolutely love to have someone like that playing for them.
Dixon is quite raw in Rugby league terms, but at only 22 will only improve with time and experience, i for one would definitely like to see him left at fullback for the foreseeable.

Jesus here again.
Dixon is a fantastic threat to have and draws defenders too him each game as they are terrified of him.
He's played full back what 7 times and improving each game. He's a different level to Eden who made the same mistakes year on year and in a different class to the bigot.
I don't care if he never makes another tackle at full back. That's not what they're there for these days. He needs to get better at organising the defence yes but other than that a threat whenever he lays his hands on the ball.
A lot of teams will be chasing this kid and we will do well to hang onto him for 3 years.
The desperation to get the bigot in the team blinds some people. As short sighted as his political beliefs.

Dixon is only gonna improve, he has massive potential, he just needs to be a bit more streetwise on the pitch but that will come with experience. In time I firmly believe he will be one of the best full backs in the league and many, many times better then Cockayne when you consider both of them at their maximum possible ability. We need to give him time to develop and accept that, right now, he isnt the finished article.

Maybe this is an unpopular thing to say, but I don't think Cockayne is "that" good really. He's committed and passionate (about Organo Gold Coffee mostly!) but he's not particularly big, or fast, or skill full. What is he really good at? What does Cockayne do better then anyone else that merits his place in the team? He's average and at his stage of his career, he's only going to get worse whilst Dixon improves.

Much to my chagrin, Full Back is a position that is no longer the last line of defence.

If a player gets one on one with your full back, the rest of your defensive system has failed.

Having said that, we were treated to a few seasons of Briscoe and his amazing last ditch plays.

Dixon isn't always the most accurate passer of the ball, but he can pass both ways. Cockayne has no left to right pass WHATSOEVER!

Cockayne's defensive calls are perhaps better, but they a'int great and at his age they're not going to get any better, Dixon's arguably wi
I think Cockayne does offer something, his enthusiasm and scoots from dummy half are excellent but Dixon is by far the better option at the moment, I'll be interested to see how Guzdek is playing when I get down to Cov.

ALL the people saying keep Dixon at full back I fully agree at least keep him their this season unless he is injured its the only way to learn

To me Dixon is possibly a type of player who turns up once a decade, still unproven but with natural gifts most players would kill for. Time will only tell if he achives that potential but I belive that if he wants to be & puts in the effort the rugby world is his. As for Ben Cockayne he is a good squad player & we all have seen the way his introduction onto the field has lifted the crowd & players around him, I would want him around the side as long as he can do that job for us. But we have to be honest if our first choice 17 were all fitt & ready to play would he be in that side? His value to the club is ability to come in & play a steady game & I expect is wages are not to much of a strain on the cap.

How many full backs are any good defensively? Since the likes of briscoe and Hodgeson have retired I can only think of Hardaker who is any good. Wellens in his day was but they are very few and far between.The most lauded of the current bunch Escare and Shaul are both at best average defenders. Tompkins was pretty average, Locke not great even Billy Slater is known to make a few cock ups on the biggest stage.

All these though have pace, come into the line well and back up. This scares defences to death. Dixon needs to learn how and when to pass better but he's improved under the bomb and I think he marshalls the defence reasonably well. Yes he makes errors but thats ok as long as they're not repeated week in week out.

If we're looking for a scapegoat then i think we need to look elsewhere

I didn't start this thread as part of the BC must play brigade but i did use him as a potential alternative to Dixon, i also mentioned Gudzek, whom i see as our current 3 options for the FB slot.
It wasn't meant as a "lets slate the cockney" thread. I will support any player that turns out in a Rovers shirt.
I'm just unsure that his pace, "x factor" whatever you want to call it compensates for the high error count (in both attack and defence).
Where would you honestly place him in comparison to the 1st choice fullback from the 11 other SL teams?
I personally think he is currently in the bottom 3 - granted, with much potential to rise up the ladder, but to improve as a club individuals have to get better along with the team improvement.
I sincerely hope he does improve his error rate, i hope he has a blinder for the rest of the season, i will still cheer him on regardless, i just hope he stops the brainfarts sooner rather than later.

He's not as bad as you're making out and is in his infancy at FB. He just needs time and he will deliver.

My fellow posters have articulated their opinions on this subject very well. He scored a try and won us a penalty against Catalans. His mistakes or bad tackling in the same game probably only cost us the Pelissier try = net gain of 2.

I have seen Hardaker and Tompkins have mares in games. I have also seen Kieran Dixon burn Jamie Shaul twice this year. For that reason alone he gets my vote.

The backline are the least of our worries at the minute, I can't wait to see what they can do playing behind a dominant pack

He's been improving all year. Was fantastic in the Derby and very good at home to hudds. Played average last 2 games but who hasn't for us . I'm firmly in the play Dixon at 1 camp. Come the big games he'll be a massive weapon for us

Fullback it is then

He's got to play. Can you imagine him water carrier? He'd more likely knock them out then throw them a bottle to catch!

Error count so far
DixonMissed Tackles so far
Cockayne: 19
Dixon: 15

Love a good stat-fest me.

Why on earth do little blokes try and tackle up top? ......Just take the legs every time!