Free Kick differential over the last 15 years

[Forward Press]

I always love to see what excuses people come up with to downplay the blatantly obvious statistical fact (that has been posted repeatedly posted on this site over the last few years) that the Eagles are blatantly favoured by the umpires when they play at home.

Maybe we work more closely with the AFL umpires and rules committee to ensure our tackles are legal? Maybe it's the noise of affirmation that Alan Richardson alluded to (ie complained about)? Maybe we pay off the umpires every week.

What do you think we get more free kicks? That is the more pertinent question.

 

[G Mus]

Maybe we work more closely with the AFL umpires and rules committee to ensure our tackles are legal? Maybe it's the noise of affirmation that Alan Richardson alluded to (ie complained about)? Maybe we pay off the umpires every week.

What do you think we get more free kicks? That is the more pertinent question.

Umpire allegiances, no money is changing hands or anything ridiculous like that, it's just intrinsic biases with the west australian whistleblowers e.g. Margetts

 

[RookiePick]

Feel like rubbish this morning. Waaay too many drinks celebrating the previously unknown Free Kick Differential Premierships.

2007, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015.

What a time to be alive.

 

[Papa G]

One thing I noticed for my team, Port, is that in the years we were hopeless, we were almost always in the positives for free kicks, in the years we were in the top half of the ladder we almost always in the negative for free kicks.

 

[mad_eagle]

Feel like rubbish this morning. Waaay too many drinks celebrating the previously unknown Free Kick Differential Premierships.

2007, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015.

What a time to be alive.

You forgot all the asterisks...

 

[nurries]

Maybe we work more closely with the AFL umpires and rules committee to ensure our tackles are legal? Maybe it's the noise of affirmation that Alan Richardson alluded to (ie complained about)? Maybe we pay off the umpires every week.

What do you think we get more free kicks? That is the more pertinent question.

Margetts

 

[Plugger35]

Lets be honest #freekickhawthorn was one of the saddest fail attempts to dilute the sheer greatness that was the "threepeat" concocted by the saltiest and saddest dreggs of people who live in the sewers of bigfooty. Stats basically show that beyond a doubt.

#freekickbulldogs once again just riding the meme and hobby horse that got ridden the previous 2 years but took the title from Hawthorn.... winning games of football = must be receiving more freekicks.... except I will say Bulldogs did have a big positive differential that year based on the stats so MAYBE, just MAYBE there is something to that.

Im truly amazed Geelong still manage to hit the negatives with Selwood winning the free kick count year in year out.... truly remarkable.

Freekick differential is kind of a useless stat at the end of the day... you can get 10 free kicks in across your centre half back line and the other team can get 1 in the fwd 50 that decides the game....

Not all free kicks are born equal people....

The #freekickhawthorn meme was still justified, you had a positive free kick differential in those years it became a thing and it wasn't just the number of free kicks Hawthorn got it was the crucial free kicks that went their way or went against the opposition when close games were up for grabs.

The reason for the #freekickbulldogs meme is obvious with the +112 free kicks they enjoyed in 2016, they still got a good run from the umpires last year due to being reigning premiers but that umpiring advantage seems to have evaporated this year now that they're struggling and out of finals contention.

 

[Forward Press]

Margetts

Margetts doesn't umpire all our games though.

Do you have the individual stats for games Margetts has umpired?

Was he the best man at Dean Cox's wedding?

 

[smasha]

2008 raises eyebrows, Geelong +90 frees ,Hawks -90 frees.

We got all our frees when we were shit ,2015 an anomoly ,they must have had a boardroom meeting and sacked the umpires for all the frees we got in 2015.

Have a look at West Coast ,odear.

#freekickeagles. We got 1 free in a half of football this year over there.

The game was level at half time,umpires needed to lift for the home side and put in a cameo performance.

 

[Papa G]

Even though I'm aware that Richmond have received the least amount of free kicks in the league, and that Port don't seem to get the hometown umpiring that West Coast and to a lesser extent Adelaide do, now that this has been called out by the media, Richmond will get a dream run on Friday night in a conscious effort by the AFL/Umpires to "prove" that hometown umpiring does not exist. Nothing can be surer.

 

[smasha]

Even though I'm aware that Richmond have received the least amount of free kicks in the league, and that Port don't seem to get the hometown umpiring that West Coast and to a lesser extent Adelaide do, now that this has been called out by the media, Richmond will get a dream run on Friday night in a conscious effort by the AFL/Umpires to "prove" that hometown umpiring does not exist. Nothing can be surer.

And pigs may fly.

 

[blitzer]

What do you think it boils down to? How can the same team dominate the count for so long, despite changes in coaches, players, playing styles, venues etc?

I honestly don't know the answer why but that doesn't mean there isn't something to look into. What should be happening is the people with full access to the stats like specific umpire stats do a proper investigation to ensure that everything is above board.

I have little doubt that if we could see which umpires paid frees to which teams, there would be at least 1 umpire that came out looking pretty ordinary for West Coast games. Plenty of sports have experienced corruption of all different forms and it wouldn't be that hard to believe. Match fixing is always an integrity threat to any sport where you can gamble on. I don't really believe in the whole "the crowd is really loud thing" - wouldn't account for the advantage over other teams like Freo or Adelaide etc.

Maybe I'm wrong and the anomaly is truly just coincidence or some other reason I'm totally not thinking of but I'd be a lot more confident in it if the league actually acknowledged it and conducted a review. It seems logical to me that the thing which has changed the least for West Coast over such a long period of time is the umpires. West Coast itself have changed a great deal over the period as you stated so It's even more weird to have such an enduring advantage.

 

[smasha]

I honestly don't know the answer why but that doesn't mean there isn't something to look into. What should be happening is the people with full access to the stats like specific umpire stats do a proper investigation to ensure that everything is above board.

I have little doubt that if we could see which umpires paid frees to which teams, there would be at least 1 umpire that came out looking pretty ordinary for West Coast games. Plenty of sports have experienced corruption of all different forms and it wouldn't be that hard to believe. Match fixing is always an integrity threat to any sport where you can gamble on. I don't really believe in the whole "the crowd is really loud thing" - wouldn't account for the advantage over other teams like Freo or Adelaide etc.

Maybe I'm wrong and the anomaly is truly just coincidence or some other reason I'm totally not thinking of but I'd be a lot more confident in it if the league actually acknowledged it and conducted a review. It seems logical to me that the thing which has changed the least for West Coast over such a long period of time is the umpires. West Coast itself have changed a great deal over the period as you stated so It's even more weird to have such an enduring advantage.

We had 90k raving passionate Tiger fans at the final against GWS and lost the free kick count.

 

[West Coast 06]

Margetts

LOL. Here is a game you can play at home. Go back and check who has umpired our games this year.

Margetts has only umpired two games of ours, Round 1 v Sydney which we lost and also lost the free kick count 28-20. The other game was v Dockers which we won and had free kick advantage of 22-20.

If we are getting a free ride from Margetts, he ain’t doing it very well in the two games he has had a chance to help us out this year.

Try again.

 

[Forward Press]

Rd 1 - Foot, Margetts, Dalgleish - we lost both the match and the free kick count - we would not lose a game or a free kick count since
Rd 2 - Brown, Findlay, Ryan - thrashing of Dogs away
Rd 3 - Stevic, Deboy, Gavine - close win over Geelong at home
Rd 4 - Dalgleish, O’Gorman, Fleer - thrashing of Suns at home
Rd 5 - O'Gorman, Hay, Mollison - close win over Carlton at MCG
Rd 6 - Margetts, Dalgleish, Wallace - close derby win (I suspect this is what would anger Freo fans the most, Margetts umpiring a derby, but we only won the free kick count by two - 22 to 20)
Rd 7 - Deboy, Hosking, Chamberlain - thrashing of Port at home
Rd 8 - Gavine, Ryan, Fleer - win over GWS away
Rd 9 - Haussen, Dalgleish, Rosebury - thrashing of Richmond at home
Rd 10 - Nicholls, Chamberlain, Wallace - win over Hawks away
Rd 11 - Dalgleish, Deboy, Glouftsis - win over Saints at home

I might analyse 2017 and other years a bit more but so far this year we haven't had any umpire for more than 4 games (Dalgleish - who umpired a loss, two big wins and a closer Saints game which I suspect their fans might have an axe to grind about).

Dean Margetts only umpired two of our games and in one game we barely 'won' the free kick count and in the other we lost anyway.

 

[nurries]

LOL. Here is a game you can play at home. Go back and check who has umpired our games this year.

Margetts has only umpires two games of ours, Round 1 v Sydney which we lost and also lost the free kick count 28-20. The other game was v Dockers which we won and had free kick advantage of 22-20.

If we are getting a free ride from Margetts, he ain’t doing it very well in the two games he has had a chance to help us out this year.

Try again.

I'm taking the piss man, we all know its a team effort.

Honestly though, there is something going on, who are the other WA umpires and how often do they umpire WC?

 

[West Coast 06]

I'm taking the piss man, we all know its a team effort.

Honestly though, there is something going on, who are the other WA umpires and how often do they umpire WC?

Why don’t you look into it and get back to us?

 

[Forward Press]

I'm taking the piss man, we all know its a team effort.

Honestly though, there is something going on, who are the other WA umpires and how often do they umpire WC?

Refer to the post above.

Razor Ray, O'Gorman has umpired multiple games too so far this year. Wallace has umpired two of our closer wins.

If you want to look more closely at those umps knock yourself out.

 

[nurries]

Rd 1 - Foot, Margetts, Dalgleish - we lost both the match and the free kick count - we would not lose a game or a free kick count since
Rd 2 - Brown, Findlay, Ryan - thrashing of Dogs away
Rd 3 - Stevic, Deboy, Gavine - close win over Geelong at home
Rd 4 - Dalgleish, O’Gorman, Fleer - thrashing of Suns at home
Rd 5 - O'Gorman, Hay, Mollison - close win over Carlton at MCG
Rd 6 - Margetts, Dalgleish, Wallace - close derby win (I suspect this is what would anger Freo fans the most, Margetts umpiring a derby, but we only won the free kick count by two - 22 to 20)
Rd 7 - Deboy, Hosking, Chamberlain - thrashing of Port at home
Rd 8 - Gavine, Ryan, Fleer - win over GWS away
Rd 9 - Haussen, Dalgleish, Rosebury - thrashing of Richmond at home
Rd 10 - Nicholls, Chamberlain, Wallace - win over Hawks away
Rd 11 - Dalgleish, Deboy, Glouftsis - win over Saints at home

I might analyse 2017 and other years a bit more but so far this year we haven't had any umpire for more than 4 games (Dalgleish - who umpired a loss, two big wins and a closer Saints game which I suspect their fans might have an axe to grind about).

Dean Margetts only umpired two of our games and in one game we barely 'won' the free kick count and in the other we lost anyway.

Dagleish and Deboy pop up a lot

 

[Forward Press]

Thanks, didn't see Deboy.

Like I said, knock yourself out.

 

[Shmiddy15]

Rd 1 - Foot, Margetts, Dalgleish - we lost both the match and the free kick count - we would not lose a game or a free kick count since
Rd 2 - Brown, Findlay, Ryan - thrashing of Dogs away
Rd 3 - Stevic, Deboy, Gavine - close win over Geelong at home
Rd 4 - Dalgleish, O’Gorman, Fleer - thrashing of Suns at home
Rd 5 - O'Gorman, Hay, Mollison - close win over Carlton at MCG
Rd 6 - Margetts, Dalgleish, Wallace - close derby win (I suspect this is what would anger Freo fans the most, Margetts umpiring a derby, but we only won the free kick count by two - 22 to 20)
Rd 7 - Deboy, Hosking, Chamberlain - thrashing of Port at home
Rd 8 - Gavine, Ryan, Fleer - win over GWS away
Rd 9 - Haussen, Dalgleish, Rosebury - thrashing of Richmond at home
Rd 10 - Nicholls, Chamberlain, Wallace - win over Hawks away
Rd 11 - Dalgleish, Deboy, Glouftsis - win over Saints at home

I might analyse 2017 and other years a bit more but so far this year we haven't had any umpire for more than 4 games (Dalgleish - who umpired a loss, two big wins and a closer Saints game which I suspect their fans might have an axe to grind about).

Dean Margetts only umpired two of our games and in one game we barely 'won' the free kick count and in the other we lost anyway.

But but but Margetts is on the eagles payroll.

 

[West Coast 06]

Rd 1 - Foot, Margetts, Dalgleish - we lost both the match and the free kick count - we would not lose a game or a free kick count since.

I might analyse 2017 and other years a bit more but so far this year we haven't had any umpire for more than 4 games (Dalgleish - who umpired a loss, two big wins and a closer Saints game which I suspect their fans might have an axe to grind about).

Dean Margetts only umpired two of our games and in one game we barely 'won' the free kick count and in the other we lost anyway.

Don’t worry about looking at past years, I have done it before and there is no one umpire that we get consistently.

Lucky we make shit tonnes of money so we can pay off the whole umpiring department.

We have lost the free kick count four times this year though. Sydney 28-20, Bulldogs 19-18, Carlton 25-16 and Hawthorn 23-19.

 

[nick1408]

Dagleish and Deboy pop up a lot

Deboy is a hack. Spends more time blowing his whistle than any other umpire. Probably explains a few of the results. Is South australian if anyone is wondering.

Used to be a thread on the Richmond board devoted to his poor umpiring.

 

[Forward Press]

Don’t worry about looking at past years, I have done it before and there is no one umpire that we get consistently.

Lucky we make shit tonnes of money so we can pay off the whole umpiring department.

We have lost the free kick count four times this year though. Sydney 28-20, Bulldogs 19-18, Carlton 25-16 and Hawthorn 23-19.

Cheers, for some reason thought we were in the positive for all our wins.

Those other three games were away.

Coincidence? Not really. Every professional sporting competition in the world has more fouls, penalties, violations etc awarded against a visiting team. Yes, there will be exceptions for individual games and even seasons but over the long term, it always trends that way.

 

[The Gong]

I'm so sick of the umpires protecting the AFL $wans.......oh wait