If there was any doubt that Sam Taylor is one of the best - if not the best - key defenders in the competition, his opening month of the season has silenced that doubt.
Taylor's GIANTS are one of three teams with a 4-0 record heading into round five, with the unbeaten start built in large part on their stingy defence.
Leading the way down back has been Taylor, who ranks No.1 in the competition for intercept marks, intercept possessions, contested marks and contested defensive one-on-ones.
Remarkably, Champion Data has logged Taylor as having been involved in 15 contested defensive one-on-ones this season and he has not lost a single one of them.
Speaking on Access All Areas recently, Essendon champion Matthew Lloyd labelled Taylor the best defender in the competition and likened him to Geelong legend Matthew Scarlett.
"There's a lot of players around the comp who need to watch him play," Lloyd said.
"I'm talking about Darcy Moore, Jeremy Howe, James Sicily - go and watch how a proper defender plays the game. The word is called defender for a reason; you defend first and attack second.
"Too many guys cheat in the way they play the game and it's all about offence and not about defence. That's why (Taylor) is the No.1 defender in the game.
"I played on Matthew Scarlett ... and I liken Matthew Scarlett to Sam Taylor."
Taylor has been well supported this season by teammate Jack Buckley, who is also rated elite for intercept marks and contested marks.
Buckley says Taylor's ability to win one-on-one contests and take marks rather than leaving his man to intercept is what sets his teammate apart.
"It's certainly not lost on anyone at the GIANTS that having the best backman in the comp is a really good thing to have," Buckley told AFL.com.au last week. "And to be able to play alongside that down in the backline certainly fills you with a lot of confidence.
"The great thing about Sam is that he's not just an intercept defender, he beats his man first and then marks it. Most of the marks come in one-on-one contests, which is pretty rare. I think you'll find most of the other high intercept mark getters tend to come off their man and mark it, whereas he beats his man and then marks it on him.
"I definitely think he's the best going around, so to be able to play alongside that is certainly a privilege."
