I can not belive some of the rubish I am reading, Dixon is a quantum leap in quality over Eden, his pace alone is worth his inclusion in the squad, If he is not that good in his choice of attacking options then we get the halfs to organise him & bring him into space, like all players we plan our game around the differing atributes of the players we have available we dont expect Walker to sprint the length of the field so dont expect Dixon to stop the likes of Crabtree. Play to his strengths. I also remember a couple of touchline conversions in a pre season game as well.

The Ben cockayne must play brigade is really ridiculous. I honestly don't think half the fans watch the same game. Dixon has a poor kicking game? Based on 1 rushed kick at Cas? Should he have even been kicking, clearly he shouldn't have and if were comparing it to BC then he has no kicking game. Dixon runs the ball out better, is a better running attacking threat and IMO better under the high ball(much improved) they both make the odd error but most fbs do. Coming in to the line there both under par but I'd say BC is slightly better defensively. It's a no brainer to me but hey Ben must play! This season the fans have wanted josh dropped and even came up with an argument for boudebza to be dropped for him. Cockayne is a great utility player with his best position being on the wing sadly we have 2, 3 if you include Dixon better wingers at the club.

i come in peace, i have seen dixon a few times and imo he is an exiting player coming forward and to me looks more like a winger, his pace alone makes him dangerous but at fullback he does look iffy, think he would make a good winger though

A little context here. Dixon, at 22 years of age is 10 years younger than Cockayne. There is no improvement likely in Ben's game whereas Dixon has bags of talent and will only get better with game time in the same position. If he'd come through the ranks as a 22 year old, the attitude would be so different. "he's one of ours, kids make mistakes and learn" etc.

Cockayne was our full back in 2007 when he was 24 and he wasn't good enough then, eventually losing the shirt to Ian Hardman. He's a good back up, nothing more.

The "Hackney Express" is the future, all aboard.

Not many 5' 9" wingers in the modern game. He would get bombed to death.

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!

[uError count so far:[/u
Dixon: 12
Cockayne: 15

[uMissed Tackles so far:[/u
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!

Dropped bombs? Passes thrown into touch? Kicks going backwards 20 meters? Running to the touchline and getting smashed into touch? Goal line drop outs struggling to make 15 metres? Gathering the ball in goal and then throwing the ball away for a gift try? Kicking the ball out on the full....and then again....and then again..... Any comparison stats Dixon v Cockayne for that lot Stan?

I could easily make just as long a list of good points for Kieran Dixon, I'm a fan but for all his talent he is the closest thing we have to last years Eden/Hall/Caro calamity show. His progress was never going to be a straight line, injuries permitting he should go back on the bench now. Not forever, but he can't be made to feel what he has done so far is good enough. It isn't.

Oh please Bob, I thought better of you. The kid (yes, kid) is 22 years old. He's going to make mistakes, it's part of the process. I can cope with his errors because he's learning. I can't cope going back 8 years to someone who at 32 years old gets his failings glossed over for some unfathomable reason.

I don't have stats for the errors you requested Bob, perhaps you could supply? If you have an alternative fullback up your wise old sleeve, feel free to spring him on us.

I have them stats 1bad kick at cas once getting pushed into touch once loosing the ball in the in goal area which actually showed he'd grounded it first a couple of wild passes something he needs to work on the only thing I see that cockayne does better is running the ball back he makes a bit more ground but then Ben isn't going to out run anyone really

He'll Bob you've described the Bigot's performance against Wigan perfectly. How many errors and penalties did he give away....
Dixon is by far our best option long and short term.

Didn't mention cockaynes awful performance at Wigan as all the players were terrible but it will be interesting to hear bobs assessment