KICK Rating · 1997 season · defenders
1997 Defenders — KICK-D
The top defenders of the 1997 AFL season by KICK-D season average (calibrated so elite lands at 85+). Raw formula + overall KICK shown for transparency. Minimum 10 games played that year.
See the all-time defenders leaderboard or read how positional KICK works.
| # | Player | Team | GP | KICK-D avg | Raw | Best | KICK ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andrew Wills | Fremantle | 21 | 64 | 52 | 79 | 37 |
| 2 | Leigh Colbert | Geelong | 20 | 62 | 50 | 78 | 35 |
| 3 | Joel Smith | St Kilda | 16 | 61 | 49 | 78 | 35 |
| 4 | Tristan Lynch | Brisbane Lions | 21 | 58 | 47 | 80 | 33 |
| 5 | Scott Crow | Collingwood | 14 | 58 | 46 | 63 | 33 |
| 6 | Luke Toia | Fremantle | 18 | 57 | 46 | 78 | 33 |
| 7 | Paul Dimattina | Western Bulldogs | 17 | 56 | 45 | 74 | 33 |
| 8 | Adrian Hickmott | Carlton | 17 | 56 | 45 | 77 | 32 |
| 9 | Michael Wilson | Port Adelaide | 22 | 55 | 44 | 83 | 32 |
| 10 | Craig Sholl | North Melbourne | 25 | 55 | 44 | 64 | 31 |
| 11 | Peter Caven | Adelaide | 22 | 54 | 44 | 82 | 31 |
| 12 | Tony Brown | St Kilda | 24 | 54 | 44 | 75 | 31 |
| 13 | Mark Roberts | North Melbourne | 22 | 54 | 43 | 78 | 31 |
| 14 | Richard Champion | Brisbane Lions | 21 | 54 | 43 | 67 | 31 |
| 15 | Nigel Smart | Adelaide | 22 | 54 | 43 | 66 | 31 |
| 16 | Justin Leppitsch | Brisbane Lions | 22 | 53 | 43 | 68 | 31 |
| 17 | Michael Sexton | Carlton | 18 | 53 | 42 | 67 | 30 |
| 18 | Damien Hardwick | Essendon | 15 | 52 | 42 | 68 | 30 |
| 19 | Chad Morrison | West Coast | 24 | 52 | 42 | 79 | 30 |
| 20 | Duncan Kellaway | Richmond | 22 | 51 | 41 | 69 | 30 |
| 21 | Ben Harrison | Richmond | 16 | 51 | 41 | 74 | 30 |
| 22 | Stephen Silvagni | Carlton | 18 | 50 | 41 | 88 | 29 |
| 23 | Quenton Leach | Fremantle | 21 | 50 | 41 | 64 | 29 |
| 24 | Michael Prior | Essendon | 22 | 50 | 41 | 69 | 29 |
| 25 | Mark Graham | Hawthorn | 19 | 50 | 40 | 67 | 29 |
| 26 | Dustin Fletcher | Essendon | 16 | 49 | 40 | 66 | 28 |
| 27 | Brett Montgomery | Western Bulldogs | 16 | 47 | 38 | 65 | 27 |
| 28 | Anthony McDonald | Melbourne | 19 | 47 | 38 | 79 | 27 |
| 29 | Michael Mansfield | Geelong | 23 | 47 | 38 | 65 | 27 |
| 30 | Brendan Krummel | Hawthorn | 21 | 47 | 38 | 68 | 27 |
| 31 | Matthew Rogers | Richmond | 14 | 47 | 38 | 79 | 27 |
| 32 | Michael Symons | Essendon | 15 | 47 | 38 | 70 | 27 |
| 33 | Darren Milburn | Geelong | 10 | 46 | 38 | 68 | 27 |
| 34 | Brad Scott | Hawthorn | 22 | 46 | 37 | 61 | 27 |
| 35 | Alastair Clarkson | Melbourne | 19 | 46 | 37 | 69 | 27 |
| 36 | Matthew Dent | Western Bulldogs | 20 | 46 | 37 | 64 | 26 |
| 37 | Greg Harding | Fremantle | 18 | 45 | 37 | 54 | 26 |
| 38 | Todd Curley | Western Bulldogs | 10 | 45 | 37 | 56 | 26 |
| 39 | Tim McGrath | Geelong | 23 | 45 | 37 | 72 | 26 |
| 40 | Justin Peckett | St Kilda | 25 | 45 | 37 | 55 | 26 |
| 41 | Scott Chisholm | Fremantle | 14 | 45 | 36 | 59 | 26 |
| 42 | Darryl White | Brisbane Lions | 19 | 45 | 36 | 52 | 26 |
| 43 | Brenton Sanderson | Geelong | 21 | 45 | 36 | 58 | 26 |
| 44 | Justin Crawford | Hawthorn | 15 | 44 | 36 | 63 | 26 |
| 45 | Ben Hart | Adelaide | 26 | 44 | 36 | 71 | 26 |
| 46 | Andrew McGovern | Fremantle | 18 | 44 | 36 | 57 | 26 |
| 47 | Chris Daniher | Essendon | 17 | 44 | 35 | 60 | 25 |
| 48 | Craig Ellis | Western Bulldogs | 24 | 43 | 35 | 62 | 25 |
| 49 | Matthew Young | St Kilda | 18 | 42 | 34 | 72 | 25 |
| 50 | Alex McDonald | Collingwood | 19 | 42 | 34 | 58 | 25 |