TO BE a top 10 defender in AFLW Fantasy last season, you needed to average between 55 and 65 points.

Last season, 11 players averaged more than 55 points, while eight of this season's listed defenders broke that barrier in season six.

It's a position where stats can be boosted by intercepts, higher kick-to-handball ratios, marks and of course getting the bonus plus-three (points awarded for a kick) by taking the kick-in.

Top 20 averaging defenders in S7

The best defender last season was Emma Kearney (DEF, $916,000). The Roo topped the averages with 65.1 in season seven, backing up from 69.1 and 64.1 in the two campaigns prior. Kearney averaged 15.9 disposals with 3.5 marks and 3.2 tackles for an all-round game.

Kearney's top scores of season seven were 83 and 85 and only twice did she score below 50.

Jordyn Allen (DEF, $853,000) and Maddison Gay (DEF, $847,000) were the only other players to average more than 60 points, but were joined by a larger group all close to that 60-plus average.

Biggest improvers in S7

One of the rewarding parts of playing Fantasy sport is picking breakout players.

Last season, Tarni Evans (DEF, $757,000) improved her average by the most of all defenders. She played all 10 games, improving on season six's two games at an average of 28.5, to finish as the 12th highest averaging defender at 53.8 points per game.

A season-on-season improvement of 15 points ranked Allen as the second best Fantasy defender. Averaging 3.8 marks for season seven, which ranked her top 10 for that statistic, helped boost her numbers.

Charlotte Thomas (DEF, $837,000) and Elizabeth Keaney (DEF, $815,000) are other notable players who would have been mid-priced in Fantasy last season to finish the year as top-of-their-line players.

Below are the players who improved their season six average by the most in season seven (minimum of 20-point average needed to be recorded in season six).

*Includes players who averaged more than 20 points in S6

Best defender debutants in S7

You couldn't have asked for a better debut season than Eilish Sheerin (DEF, $805,000). Turning 30 years old in her first season with the Tigers, she recorded a competition record for intercepts against the Cats in round one and had 19 disposals, five marks and four tackles for a score of 73. She managed five scores of more than 70 for season seven.

Molly Eastman (DEF, $660,000) made her debut for Sydney and finished the season as the second-highest averaging player for the winless Swans. She is a Tiger in 2023.

*Now Tigers

Kick-ins from S7

A stat that is loved by Fantasy coaches is the kick-in following a behind. The statistic of a kick will count if the ball is disposed of outside of the goalsquare.

Players who are the designated kicker are in great demand for the bonus +3.

The teams that had the fewest players take kick-ins included Brisbane (3), Geelong (3), Adelaide (4), Gold Coast (4) and Hawthorn (4). The duties were shared around at Essendon (9), Fremantle (9), Carlton (8) and Port Adelaide (8).

Bianca Jakobsson (DEF, $788,000), who was a top 10 defender last season, was the pick of the designated kickers by playing on for each of her 48 kick-ins in season seven.

*Now Essendon