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KICK Rating · All-time · defenders

All-time defenders — kick rating leaderboard

The top defenders right now, ranked by rolling 40-game KICK-D. KICK-D lifts intercept marks, one-percenters and rebounds to what their real impact justifies, then calibrates so the 95th-percentile defender sits at 76 regardless of the raw volume gap with mids and rucks. Raw formula value + overall KICK shown for transparency. 269 defenders in the pool, top 100 shown. Ranked by career-average KICK (position-scaled). Players with 100+ games. For the peak-form view see the main Peak-form leaderboard.

See how positional KICK works.

Peak 40 is not "greatest career"

This list ranks defenders by their best 40-game rolling window of KICK-D — the strongest ~1.75-season stretch they ever put together at this position. It's a peak-form metric, not a career-value metric. A player with one elite All-Australian stretch can rank alongside Brownlow-tier names here even if the rest of their career was modest. Longevity, premierships and sustained output aren't weighted — only the peak stretch is.

A composite "greatest career" metric (blending peak + career average + longevity + positional context) is planned for V1.9. Until it ships: for the cross-position peak-form view see the overall Peak-form leaderboard; for era-fair rankings within a decade see the decade leaderboards.

A caveat on pre-2000 defenders

AFL Tables only started tracking rebound-50s, contested marks, one-percenters and the full hit-out split progressively through the 1990s — those fields didn't exist in earlier-era data, so pre-2000 defenders score zero on them whether they did the action or not. The headline KICK formula (designed for modern 17-field box scores) underweights them as a result. Era rebaseline was investigated and held — both approaches tested produced worse top-20 lists. Read older-era defenders on the decade leaderboards where relative era ranking is accurate.

# Player Team GP Peak KICK-D Raw Peak yrs KICK-D career KICK
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1 Jeremy McGovern 2014-25 West Coast 190 100 71 2017-18 95 47
2 Callum Wilkie 2019-2026 St Kilda 166 96 68 2024-26 86 45
3 Steven May 2011-25 Melbourne 245 95 68 2022-24 89 44
4 Tom Stewart 2017-2026 Geelong 194 94 67 2022-24 100 53
5 James Sicily 2015-2026 Hawthorn 190 94 67 2022-23 99 53
6 Luke Ryan 2017-2026 Fremantle 190 90 64 2022-24 97 52
7 Alex Rance 2009-19 Richmond 199 88 63 2015-17 90 45
8 Harris Andrews 2015-2026 Brisbane Lions 247 84 61 2022-24 87 41
9 Josh Gibson 2006-17 Hawthorn 224 84 61 2014-16 80 44
10 Darren Milburn 1997-2011 Geelong 288 84 60 2004-06 84 50
11 Michael Hurley 2009-22 Essendon 191 82 59 2015-18 86 48
12 Nick Vlastuin 2013-2026 Richmond 259 81 58 2021-23 84 45
13 Jeremy Howe 2011-2026 Collingwood 270 80 58 2016-18 88 48
14 Harry Himmelberg 2016-2026 Greater Western Sydney 212 80 57 2022-24 73 43
15 Brian Lake 2002-15 Hawthorn 249 79 57 2009-10 76 42
16 Jacob Weitering 2016-2026 Carlton 211 79 57 2020-22 82 41
17 Nick Haynes 2012-2026 Carlton 231 79 56 2018-20 83 43
18 Matt Maguire 2002-15 Brisbane Lions 154 78 56 2011-14 61 36
19 Brodie Holland 1998-2008 Collingwood 153 78 56 2004-06 66 43
20 Sam Fisher 2004-16 St Kilda 224 78 56 2007-09 85 49
21 Tom McDonald 2011-2026 Melbourne 249 78 56 2017-18 82 46
22 Sean Dempster 2005-16 St Kilda 217 78 56 2013-15 62 36
23 Scott Thompson 2008-19 North Melbourne 239 78 56 2011-13 80 43
24 Josh Battle 2017-2026 Hawthorn 155 78 56 2024-26 73 41
25 David Wirrpanda 1996-2009 West Coast 224 78 56 2007-09 72 44
26 Heath Shaw 2005-20 Greater Western Sydney 322 77 55 2015-16 93 52
27 Nathan Bassett 1998-2008 Adelaide 204 77 55 2006-08 58 35
28 Tom McCartin 2018-2026 Sydney 160 75 54 2024-26 64 34
29 Ben Graham 1993-2004 Geelong 217 75 54 2000-02 59 36
30 James Clement 1996-2007 Collingwood 230 75 54 2005-07 62 36
31 Aliir Aliir 2016-2026 Port Adelaide 187 75 54 2016-19 80 40
32 Nick Maxwell 2004-14 Collingwood 203 75 54 2008-10 69 41
33 Luke McPharlin 2000-15 Fremantle 251 75 54 2012-14 68 41
34 Dustin Fletcher 1993-2015 Essendon 392 75 54 2005-08 69 37
35 Heath Grundy 2006-19 Sydney 256 74 54 2010-11 72 40
36 Andrew Welsh 2002-11 Essendon 152 72 52 2007-09 70 45
37 Jayden Laverde 2015-2026 Greater Western Sydney 153 72 52 2022-24 64 38
38 Brad Sheppard 2010-21 West Coast 210 72 52 2018-19 69 41
39 Jake Lever 2015-2026 Melbourne 194 72 52 2016-19 78 38
40 Sam Collins 2016-2026 Gold Coast 160 71 52 2023-24 78 37
41 Ryan Hargrave 2002-12 Western Bulldogs 198 71 52 2008-10 64 40
42 Dean Solomon 1998-2009 Fremantle 209 71 52 2007-09 62 40
43 Garrick Ibbotson 2007-17 Fremantle 171 71 52 2013-15 75 44
44 Lachie Henderson 2008-21 Geelong 205 71 51 2013-15 71 41
45 Liam Jones 2010-25 Western Bulldogs 201 70 51 2016-19 66 35
46 Blake Hardwick 2016-2026 Hawthorn 209 70 51 2022-24 73 42
47 Ryan Lester 2011-2026 Brisbane Lions 235 70 51 2013-16 65 39
48 Jack Henry 2018-2026 Geelong 168 70 51 2020-22 64 35
49 Darcy Moore 2015-2026 Collingwood 188 70 51 2021-23 79 40
50 Brent Guerra 2000-13 Hawthorn 241 69 51 2010-12 58 39
51 Michael Johnson 2005-18 Fremantle 239 69 51 2011-13 77 45
52 Andrew Kellaway 1998-2006 Richmond 169 69 51 2000-01 65 40
53 Mitch Hahn 2000-10 Western Bulldogs 177 69 51 2008-10 61 42
54 Adrian Hickmott 1992-2003 Carlton 181 69 51 2000-01 60 37
55 Daniel Rioli 2016-2026 Gold Coast 212 69 50 2022-23 59 40
56 Josh Hunt 2001-14 Greater Western Sydney 207 68 50 2006-08 60 38
57 Matthew Scarlett 1998-2012 Geelong 282 68 50 2010-12 60 37
58 Jared Rivers 2004-15 Geelong 188 68 50 2010-12 65 37
59 Troy Chaplin 2005-16 Richmond 212 67 49 2009-11 71 40
60 Chris Mayne 2008-21 Collingwood 246 67 49 2012-13 69 46
61 Bret Thornton 2002-13 Greater Western Sydney 186 67 49 2009-11 59 37
62 Brent Staker 2003-15 Brisbane Lions 152 66 49 2010-13 56 39
63 Justin Leppitsch 1993-2006 Brisbane Lions 224 66 49 2003-05 60 34
64 Darren Glass 2000-14 West Coast 270 66 49 2012-14 45 29
65 Graham Johncock 2002-13 Adelaide 220 66 49 2004-06 72 45
66 Peter Knights 1969-85 Hawthorn 264 66 49 1982-85 54 29
67 Mitch McGovern 2016-2026 Carlton 154 66 49 2023-25 64 40
68 Simon Garlick 1994-2004 Western Bulldogs 173 65 48 2001-03 58 35
69 Phil Davis 2010-22 Greater Western Sydney 182 65 48 2018-19 74 37
70 Brett Voss 1997-2007 St Kilda 167 65 48 2005-07 49 34
71 Chris Johnson 1994-2007 Brisbane Lions 262 65 48 2004-06 57 35
72 Leigh Colbert 1993-2005 Kangaroos 205 65 48 2003-05 56 33
73 Mason Wood 2014-2026 St Kilda 162 65 48 2022-24 67 44
74 Nathan Broad 2016-2026 Richmond 181 65 48 2021-23 64 35
75 Michael Sexton 1990-2000 Carlton 200 65 48 1998-99 50 27
76 Tim Notting 1998-2009 Brisbane Lions 201 65 48 2006-08 60 40
77 Ben Hart 1992-2006 Adelaide 304 65 48 2003-06 51 31
78 Ted Richards 2002-16 Sydney 251 64 48 2011-12 63 36
79 David Astbury 2010-21 Richmond 154 64 48 2016-18 63 35
80 Cale Hooker 2008-21 Essendon 214 64 47 2015-17 80 44
81 Simon Beaumont 1995-2005 Hawthorn 177 64 47 2002-04 65 39
82 Trent McKenzie 2011-23 Port Adelaide 159 63 47 2011-13 71 40
83 Craig Bolton 2000-10 Sydney 198 62 47 2007-09 57 36
84 Daniel Talia 2011-20 Adelaide 196 62 47 2016-17 65 34
85 Mark Roberts 1985-99 Kangaroos 202 62 46 1991-94 46 26
86 Tyson Stenglein 1999-2009 West Coast 208 62 46 2006-07 66 44
87 Brenton Sanderson 1992-2005 Geelong 208 62 46 2003-05 57 34
88 Lynden Dunn 2006-20 Collingwood 192 61 46 2009-12 68 41
89 Tom Barrass 2015-2026 Hawthorn 183 61 46 2021-23 79 37
90 Adam McPhee 2001-12 Fremantle 220 61 46 2004-06 72 46
91 Sam Gilbert 2006-18 St Kilda 205 61 46 2009-10 73 45
92 Michael Firrito 2003-16 North Melbourne 271 60 45 2008-10 64 39
93 Chad Morrison 1996-2006 Collingwood 168 60 45 1999-2001 65 38
94 Tom Jonas 2011-23 Port Adelaide 213 60 45 2017-19 69 36
95 Nick Smith 2008-18 Sydney 209 60 45 2014-16 62 37
96 Rowan Jones 1998-2007 West Coast 156 60 45 2004-07 54 38
97 Heritier Lumumba 2005-16 Melbourne 219 60 45 2012-14 63 40
98 Sean Wellman 1994-2004 Essendon 211 60 45 2001-02 52 32
99 Jack Watts 2009-19 Port Adelaide 171 60 45 2015-17 66 43
100 Campbell Brown 2002-13 Gold Coast 202 59 45 2004-07 62 40

Why a separate defenders leaderboard?

KICK Rating's overall leaderboard is award-aligned — Brownlow votes, All-Australian squads, and AFLCA Champion Player selections all heavily favour midfielders, and KICK tracks them. That's the right number when you want "who does everyone agree is the best player going around?".

But if you're looking for the best defenders, that mid-heavy bias is the wrong lens. Positional KICK applies role-aware weight multipliers (intercept marks ×5 for defenders, marks-inside-50 ×2.5 for forwards, hit-outs ×1.4 for rucks) plus a per-position percentile rescale on top of the base formula, so "elite at this position" reads similarly across all four buckets. Every multiplier and anchor is on the positional methodology page — the point isn't "no guesswork", it's transparent guesswork.

Read the validation story →