We may be preparing for The Ashes to commence, but just before the focus fully shifts to cricket season, here’s one more AFL stats article.
The Free Kick Ladder has developed a cult following here on SEN.com.au so we thought we’d go one more time with feeling for 2021.
In this edition, we take a look at the total free kicks the umpires have awarded to each of the 18 clubs from the start of 2017 through until the end of last season.
Sitting at the top of the five-year tree is Collingwood. The Magpies have a differential of +303 thanks largely to the fourth most free kicks for (2163) and the fewest free kicks against (1860).
They are just nine ahead of the Western Bulldogs overall. The Doggies have a +294 differential courtesy of 2185 frees for - the third most - and just 1891 against which is the second least.
They are two of five clubs with a positive differential of more than 100, ahead of North Melbourne (+188), Adelaide (+156) and West Coast (+145).
Geelong (2277) and Brisbane (2217) have been awarded the most free kicks since 2017 but have also given away a significant amount meaning their differentials are just +63 and +11 respectively.
Port Adelaide (+11) and Carlton (+4) are the two remaining clubs in the positive.
Down the other end, perennial offender Richmond, who won three premierships during this five-year stretch, holds up the rest with a massive negative differential of -368. That stems from their free kicks against (2408) - which is comfortably the worst result in the league - easily outdoing their frees for total of 2040.
The only other club with a minus differential of 200 or more is the GWS Giants. They sit at -219 on the back of the second most free against (2335).
Four clubs - St Kilda (-111), Essendon (-113), Sydney (-126) and Hawthorn (-140) - are with the Giants and Tigers as well in the negatives.
The others with a negative differential are Gold Coast (-23), Fremantle (-36) and Melbourne (-39).
See the 2017-2012 Free Kick Ladder below:
| Club | For | Against | Differential |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collingwood | 2163 | 1860 | 303 |
| Western Bulldogs | 2185 | 1891 | 294 |
| North Melbourne | 2095 | 1907 | 188 |
| Adelaide | 2089 | 1933 | 156 |
| West Coast | 2137 | 1992 | 145 |
| Brisbane | 2217 | 2154 | 63 |
| Geelong | 2277 | 2266 | 11 |
| Port Adelaide | 2129 | 2118 | 11 |
| Carlton | 2048 | 2044 | 4 |
| Gold Coast | 1949 | 1972 | -23 |
| Fremantle | 1881 | 1917 | -36 |
| Melbourne | 2075 | 2114 | -39 |
| St Kilda | 1891 | 2002 | -111 |
| Essendon | 1929 | 2042 | -113 |
| Sydney | 2053 | 2179 | -126 |
| Hawthorn | 1882 | 2022 | -140 |
| GWS Giants | 2116 | 2335 | -219 |
| Richmond | 2040 | 2408 | -368 |
And you can see the year by year numbers for each club below.
Free Kicks For - 2017-2021
| Club | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adelaide | 496 | 425 | 405 | 299 | 464 | 2089 |
| Brisbane | 446 | 484 | 497 | 309 | 481 | 2217 |
| Carlton | 440 | 481 | 399 | 282 | 446 | 2048 |
| Collingwood | 394 | 576 | 475 | 329 | 389 | 2163 |
| Essendon | 418 | 422 | 428 | 242 | 419 | 1929 |
| Fremantle | 375 | 432 | 403 | 280 | 391 | 1881 |
| Geelong | 514 | 493 | 470 | 307 | 493 | 2277 |
| Gold Coast | 381 | 455 | 437 | 270 | 406 | 1949 |
| GWS Giants | 470 | 451 | 446 | 281 | 468 | 2116 |
| Hawthorn | 364 | 502 | 382 | 230 | 404 | 1882 |
| Melbourne | 409 | 513 | 409 | 268 | 476 | 2075 |
| North Melbourne | 434 | 491 | 427 | 313 | 430 | 2095 |
| Port Adelaide | 443 | 443 | 431 | 325 | 487 | 2129 |
| Richmond | 469 | 421 | 461 | 314 | 375 | 2040 |
| St Kilda | 392 | 410 | 398 | 292 | 399 | 1891 |
| Sydney | 454 | 468 | 390 | 291 | 450 | 2053 |
| West Coast | 456 | 560 | 456 | 273 | 392 | 2137 |
| Western Bulldogs | 433 | 473 | 478 | 286 | 515 | 2185 |
Free Kicks Against - 2017-2021
| Club | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adelaide | 500 | 377 | 332 | 276 | 448 | 1933 |
| Brisbane | 398 | 457 | 500 | 300 | 499 | 2154 |
| Carlton | 409 | 474 | 445 | 290 | 426 | 2044 |
| Collingwood | 349 | 465 | 386 | 256 | 404 | 1860 |
| Essendon | 428 | 448 | 438 | 291 | 437 | 2042 |
| Fremantle | 415 | 474 | 386 | 238 | 404 | 1917 |
| Geelong | 527 | 489 | 446 | 349 | 455 | 2266 |
| Gold Coast | 386 | 501 | 383 | 280 | 422 | 1972 |
| GWS Giants | 527 | 507 | 549 | 303 | 449 | 2335 |
| Hawthorn | 391 | 499 | 425 | 300 | 407 | 2022 |
| Melbourne | 413 | 521 | 435 | 268 | 477 | 2114 |
| North Melbourne | 396 | 406 | 421 | 273 | 411 | 1907 |
| Port Adelaide | 469 | 470 | 435 | 275 | 469 | 2118 |
| Richmond | 528 | 543 | 492 | 384 | 461 | 2408 |
| St Kilda | 374 | 464 | 433 | 299 | 432 | 2002 |
| Sydney | 482 | 502 | 449 | 282 | 464 | 2179 |
| West Coast | 426 | 478 | 451 | 256 | 381 | 1992 |
| Western Bulldogs | 370 | 425 | 386 | 271 | 439 | 1891 |
We'll be back in 2022 to fuel the fire of front bar pub and backyard BBQ discussions with more AFL stats-laden articles.