Free kicks are often a contentious issue.
Games can be won and lost with the type of frees an umpire decides to pay, or not pay. Supporters bemoan such decisions, or non-decisions.
Deep down, we all know that umpires don't favour certain clubs (don't we?!?!) but we wanted to take a look, with help from Champion Data, at who gets taken care of and who doesn't quite get the rub of the green.
The 'noise of affirmation' appears to ring true with West Coast easily topping the differential ladder since the AFL became an 18-club league in 2012. The Eagles have received the most free kicks during this time.
Sitting second is Collingwood, who have had the least free kicks paid against them, while the Western Bulldogs, North Melbourne and Adelaide all feature in the top five.
On the other end of the scale is the GWS Giants who have had a poor run with match officials.
Interestingly, only six clubs have a positive differential while 12 clubs sit with a minus.
Check out the ladder below 👇
The AFL differential ladder
Since the beginning of 2012
| Club | For | Against | Differential |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Coast | 3748 | 3294 | 454 |
| Collingwood | 3407 | 3099 | 308 |
| Western Bulldogs | 3495 | 3198 | 297 |
| North Melbourne | 3635 | 3350 | 285 |
| Adelaide | 3386 | 3172 | 214 |
| Carlton | 3318 | 3241 | 77 |
| Hawthorn | 3509 | 3523 | -14 |
| Geelong | 3641 | 3680 | -39 |
| Essendon | 3202 | 3253 | -51 |
| Gold Coast | 3139 | 3231 | -92 |
| Port Adelaide | 3460 | 3567 | -107 |
| Brisbane | 3459 | 3576 | -117 |
| Richmond | 3590 | 3711 | -121 |
| Melbourne | 3333 | 3461 | -128 |
| Fremantle | 3283 | 3488 | -205 |
| Sydney | 3510 | 3728 | -218 |
| St Kilda | 3064 | 3291 | -227 |
| GWS Giants | 3418 | 3734 | -316 |
We also took a look at the most recent AFL season to see who was attracting the most and least interest from the umpires in 2019.
2019 differential ladder
| 2019 frees ladder | For | Against | Differential |
|---|---|---|---|
| Western Bulldogs | 478 | 387 | 91 |
| Collingwood | 475 | 387 | 88 |
| Adelaide | 405 | 332 | 73 |
| Gold Coast | 439 | 382 | 57 |
| Geelong | 472 | 446 | 26 |
| Fremantle | 402 | 387 | 15 |
| North Melbourne | 427 | 422 | 5 |
| West Coast | 455 | 450 | 5 |
| Brisbane | 498 | 501 | -3 |
| Port Adelaide | 432 | 435 | -3 |
| Essendon | 430 | 439 | -9 |
| Melbourne | 409 | 435 | -26 |
| Richmond | 463 | 492 | -29 |
| St Kilda | 398 | 434 | -36 |
| Hawthorn | 382 | 425 | -43 |
| Carlton | 398 | 443 | -45 |
| Sydney | 389 | 453 | -64 |
| GWS Giants | 445 | 547 | -102 |
We've also provided a couple of other ladders - the most free kicks received and the least free kicks received.
The most free kicks for
Since the beginning of 2012
| Club | For |
|---|---|
| West Coast | 3748 |
| Geelong | 3641 |
| North Melbourne | 3635 |
| Richmond | 3590 |
| Sydney | 3510 |
| Hawthorn | 3509 |
| Western Bulldogs | 3495 |
| Port Adelaide | 3460 |
| Brisbane | 3459 |
| GWS Giants | 3418 |
| Collingwood | 3407 |
| Adelaide | 3386 |
| Melbourne | 3333 |
| Carlton | 3318 |
| Fremantle | 3283 |
| Essendon | 3202 |
| Gold Coast | 3139 |
| St Kilda | 3064 |
The most free kicks against
Since the beginning of 2012
| Club | Against |
|---|---|
| GWS Giants | 3734 |
| Sydney | 3728 |
| Richmond | 3711 |
| Geelong | 3680 |
| Brisbane | 3576 |
| Port Adelaide | 3567 |
| Hawthorn | 3523 |
| Fremantle | 3488 |
| Melbourne | 3461 |
| North Melbourne | 3350 |
| West Coast | 3294 |
| St Kilda | 3291 |
| Essendon | 3253 |
| Carlton | 3241 |
| Gold Coast | 3231 |
| Western Bulldogs | 3198 |
| Adelaide | 3172 |
| Collingwood | 3099 |