Expectations is a word Tory Dickson hears a lot. Whether being asked about the Bulldog’s rapid climb up the ladder in 2015 or his own breakout year in front of goal, it tends to come up.
Alongside Jake Stringer, Stewart Crameri, Jack Redpath and Tom Boyd, Dickson became a key target up forward for the young Bulldog midfield in season 2015 and the 28-year-old delivered in spades, kicking 50 goals at an impressive 80.7 per cent clip, ranking him second in the AFL at season’s end.
Ever the team player, Dickson told 3AW on Wednesday evening that he wouldn’t be putting any numbers on what he could do in 2016 but would instead focus on what Luke Beveridge and the Bulldogs coaching staff ask him to do.
“Obviously, I probably exceeded my expectations in terms of goals kicked and games played, [but] I just want to play my role for the team, and anything that I can do to make the team better is the role I want to be playing each and every week.”
But, in football, with performance comes expectations. The Bulldogs meteoric rise in 2015 captured the football world’s attention, but Dickson is confident that if the young Dogs keep their heads down and keep working, the results will take care of themselves.
“Obviously the expectation from outside the football club is going to be a little bit higher, a tougher draw – we understand all that. But we’ve got a really good young list, and we think an extra preseason and an extra couple of months in the gym is going to help all of these guys make that natural progression.
“[Even] some improvement from the older guys, if they can get a bit better, from Bob Murphy and Matthew Boyd, and those guys looking after us along the way… hopefully we can improve and get better.”
One man familiar with expectations is third year forward Tom Boyd, but Dickson said that he and his teammates are pleased with where the young big man is at.
“We’ve got realistic expectations – it’s his third year, he’s a high profile player, what we want him to deliver is…just bringing the ball to the ground and just being that competitive beast that we want him to be.
“He’s come back in really good shape, he’s fitter and he is moving really well.”
Expectations can be a burden for some, but Dickson welcomes the extra eyes on the Dogs.
“It was a little bit of a surprise jumping up from not making the eight to playing our first final in a few years, but we’ve been on a journey and we’re starting to reap the benefits now.”
