Darcy Moore during the 2022 AFL Round 1 match between St Kilda and Collingwood (Photo by Cameron Grimes / Zero Digital Media)
From the most porous to the AFL's equivalent of Fort Knox, ahead of the bounce of the ball on Thursday night, we've ranked the league's best backlines.
We've already seen the back sixes that forwards across the competition dine out on. We've also seen the units that are making strides towards greatness. Now, we present the backlines that are primed to push for premiership success, the Crème de la crème, if you will.
RELATED: Every AFL club's backline ranked: Part I
SEE ALSO: Every AFL club's backline ranked: Part II
These are the teams with premiership-level defences, units with essentially no holes when healthy. Their key men can stop most opposing threats and their medium-small backs can prevent chaos and hit targets.
Many of these teams also benefit from a deep overall list and plenty of capable midfielders finding a role through the half-back line.
A couple of the sides may appear to suffer from a lack of star power, but the structure and organisation of the gameplan allow their role-players to utilise their strengths to the maximum; see Robbie Fox for Sydney or Jake Kolodjashnij for Geelong.
These are the elite backlines entering the 2023 AFL season, the teams ranked 6-1.
Sydney were a revelation in the 2022 season, climbing to become one of the league's best sides seemingly out of nowhere with their scary young talent.
While the brunt of the excitement comes from the anticipation of what Chad Warner, Errol Gulden, Logan McDonald and many others could do, only small amounts of credit typically reach their rock solid defence.
Paddy McCartin's performance last season encapsulated one of the stories of the year as he resurrected his football career with a move to Sydney's key defender slot. The aerial strength and dominance the public had come to expect early in his career were on full display as he impacted contest after contest, constantly initiating turnover.
Brother Tom, was the perfect supporting act, showcasing his own ability in marking contests while confidently patrolling the ground-level also.
By his side, Dane Rampe has proven to be one of the most impactful veterans in the competition time and time again, taking initiative by locking down opposing bigs and smalls while adding his fair share of team-lifting tackles, spoils and smothers.
His veteran partner, Jake Lloyd no longer needs to produce the 120-point SuperCoach average we had previously seen from him given the support around him now, but he is still more than capable of winning the ball and exiting the defensive 50 with poise and pace.
Rotating through the key defender line, Robbie Fox is a player influenced by the 'Bloods Culture' at Sydney; his smother in the goal square to prevent a Melbourne surge in the qualifying final will be remembered among this playing group for years to come.
Adding the flare to this wall of resistance, Nick Blakey provides one of the best kicks in the competition off the half-back flank to go with his damaging run and dash. At 23, the best is still to come from 'The Lizard'.
Adding to the youthful exuberance, Oliver Florent brings a toughness and level of class to the rearguard when resting from a midfield spell, while Justin McInerny can complement the role of Nick Blakey to a tee when shifting off the wing.
Carlton is one of the most attractive sides in 2023 with their top-heavy list and ideal age bracket, and while their backline fits these features accordingly, it is still littered with uncertainty.
Lewis Young proved to be a key recruit in 2022, demonstrating his ability to be a quality second key back on a high-performing team, but we now must see it again for a full season.
Mitch McGovern is yet to fill the expectation established by his hefty contract and his perpetual injury struggles have disallowed him to even try at times. Once again, there will be intrigue in his performance in the first few rounds; hopefully, his body can hold up.
The season-ending injury to Zac Williams obviously hurts the Blues and a replacement will be required from the collective run and ball-use from fellow teammates. Michael Voss appears to have landed on recent draftee Lachlan Cowan for the role.
Caleb Marchbank will again have to wait for his chance after yet another injury forced him to miss time. Again, Carlton may have to resort to Lachie Plowman to fill this hole unless a replacement is found elsewhere.
Despite all of the above, however, all of Carlton's defensive needs can be met elsewhere.
Jacob Weitering is certainly capable of being a number one backman on a premiership team, the former number one draft pick has been one of the most valuable players in the competition since his move to full-back for the Blues.
His long-time teammate Sam Docherty was another player who produced a story-of-the-year contending season after recovering from cancer and returning to his best footy. His defensive 50 exits, ball-winning ability and contest tenacity have him placed as a potential starting midfield candidate come Round 1. He is one of Carlton's absolute machines in a team filled with superstars.
Adam Saad is one of the side's most notable players, with his explosive lane-changing run and peculiar 'woof' kick off the boot. Coming off his first All-Australian season, Saad should be primed to produce similar in his ninth year in the league at 28 years of age.
Rounding out the backs, Nic Newman is beginning to prove his placement on the team sheet, providing a quality defensive presence and offensive threat.
Some other potential defensive pieces include Tom De Koning and Jack Silvagni with their overhead abilities.
The cleanliness and ability to handle chaos make Collingwood one of the most attractive teams to watch in the AFL, and allow their defence to thrive while launching scary fast attacks through the middle of the ground.
Darcy Moore is the perfect focal point in this back six with his aerial dominance one on one and ability to keep his feet and control the game at ground level.
By his side, Jeremy Howe and Brayden Maynard make up a contender for the best medium-sized defender duo in the competition.
The former is now 32 but will still require a strong challenger to replace him at back-pocket, hopefully, he can still dazzle the audience with some big-time hangers in 2023.
The latter, Brayden Maynard continues to bleed black & white, setting the competitive standard for his teammates to follow while shutting down opposing bigs or smalls and winning the ball himself.
Billy Frampton may be tasked with the secondary key-defender role after a positive preseason at his new club, his value is a wait in progress but we know that Nathan Murphy can easily step in if required.
At ground level, Nick Daicos will likely return to the half-back flank to start the year and provide elite ball use and decision-making out of defensive 50 until his time as a full-time mid arises.
After a stunning first season, Daicos will have the eyes of every footy fan out there in 2023, with some notable figures touting him to become the next Scott Pendlebury or better.
Speaking of, the former captain himself will also enjoy winning the footy through the backline as he gets a midfield chop out from recruit Tom Mitchell and Jack Crisp, who will continue to play a predominant midfield role after his time in the Magpies' rearguard.
Perhaps the other starting back flanker with Daicos, Isaac Quaynor provides similar ball use with a better defensive presence and a dashing goal-kicking threat. Entering the season at 23 years old, Quaynor could be in for a breakout year as he reaches the 60+ game mark.
The Dockers were one of the most effective defensive outfits in 2022 with their aerial strength and contribution from young players.
Alex Pearce put together his best season yet after missing the entirety of the 2017 and 2020 seasons. Pearce led the way at full-back with a stellar year of locking down opposing talls and showing a level of leadership worthy of being named captain of the club in 2023.
His return has been another heart-warming comeback story, complimented beautifully by star backup key defender Brennan Cox. Another player coming off a career-best year, Cox slotted seamlessly into the Longmuir-led back six and may play a more important role given the loss of Griffin Logue.
In the pockets, Heath Chapman brings excellent intercepting ability as the third tall. At just 21 years of age, he also adds a factor of exciting unknown potential that could be on display this season.
His veteran teammate, Luke Ryan has been a consistent performer since breaking into the side, he provides an extra defensive presence while being one of their desired defensive 50 exit players.
Their number one ball user out of the backline, however, is certainly Hayden Young. Still only 21, the manbunned interceptor could explode at any moment and become an All-Australian level talent. His brutal left leg is the most notable feature but he is yet another Docker with tremendous aerial ability, rounding out an elite, rock-solid defence that forces opponents to beat them at ground level.
Offensively, Jordan Clark provides an explosive option off half-back with his pace, he may get some time down back when resting from his wing role or if Longmuir needs a change of pace in defence.
Finally, Brandon Walker is another youngster with some quality experience in the system. Only 20, this will be his third AFL season and second year as a consistent contributor if he shows out in the early rounds.
The reigning premiers are perhaps the most well-oiled machine of the competition entering 2023, and the backline presents no exception to this.
They have a balanced mix of star power, role-players and overall experience led by the competition's best defender, Tom Stewart.
Since joining the Cats as an undrafted rookie, Stewart has put together one of the best careers out of a defender to date. In just six seasons, he has become a four-time All-Australian, best & fairest winner and most recently, a premiership player as the defensive focal point for Geelong.
The other potential superstar in this defensive line is their 22-year-old, 204cm full-back, Sam De Koning, who is coming off his breakout season with all the confidence in the world after tasting early career premiership glory. He could certainly take the baton off Tom Stewart and become the club's best, if not the league's best defender in the coming years.
Their backup options, Jed Bews, Jack Henry and Jake Kolodjashnij, are not household names, but nonetheless, they slot seamlessly into this rock-solid defensive system where they can utilise their strength one on one and initiate Geelong's offense.
On the flanks, Zach Tuohy brings 33 years' worth of wisdom and Irish flare with his decision-making and ball use, while Zach Guthrie brings some youthful dash and ideal family genetics to the table.
Mark Blicavs is yet another option to be thrown down back given his reliability as Chris Scott's beloved utility. While he likely plays a predominant ruck role as he did last season, he can easily change up the backline to match an excessively tall opposition forward line.
Rounding out the back six, Mitch Duncan may be expected to make the most of his experience, ball-use and decision-making in a back-line role, while new recruit Jack Bowes may also be trialled defensively.
When healthy, Melbourne appears to have no holes in their defensive list, meeting all apparent needs in a quality back-line.
In the key defender slot, Steven May is perhaps the number one full-back of the last three seasons, earning two All-Australian blazers and a premiership in that time as the focal point in Melbourne's defence.
Jake Lever became one of the league's best intercept defenders after he was able to string together a full season at Melbourne, ranking atop the league for intercepts in 2021 and top 10 in 2022.
While these two were exploited systematically by the opposition at times last year, expect Simon Goodwin and company to change things up and allow his top defenders to impact big games once again this season.
Providing tall defender back-up, Harrison Petty is a perfect third option on a premiership team as an underrated intercept defender, able to stop any third-string key forward from damaging the scoreboard. Together, these three can routinely prevent chaos and allow clean looks for their smaller ball users.
While he may never receive the external praise of Clayton Oliver, Christian Petracca and the like, Angus Brayshaw continues to be one of the most consistently valuable players in the competition with his aerial presence, elite poise and skill on either side of his body. He is likely in for another year on a half-back flank as a third or fourth marking option and ideal ball user in the back-middle half of the ground.
At ground level, Jake Bowey may be in for a breakout year with his elite kicking, while Trent Rivers should show some improvement from 2021 with his dash off half-back.
Dees fans will hope Christian Salem can return from his illness asap and bring his typical poise and class, their 2021 premiership was won off the back of some notable grand final performers, Salem being one of them.
Finally, we wait and see how valuable Michael Hibberd is at 33, he may still be capable of shutting down dangerous opposing smalls as he has done in recent seasons and rekindling a glimmer of his previous All-Australian form.