DEFENCE

Luke DeVere, Brisbane Roar

DeVere was a key man for Brisbane this season, maintaining a strong defensive presence at the back and contributing heavily in moving the ball forward. Despite injuries, a changing back line and Champions League commitments, DeVere remained an ever consistent force for Brisbane.

One of the few A-League players touted to receive a call up to the Socceroos in March, he was unfortunate to pick up a calf injury just prior to the squad being announced.

Despite this setback, he never missed a beat, forming two strong defensive partnerships with Jade North and Avraam Papadopoulos. His tackling accuracy this season was better than that of Alan Baro and Michael Jakobsen, but it was his distribution from the back that really set him apart from the pack.

He put in more passes than any other defender this season, maintaining a high passing accuracy and building up Brisbane’s attacks from the back. He created chances for Brisbane and was able to turn defence into attack more often than almost any other central defender.

He was disciplined in defence, conceding very few fouls and showing an ability that has given Brisbane Roar the confidence to sign the player until 2019. Despite being in a team that didn’t always shine defensively, he was a consistent figure in an occasionally inconsistent team, always giving his team every chance to get a result. 

Michael Zullo, Sydney FC

Yet another Sydney FC player featuring in the backline, Michael Zullo was another new arrival who made a big impact for the eventual champions. Mirroring the efforts of Rhyan Grant on the right hand side of defence, Zullo was a strong figure in both defence and attack.

Starting in all but one games for Sydney, Zullo was unchallenged in the left back position and almost completely unrivalled in the league. He won more tackles than any of his fellow Sydney FC defenders, keeping the left hand side of Sydney’s defence secure and ensuring they kept their record number of clean sheets.

In attack, he was a crossing wizard, putting in more successful crosses than any of his team mates and assisting four goals in the process. While he didn’t attack the goal as much as Rhyan Grant, he was a better distributor of the ball, passing the ball more often and with more accuracy.

While Corey Brown was often praised for his efforts at left back for Brisbane Roar, his efforts pale in comparison to Zullo’s, with the Sydney FC player able to perform with excellence in both attack and defence.

No other defender put in more crosses than Zullo did but he didn’t allow his attacking exploits to be sacrificed in defence with Sydney conceding just 12 goals all season thanks to his defensive efforts in Sydney’s record breaking back four.