THE WESTERN Bulldogs have secured another important piece of its future with goalsneak Tory Dickson recommitting to the club for a further two seasons.
Dickson, who has kicked 113 goals in 68 senior games at the Bulldogs, said the decision to extend his stay at the Whitten Oval was an easy one.
The secret behind Dickson's incredible accuracy
The 28-year-old joins Lachie Hunter, Shane Biggs and Jack Redpath as key Dogs to commit to the club with Luke Beveridge at the helm.
"I'm over the moon because it shows tremendous faith in me from the club," Dickson told AFL.com.au.
"It extends my time at the Bulldogs for at least another two years, so it's great.
"I'm really happy to be at the Dogs."
Bulldogs list manager Jason McCartney said he was delighted to retain the services of one the first players he helped the club recruit in late 2011.
"Tory has proven himself as an integral part of our forward line, with his work rate, forward craft and goal sense highlights of his game," McCartney said.
That astute recruitment sees Dickson as one the biggest bargains of the 2011 NAB AFL Draft, with the Dogs selecting the football journeyman with pick No.57.
After not playing in the TAC Cup, Dickson came to the attention of recruiters with a century of goals for suburban club Noble Park in 2009, and during stints with VFL clubs Frankston and the Bendigo Bombers.
Amid his fifth season at the kennel, Dickson says it took an appreciation for hard work and becoming a father to eight-year-old son Riley for him to realise his AFL dream.
"I've played six years of VFL and local football, and now find myself with five years of AFL footy experience. I just pinch myself at times because it's an amazing effort," he said.
"(The delay to my AFL career) was due probably to work rate because I had talent coming out of school.
"It wasn't until my third year at Frankston where I started to find my feet and understand how hard you have to work to be an AFL footballer.
"Then I had my first child and that certainly clicked me into gear."
As the Dogs approach a second consecutive finals campaign, Dickson concedes his form isn't at the level that saw him slot a career-best 50 goals in 2015.
Aductor and quad injuries wiped out his NAB Challenge preparations and they didn't see him feature at senior level until round five.
But 15 goals from 11 appearances this season have been complemented with time on the wing and trademark forward pressure he hangs his hat on.
"I haven't been that happy with my form this year because I haven't kicked many goals," Dickson said.
'It's always been in the plan for me to play a little bit more on the wing and giving the forward line different looks.
"But I'm still contributing defensively and kicking a few goals here and there."
