[1] He made his debut, aged 18, in round 3 of the 2004 AFL season, when Essendon played the West Coast Eagles at Docklands Stadium.
Dyson nonetheless struggled to retain his spot in the senior side, and began to doubt his playing ability as a result.
The day before the match he was brought back into the senior side with a late change, replacing the injured Mark McVeigh.
[6] Dyson spent the earlier parts of the season in the VFL playing for Bendigo and was seen as a standout there in the player review at the end of the year.
He was suspended for two years which, with backdating, ended in November 2016; as a result, he served approximately fourteen months of his suspension and missed the entire 2016 suburban football season.
[10] For several years Dyson participated in Essendon's "On the Ball" program, which involved him and teammate Brent Prismall, as well as netball players Shelley O'Donnell and Bianca Chatfield, meeting with school groups and educating them on issues such as drug use and sports.