Although young on paper, Adelaide’s backline can no longer be tagged as ‘inexperienced’, according to reliable defender Luke Brown.

Brown, 23, is a core part of Adelaide’s defence which features All Australian pair Daniel Talia and Brodie Smith, as well as Club Champion runner-up Rory Laird.

The foursome has assumed great responsibility in the wake of the retirements of Michael Doughty, Ben Rutten and Brent Reilly in recent years.

All aged 24 or younger, the group missed just four games between them last season and were often supported by fellow young backs Kyle Hartigan, Jake Lever and Jake Kelly.

Brown and Laird notched their 50^th games last year while Talia and Smith are both due to celebrate game No.100 in the opening rounds of Season 2016.

Brown, who has missed just one game in the last three seasons and ran a personal-best time trial post-Christmas, said continuity has helped fast-track the development of Adelaide’s young backline.

“Down back, we’re a young group. But we’re not that inexperienced anymore,” Brown said on FIVEaa radio on Monday.

“The last three years I’ve been pretty lucky with injury and selection, and I’ve been able to play pretty much every game.

“So we’ve played a lot of games together.”

Talia was a new addition to Adelaide’s leadership group in 2015, and the ‘quiet’ Brown echoed fellow small defender Laird in offering more vocal support for the 2014 Club Champion on and off the field this year.

“Communication is vital,” he said.

“(I want to) try to get involved a bit more with my leadership on the field.

“I’ve played 69 games now coming into my fifth year. I’d like to take a big step up.

“I’m a quiet sort of guy and I like to put my head down and do the hard work. Coming into AFL level the last few years I’ve learned that you have to be talking to your teammates, otherwise it just doesn’t work.

“We’re just trying to help out Daniel Talia down there who does a lot of the workload. I think that’s one of the main areas (to improve).”

While youth has been a feature of Adelaide’s defence in recent years, the Crows also boast several other options down back.

Kyle Cheney, Ricky Henderson, Matthew Jaensch, Sam Shaw, Andy Otten and Trade Period recruits Paul Seedsman and Curtly Hampton are all recognised defenders at AFL level.

“It’s a pretty interesting backline,” Brown said.

“We have a lot of depth down there and a lot of guys are performing well. It keeps everyone on their toes to try and keep their spot.

“We’re really looking forward to this year and everyone’s been performing well at training.”

Adelaide’s opening NAB Challenge game is against West Coast at Unley Oval on Sunday, February 21.