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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. 270 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 172 97 68 2025-26 87 45
3 Steven May 2011-25 Melbourne 245 96 68 2022-24 89 44
4 James Sicily 2015-2026 Hawthorn 196 93 65 2022-23 99 53
5 Tom Stewart 2017-2026 Geelong 198 92 64 2022-24 100 53
6 Alex Rance 2009-19 Richmond 199 91 63 2015-17 90 45
7 Luke Ryan 2017-2026 Fremantle 196 88 61 2022-24 97 52
8 Harris Andrews 2015-2026 Brisbane Lions 253 87 61 2022-24 87 41
9 Josh Gibson 2006-17 Hawthorn 224 87 61 2014-16 81 44
10 Mason Redman 2016-2026 Essendon 151 86 60 2021-23 80 45
11 Darren Milburn 1997-2011 Geelong 288 86 60 2004-06 84 50
12 Michael Hurley 2009-22 Essendon 191 84 59 2015-18 87 48
13 Brian Lake 2002-15 Hawthorn 249 81 57 2009-10 76 42
14 Jeremy Howe 2011-2026 Collingwood 275 80 57 2016-18 88 48
15 Jacob Weitering 2016-2026 Carlton 211 80 57 2020-22 83 41
16 Matt Maguire 2002-15 Brisbane Lions 154 79 56 2011-14 61 36
17 Tom McDonald 2011-2026 Melbourne 251 79 56 2017-18 82 45
18 Brodie Holland 1998-2008 Collingwood 153 79 56 2004-06 66 43
19 Sam Fisher 2004-16 St Kilda 224 79 56 2007-09 85 49
20 Josh Battle 2017-2026 Hawthorn 159 79 56 2024-26 74 41
21 Sean Dempster 2005-16 St Kilda 217 79 56 2013-15 62 36
22 Harry Himmelberg 2016-2026 Greater Western Sydney 218 79 56 2022-24 74 43
23 Scott Thompson 2008-19 North Melbourne 239 79 56 2011-13 80 43
24 David Wirrpanda 1996-2009 West Coast 224 78 56 2007-09 73 44
25 Nick Vlastuin 2013-2026 Richmond 265 78 56 2021-23 84 45
26 Heath Shaw 2005-20 Greater Western Sydney 322 78 55 2015-16 93 52
27 Nathan Bassett 1998-2008 Adelaide 204 78 55 2006-08 58 35
28 Nick Haynes 2012-2026 Carlton 237 77 55 2018-20 83 43
29 Ben Graham 1993-2004 Geelong 217 76 54 2000-02 59 36
30 James Clement 1996-2007 Collingwood 230 76 54 2005-07 62 36
31 Nick Maxwell 2004-14 Collingwood 203 75 54 2008-10 69 41
32 Luke McPharlin 2000-15 Fremantle 251 75 54 2012-14 69 41
33 Aliir Aliir 2016-2026 Port Adelaide 194 75 54 2016-19 80 40
34 Dustin Fletcher 1993-2015 Essendon 392 75 54 2005-08 69 37
35 Heath Grundy 2006-19 Sydney 256 75 54 2010-11 72 40
36 Tom McCartin 2018-2026 Sydney 165 74 53 2024-26 64 34
37 Andrew Welsh 2002-11 Essendon 152 73 52 2007-09 70 45
38 Brad Sheppard 2010-21 West Coast 210 72 52 2018-19 69 41
39 Ryan Hargrave 2002-12 Western Bulldogs 198 72 52 2008-10 64 40
40 Dean Solomon 1998-2009 Fremantle 209 71 52 2007-09 62 40
41 Garrick Ibbotson 2007-17 Fremantle 171 71 52 2013-15 75 44
42 Sam Collins 2016-2026 Gold Coast 167 71 52 2023-24 78 37
43 Lachie Henderson 2008-21 Geelong 205 71 51 2013-15 71 41
44 Liam Jones 2010-25 Western Bulldogs 201 71 51 2016-19 66 35
45 Jayden Laverde 2015-2026 Greater Western Sydney 156 71 51 2022-24 63 37
46 Darcy Moore 2015-2026 Collingwood 188 70 51 2021-23 79 40
47 Jake Lever 2015-2026 Melbourne 200 70 51 2016-19 78 38
48 Brent Guerra 2000-13 Hawthorn 241 70 51 2010-12 58 39
49 Michael Johnson 2005-18 Fremantle 239 70 51 2011-13 77 45
50 Andrew Kellaway 1998-2006 Richmond 169 70 51 2000-01 65 40
51 Mitch Hahn 2000-10 Western Bulldogs 177 70 51 2008-10 61 42
52 Adrian Hickmott 1992-2003 Carlton 181 69 51 2000-01 60 37
53 Josh Hunt 2001-14 Greater Western Sydney 207 69 50 2006-08 61 38
54 Blake Hardwick 2016-2026 Hawthorn 215 69 50 2022-24 73 42
55 Matthew Scarlett 1998-2012 Geelong 282 68 50 2010-12 60 37
56 Jared Rivers 2004-15 Geelong 188 68 50 2010-12 65 37
57 Ryan Lester 2011-2026 Brisbane Lions 239 67 49 2013-16 65 39
58 Troy Chaplin 2005-16 Richmond 212 67 49 2009-11 71 40
59 Mason Wood 2014-2026 St Kilda 168 67 49 2022-24 68 44
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 67 49 2010-13 56 39
63 Justin Leppitsch 1993-2006 Brisbane Lions 224 67 49 2003-05 60 34
64 Darren Glass 2000-14 West Coast 270 67 49 2012-14 46 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 Jack Henry 2018-2026 Geelong 173 66 49 2020-22 63 35
68 Simon Garlick 1994-2004 Western Bulldogs 173 66 48 2001-03 58 35
69 Phil Davis 2010-22 Greater Western Sydney 182 66 48 2018-19 74 37
70 Brett Voss 1997-2007 St Kilda 167 65 48 2005-07 50 34
71 Chris Johnson 1994-2007 Brisbane Lions 262 65 48 2004-06 58 35
72 Leigh Colbert 1993-2005 Kangaroos 205 65 48 2003-05 56 33
73 Michael Sexton 1990-2000 Carlton 200 65 48 1998-99 50 27
74 Tim Notting 1998-2009 Brisbane Lions 201 65 48 2006-08 60 40
75 Ben Hart 1992-2006 Adelaide 304 65 48 2003-06 51 31
76 Ted Richards 2002-16 Sydney 251 65 48 2011-12 63 36
77 David Astbury 2010-21 Richmond 154 64 48 2016-18 63 35
78 Cale Hooker 2008-21 Essendon 214 64 47 2015-17 80 44
79 Simon Beaumont 1995-2005 Hawthorn 177 64 47 2002-04 65 39
80 Mitch McGovern 2016-2026 Carlton 160 63 47 2023-25 64 40
81 Trent McKenzie 2011-23 Port Adelaide 159 63 47 2011-13 71 40
82 Craig Bolton 2000-10 Sydney 198 63 47 2007-09 57 36
83 Daniel Talia 2011-20 Adelaide 196 62 47 2016-17 65 34
84 Mark Roberts 1985-99 Kangaroos 202 62 46 1991-94 46 26
85 Tyson Stenglein 1999-2009 West Coast 208 62 46 2006-07 66 44
86 Brenton Sanderson 1992-2005 Geelong 208 62 46 2003-05 57 34
87 Lynden Dunn 2006-20 Collingwood 192 62 46 2009-12 68 41
88 Adam McPhee 2001-12 Fremantle 220 61 46 2004-06 72 46
89 Sam Gilbert 2006-18 St Kilda 205 61 46 2009-10 74 45
90 Michael Firrito 2003-16 North Melbourne 271 60 45 2008-10 64 39
91 Chad Morrison 1996-2006 Collingwood 168 60 45 1999-2001 65 38
92 Tom Jonas 2011-23 Port Adelaide 213 60 45 2017-19 70 36
93 Nick Smith 2008-18 Sydney 209 60 45 2014-16 62 37
94 Rowan Jones 1998-2007 West Coast 156 60 45 2004-07 54 38
95 Heritier Lumumba 2005-16 Melbourne 219 60 45 2012-14 63 40
96 Sean Wellman 1994-2004 Essendon 211 60 45 2001-02 52 32
97 Nathan Broad 2016-2026 Richmond 187 60 45 2021-23 64 35
98 Jack Watts 2009-19 Port Adelaide 171 60 45 2015-17 66 43
99 Campbell Brown 2002-13 Gold Coast 202 60 45 2004-07 62 40
100 Dale Morris 2005-19 Western Bulldogs 250 59 45 2010-13 60 35

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 →