Forwards win memberships and defenders win Premierships, the old adage goes.

The men at the back are not only integral in keeping opposition scores down, they also provide the first line of attack.

In the AFL era, 1990 until the present day, plenty of players have called the defensive fifty home. Many of this aforementioned group have also retired champions of the game, or at least look set to.

With the off-season slowly creeping to a close, we here at Zero Hanger have attempted to create a list of every club's best three defenders that never played together.

However, there are four rules to this exercise.

1. Three players must be selected from each club.
2. Even if they have played for multiple clubs, no player can be selected on the list of two teams.
3. All players must have played at least a portion of their careers from 1990 onwards.
4. As mentioned, no player can have played an in-season match with any of their colleagues.

For example, should Glenn Archer be selected for North Melbourne, then all of his backline buddies between 1992 and 2007 become ineligible.

With that in mind, here is our best stab.

Let us know how we have gone and which clubs you feel have fared best.

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Port Adelaide

Darren Mead โ€“ 1997-2002 (122 games)

Despite beginning his AFL career as a 26-year-old, Darren Mead's time in teal was well beyond average.

After following coach John Cahill from the SANFL to the big league at the end of 1996, Mead's performances in the Power's inaugural season saw him win the club's first Best and Fairest award โ€“ which is ironically named after his then coach.

A mainstay at centre half-back in his six seasons with Port, the 193 centimetre defender became the first man in the club's short history to pass the 100-game mark.

Alipate Carlile โ€“ 2006-2016 (167 games)

Following Mead's retirement at the end of 2002, Port were made the wait three seasons before another six foot four defender was at their disposal.

After immigrating to Australia from Fiji at the age of one, Carlile โ€“ a cousin of David Rodan โ€“ cut his footy teeth playing for Wangaratta and then the Murray Bushrangers.

Port picked him up with the 44th pick of the 2005 Draft, but were made to wait until 2008 before he hit his straps. After playing every game that season, Carlile was awarded the Gavin Wanganeen medal after being adjudged the club's best player under the age of 21.

Injuries cruelled the big man across the back end of his career and ultimately defeated him, with Carlile playing his final game in Round 2 of 2016.

Darcy Byrne-Jones โ€“ 2016-Present (105 games)

Of all of the careers that have not overlapped on this list, the margin between Alipate Carlile and Darcy Byrne-Jones is akin to a bee's appendage.

With it previously mentioned that Carlile's career came to an end after just two rounds of the 2016 season, it must also be noted that Byrne-Jones' AFL debut came the very next week - Round 3 against the Bombers.

Following three seasons finding his feet at senior level, the poised half-back has hit his straps over the past pair of years, finishing second in the Cahill medal count in 2019, first last year and also earning his first All-Australian selection.

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