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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Geelong

Ken Hinkley โ€“ 1989-1995 (121 games)

Better known to many fans as the coach of Port Adelaide, Ken Hinkley was also a solid half-back flanker in his heyday.

The highlights of Hinkley's time in hoops were without doubt his pair of All-Australian selections, his AFL life membership nomination and his Carji Greeves medal in 1992.

However, all of these would have paled in comparison had the Cats saluted in any of the three Grand Finals Hinkley lined up in.

Matthew Scarlett โ€“ 2000-2013 (278 games)

As inarguably Geelong's greatest full back, Matthew Scarlett's time at the Cattery was resplendent with plays straight from a coaching manual.

The no nonsense father-son selection finished his career in 2013 with three flags, six All-Australian nods, Hall of Fame status and a Carji Greeves medal of his own.

Despite hanging the boots up nearly eight years ago, Scarlett is still with Geelong in an assistant coaching capacity. It is in this role that he has spun a previously unheralded back six into near on premiers.

Tom Stewart โ€“ 2017-Present (86 games)

Of the aforementioned group that Scarlett has molded, the jewel in the crown is without doubt Tom Stewart.

Due to going undrafted, Stewart set his sights on learning the carpentry trade and local football domination.

It was in this latter capacity that he caught the eye of teammate Matthew Scarlett and soon found himself on Geelong's list due to former full back's insistence.

In making up for lost time, Stewart has gone from zero to hero with his pair of All-Australian selections in 2018 and '19.

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