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.
3. (16th) Fremantle
Core personnel: Luke Ryan, Alex Pearce, Brennan Cox*, Ethan Hughes, Oscar McDonald, Jordan Clark, Heath Chapman*, Corey Wagner, Brandon Walker
Fremantle's defence is another that has been decimated by injury to start the year. Cox (fractured fibula) and Chapman (hamstring) suffered setbacks, subtracting from an already-thin backline core at Cockburn.ย
In further losses for the unit, depth defender Joel Hamling made his way to Sydney, while Hayden Young's purported midfield move means he won't be present in the back third.ย
Ryan and Pearce are a solid key-defending tandem, though, and Clark is an exciting user of the ball when exiting defence, supplying hope for the Dockers.ย
However, Fremantle landed among the AFL's bottom-five last season in goals conceded per inside-50 rate (24.0 per cent) and shots at goal allowed per inside-50 rate (48.6 per cent), inspiring little hope for major improvement this year.ย
