Agreed it's no coincidence walker has had 2 games back and we have won them both

There's not a fb in the league who'd have stopped hill from there, not sure what the tough decision is for Chester, it's not as if we have a fantastic defending fb. Cockayne drops as many bombs and is a slightly better defender but hardly that much better whereas Dixon offers so much more in attack. Save BC for the Salford match.

My heart is in my mouth when Dixon attempts to catch a bomb whereas with BC it doesn't. However BC seems to lose the ball in the tackle more that Dixon.

On a side note. Peoples dislike for BC at FB doesn't seem to be on his playing ability but his past. What he did in the past was wrong. However he has tried to turn his life around and is doing a good job at it. I for one am willing to give him a second chance but it looks as though some aren't. Maybe non rugby related opinions should be put to one side when looking at selection dilemmas.

TBH his past is in his past, he seems to have put that aside and we've not had a recurrence since his return. My opinion isn't a slight on his ability, I think he's great to have as a utility player and over then next few weeks will be invaluable. His positives along with versatilty are his enthusiasm and ability to lift the pace. His downsides are as you say he puts a lot of ball down and can make some bad options at times.

Ben polarises opinion from the ones who want him hung drawn and quartered to those who ignore all his faults, certainly early in the season Dixon was getting slaughtered for mistakes that Ben was getting overlooked for.

I know what you mean about holding breath when the ball is in the air but I'd like to see some stats between the two to see who does drop the most. KD usually has one a game, I would reckon BC is the same. I just think Dixon offers us more in attack, he scares defenders with ball in hand and against a big team that is invaluable. KD will hopefully be our full back for the future so he needs to be first choice.

Stats I believe, would prove that Kevin Dixons errors when catching a high ball are no worse than Ben Cockayne, in fact he has taken quite a few of late and if my memory serves me correctly has only dropped a couple, the latter against Warrington when it bounced off his chest.
I realize that when he first began playing for rovers he looked a little shaky under some high balls but that was to be expected given his lack of experience at that time, however, as I said in a previous post, the defensive side of his game appears to improve with every game he plays imo and his attacking abilities have been there for everyone to see and admire .
I would certainly have him in my team against Catalans this Thursday, then only if really necessary, rest him again Salford.
Like the old saying goes....... If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Dixon is great when we're in control and like against Warrington - dominant. You saw how effective he can be later in the game when Warrington's kicking game became a bit desperate and they were just hoping he'd drop one. Against a tiring team and broken line, Dixon can be devastating. As a comparison in catching the high ball. I think Dixon has better hands, but BC has learned to take the ball in a way that allows him to control it backwards in case of a fumble/drop. Whilst Dixon is 100% catch and run forwards, with no room for error. I have less faith in Dixon when we're up against it - defending. Be it, organising the line, marshaling attacking kicks, chopping down line breaks or just utilising a bit of brains. After last week, Dixon @ FB is a no brainer you'd like to think.

The big decision is Lunt. If Lunt really is day to day and has almost been ready now for last few weeks, but failed each time. I see no reason to expect that you can guarantee he'll be ready this week. It would have to be a gamble to pick him. Is it a gamble we need to take?

I think that depends on how Boudebza is feeling, I don't think we can expect 80 out of him and we certainly lose something with Ollett at 9. He does a job but no more and I think in a cup game we need players playing the position they are best at. Lunt would only need to play 20 mins a half in rotation with JB so I'd go for it.

Obviously not all from high balls but BC had made 27 errors to KD 19. Dixons has scored 7 more tries, 27 more tackle busts. managed 200 more metres and gains an extra metre on average for every carry. KD has also managed 5 more clean breaks. On the downside to playing KD BC has made an extra 120 tackles missing 29. It's massive that Dixon has made 43 tackles and missed 33.

The stats show two completely different fullbacks a defensive FB and an attacking FB. Horses for courses maybe?

You're up there with Stan as our number one forum Statto on this evidence, Easty!

So Dixon has missed 75% of his tackles, that's shameful. The good news is that he's made fewer tackles all season than Boudebza, McCarthy and Larroyer have made in some single games. Reliance on the defensive element of his game has been minimised thankfully.

Fortunately fullback is one of those positions nowadays which is regarded more as a strike position than a defensive linchpin. Catalans have given us space in both SL games this season, they gave Wakefield a load of space last weekend and for me Kieran Dixon will exploit it better than Ben Cockayne. Teams like Huddersfield and Saints don't give you this luxury.

I would pick Dixon against Cats, Salford and Hull and Cockayne against Huddersfield and Saints.

I wouldn't take much notice of the Opta stats...questionable at best.

Personally I don't think Charlie is a significantly better defender than Dixon, but he is much more vocal & appears to organise the defensive line better. Performances like Dixon produced on Friday shouldn't go unrewarded though.

Dixon is so far the better option it's not funny.

His passing game when chiming into the line is at least as good as Cockayne's, they're both liable to wang one into row Z.

They're both as liable to drop a kick on the sixth.

Dixon had to come a long, long, way for the one he dropped on Friday in a swirling wind and rain, one of the wings should have taken that.

Those are the negatives.

Dixon has searing pace, he's electric over five to fifteen metres. Cockayne isn't.

Dixon has fantastic footwork,he could pick a lock with his toes, Ratchford didn't get within a metre of him on Friday. A metre! As good as a mile.

Cockayne has never and will never go full length.

Dixon writes a goodbye letter to the opposition whilst doing this

There's absolutely nothing about personalities or previous indiscretions in that post.

We've got a solid plYer and a fantastic talent to choose from.

Cockayne didn't cut it for us on 2007, how relieved where we when we signed Briscoe?

The last point I would makemis that contrary to an earlier post, Cockayne is really not some sort of tactical genius when it comes to calling the defensive plays.

Both have vast improvement to make in this department, but one's thirty and the other twenty two.

Good post, I think the bit highlighted is the key, with Ben you know what you'll get, and thats good to have in the squad, his on the field qualities are great when the team needs energy injecting into it, but as you say KD can turn a game. I do wonder how much of Chester's reluctance to just throw KD in to the full back role is to do with how much he was burned by Eden last year. He needs to realise that they are very different players, KD seems to be learning from his mistakes, Eden used to just brainlessly make them again and again.