As we sit just weeks away from pre-season action, and almost one month away from the 2025 AFL season officially beginning, coaches will be looking to finalise their first selection of backmen for their opening clash of the year.
Defence is critical for success in the AFL, and in the final instalment of our backline rankings, we've determined the top six teams with the calibre to help push their club for premiership glory in 2025.
Boasting bonafide stars, a deep pool of talent, and a well-structured game plan, the top six sides in our rankings will likely be the toughest to score against this season.
TEAMS 18-13: Every AFL team's backline ranked: Part 1
TEAMS 12-7: Every AFL team's backline ranked: Part 2
Without further ado, here areย Zero Hanger's final backline rankings...
6. (6th) GWS
The Giants have a strong trio of defenders which will hold them in good stead in 2025.
Lachie Whitfield, Jack Buckley and Sam Taylor each have All-Australian potential to their own merit, with the former earning a blazer last year.
Whitfield averaged career-best figures from the backline in 2025, averaging 30 disposals per game for the first time, while also recording 5.8 rebound 50s per game.
Buckley and Taylor are cutthroat deterrents in the defensive arc, averaging 2.4 and 3.3 intercept marks per game respectively, as well as 6.3 and 5.6 spoils per game each.
Lachie Ash, Leek Aleer, Harrison Himmelberg and Connor Idun are all dependable assets, with Idun and Ash averaging the best defensive one-on-one contest win-loss ratios at the club, while Aleer averages over five spoils from his 12 matches at AFL level, and is poised for a breakout season.
Himmelberg can be utilised as a swingman and has shown his aerial prowess in clutch moments before, highlighting his influence is crucial to the Giants' defence.
However, despite the assortment of top-tier talent, the Giants' backline was not the wall of defence they seemed on paper last year. The Giants ranked ninth for points conceded, and their inability to stop surging opposition was ultimately their downfall in the finals series.
It's important to note that a five-week period without Sam Taylor significantly impacted GWS' stinginess last year though, conceding an extra five points per game (86.8) than their season average between Rounds 15 to 19.
Remove the outlier performance in Round 19 against Gold Coast, who the Giants restricted to 50 points, and GWS conceded 96 points per game in that period, about 15 points greater than their season average.
With a healthy backline, GWS will be one of the better defences in the competition, but they are evidently heavily reliant on their stars.
Yet, GWS are predicted to bounce back from their faulty finish to 2024, and with a fit, star-studded group in defence, the Giants should mould into one of the finer defensive teams in 2025.
