Glorifying the AFL's ball-winners and goalkickers is commonplace across the footballing landscape, but as the age-old adage goes: 'defence wins premierships'.
The club that holds the silverware aloft at the end of a season typically boasts a backline consisting of immovable key defenders, eagle-eyed interceptors and attack-minded flankers.
Last year's grand finalists, for example, each possessed stingy, impregnable defensive units, comprising stars such as Darcy Moore, Harris Andrews, Brayden Maynard, Brandon Starcevich, Isaac Quaynor and Keidean Coleman, among others.
So, taking into account last year's performance, current personnel and injuries, where does each club's defence rank as we prepare to embark on the 2024 season?
We've ranked every AFL club's backline from worst to first. Here's 18 through 13.
*Asterisk denotes a current injury to the player.
2. (17th) Hawthorn
Core personnel: James Sicily, James Blanck*, Sam Frost, Denver Grainger-Barras, Changkuoth Jiath*, Josh Weddle, Jarman Impey, Jack Scrimshaw, Seamus Mitchell*
Hawthorn has been ravaged by the injury bug this pre-season.
The worst ailment of all was suffered by Blanck, who will be sidelined for the season after rupturing his ACL during an intra-club game. Not only does the Box Hill product's absence restrict Sicily's intercepting freedom, but it also forces coach Sam Mitchell to rely heavily on Frost and potentially Grainger-Barras this year.ย
Blake Hardwick's apparent forward move means his services are unlikely to be observed in defence this year, with Weddle โ a shining Hawks light โ appearing to have snatched the subsequent vacancy. The exciting 19-year-old, who recently penned a contract extension, is poised for a big year.ย
The other catalyst for this lowly Hawthorn ranking is its subpar 2023 performance. The Hawks conceded a goal 25.4 per cent of the time their opponent entered the forward arc last season; a figure that ranked 17th in the AFL and marginally ahead of the league-worst Eagles.
Hawthorn also ranked bottom-six in goals conceded, shots at goal allowed, goals per inside-50 rate, scoring shots per inside-50 rate, and marks inside-50.
