Who has the best defence? We rank every club AFL.com.au
Nat Edwards, Travis King, Michael Whiting, Riley Beveridge and Mitch Cleary
2 January 2019IT MIGHT surprise a few that Richmond just edges out West Coast for the best defence in the competition.
Of course, the Eagles' premiership defence is nothing to scoff at.
All teams would love to have a Jeremy McGovern, Shannon Hurn and Tom Barrass marshalling their defence, and taking intercept mark after intercept mark.
But it isn't always about the big names.
The Tigers have built a backline that operates like a well-oiled machine, and their depth in particular in this area is what makes them stand out from the crowd.
Dylan Grimes and David Astbury are two of the most underrated defenders in the competition, but both play a pivotal role in the success of Richmond's back six.
1. RICHMONDThe best backline in the land. And with good reason, having averaged the second-fewest points against in the competition last year. As well as that, the Tigers led the AFL for intercept marks last season, a particular strength of stars like Alex Rance and Nick Vlastuin. They're enabled to do that thanks to the lockdown work of Dylan Grimes and David Astbury, who are two of the League's most underrated and workmanlike defenders. Then there's the run and penetration of Jayden Short and Bachar Houli from half-back. In reserve, players like Nathan Broad, Oleg Markov, Ryan Garthwaite and Kamdyn McIntosh provide handy back-up who can step up to AFL level with ease.
B: Dylan Grimes, David Astbury, Alex Rance
HB: Bachar Houli, Nick Vlastuin, Jayden Short
Defender depth: Nathan Broad, Oleg Markov, Ryan Garthwaite, Patrick Naish, Ben Miller, Derek Eggmolesse-Smith
All other clubs ranked here: http://www.afl.com.au/news/2018-12-29/who-has-the-best-defence-we-rank-every-club
