Richmond backman Nathan Broad has unveiled five names he believes are the top up-and-coming defenders in the competition, as the season reaches the business end before finals.

Without any age or experience-related parameters, Broad opened his discussion specifying a list of "general defenders", speaking on LiSTNR's Footy Talkย on Monday, leaving star youngsters like Mac Andrew, Leek Aleer and Charlie Comben out despite their breakout campaigns.

One of the players he then names is a listed key defender, but playing along, we'll keep our snubs exclusive to general defenders.

He also shared no particular order for the names, leaving the job of ranking them to the listeners.

Here were the names mentioned:

โ€œBuku Khamis was one, 24 (years old) so not too young yet, but still up and coming, (and can) get settled down back,โ€ Broad said in his discussion with commentator Abbey Holmes.

โ€œDarcy Wilmot, I just think he's so explosive and so confident. He defends first, which is what I love. When he gets it he's like a cannon, he just goes bang.

โ€œTom Brown from Richmond. He's an elite kick. He's grown week-by-week, he's pretty tall so I think he's got that ability to become an intercept defender too once he builds a little bit of confidence.

"Judd McVee, career best game on the weekend. He's a shut-down player if you need him to be, he can play on Charlie Cameron or Tobey Greene, on the weekend we saw him run off and have 23 touches and had 15 intercepts, which is a huge number.

โ€œBrady Hough, he's a great player and a great shut-down player. Charlie Cameron had four touches and I'm guessing Brady played on him. I think he's a great lock-down defender, they probably don't get great recognition for. He's only 21 (years old) so he's got a massive career ahead of him and a few more big scalps.โ€

Using the guide of medium/small defenders 24 years or younger with less than 47 games experience, some notable names we've identified who don't make the list include:

Indeed, many of these names likely won't remain general defenders for the duration of their careers, but have all shown quality defensive ability in their limited time thus far.

Other listed defenders like Nick Daicos, Harry Sheezel and Colby McKercher don't make the list of snubs as players who are clearly set to dominate the competition through the midfield or forward of centre despite the positional label.