Frees for and frees against

[mayne iac]

Not sure what to make of the Al Clarkson comments re the tackle issue on Saturday night, i have had a look around on a few stat sites and found the Frees for and Frees against list very interesting.

Team with the most Frees For WC at 26.8
Team with the least Free Against WC 16.2

The difference being 10.2

Most other teams are around the 17 to 20 frees for and around the 18 - 21 for frees against.
Most of the other teams difference being 2- 3

Now I dont give a rat about the high tackle crap, I want to know why they get such a good run with the umps when it comes to Free kicks?
I saw 2 - 3 absolute frees that should have been awarded to the Hawks in the last qtr (1 that resulted in a goal to Kerr - Nik Nat all over Hawks rucks neck)) 1 that should not have been awarded at all yet was given to Masten (2 blokes grabbed the ball, they rolled around each other then -whistle - holding the ball hawks, WC free kick)

I thought it was my blatant hatred for WC, yet when I look at the stats, it seems they have a dream dream run. It cant be the home ground advantage because it would simply be evened out with their away games.

I hope the umps and the afl have a look at it.

 

[theboxmike]

coincidence

or maybe they are just better at not giving away frees? and putting there heads over the ball?

 

[Quinz]

We've also scored the most points.
And conceded the least.

Just dominating the key statistics right now!

 

[GarnerSmash]

Free kicks are the excuse for those unable to see the reality unfolding on the field.

The only time poor umpiring decisions are a viable crutch is when they change to momentum of a game or come at a vital point in the contest.

 

[Truckosaurus]

That holding the ball call Masten got was ridiculous though.

 

[mayne iac]

They have a massive difference between for and against, compared to every other team - pretty much 3 times, its a really good stat to be running

 

[estibador]

Same thing used to happen last time the eagles were good in the Judd, Cousins, Kerr era too. They had a ridiculously lopsided free kick differential in their favour every year.

The umps love jumping on the eagles when they're going well.

 

[mayne iac]

That holding the ball call Masten got was ridiculous though.

Agree, but that sort of thing obviously happens regularly and the stats seem to back it up.

 

[UpForGrabs]

It's going to seem useless coming from a WCE supporter, but here goes:

Who says free kick counts need to be equal or close to a 1:1 ratio in terms of FF and FA?

 

[midorigreenwood]

what is this ...communism? equal free kicks for all?

perhaps you should give some examples where the opposition team deserved a free kick and where west coast didn't?

the AFL has all the free kicks listed in their game analyser so it would be easy.

 

[UpForGrabs]

That holding the ball call Masten got was ridiculous though.

Devil's advocate here, but my understanding was that the free kick was paid against Osborne because Brad Hill's hands were also on the ball and they were holding it in together and making no attempt to get rid of it?

 

[Quinz]

Same thing used to happen last time the eagles were good in the Judd, Cousins, Kerr era too. They had a ridiculously lopsided free kick differential in their favour every year.

The umps love jumping on the eagles when they're going well.

The same thing happened in 2010, when we finished last and had the best free kick differential in the league- can't see a correlation with ladder position.

 

[kane249]

coincidence

or maybe they are just better at not giving away frees? and putting there heads over the ball?

Being first to the ball does help as well

 

[Arwib]

Against both Melbourne and GWS they got a lot more free kicks than they gave away because they didn't have to tackle or defend against marks very much...

 

[estibador]

The same thing happened in 2010, when we finished last and had the best free kick differential in the league- can't see a correlation with ladder position.

My mistake, so the umps just love the eagles regardless of ladder positions.

On an unrelated note, I wonder what the eagles do with all that leftover cash from their massive profits every year.

 

[Arecsa]

1 that should not have been awarded at all yet was given to Masten (2 blokes grabbed the ball, they rolled around each other then -whistle - holding the ball hawks, WC free kick).

Learn the rules. Textbook free-kick. You can hate it, but that is 100% a free kick according to the dvd given to all clubs at the start of the season.

 

[woopedazz]

When you are winning and have possession you don't give away frees. You get tackled and taken high/in the back, you lead to a mark and have the hands chopped/pushed in the back.

They are getting more frees for and less against because they aren't chasing, they already have the ball.

 

[estibador]

Against both Melbourne and GWS they got a lot more free kicks than they gave away because they didn't have to tackle or defend against marks very much...

Adelaide had 6 less free kicks than GWS on the weekend despite being first to the ball and not having to tackle them.

 

[The Falcon Strike]

WC clearly pay off the umpires - it can be the only logical reason

 

[Keys]

My mistake, so the umps just love the eagles regardless of ladder positions.

On an unrelated note, I wonder what the eagles do with all that leftover cash from their massive profits every year.

We drug the umpires water bottles

No doubt that we've had a good run so far this year with the umpires.

 

[bluespooner]

It's going to seem useless coming from a WCE supporter, but here goes:

Who says free kick counts need to be equal or close to a 1:1 ratio in terms of FF and FA?

Why does WC always seem to do so well in this statistic though?

In a game decided by less than a goal the free kick differential favouring the WC was game deciding.

 

[Dylan82]

One could make the observation that the majority of the time the player that gets to the ball first tends to get the benefit of the doubt and favour of the umpire.


The thing that sets West Coast apart from others is the dominance of the ruck over the years through Gardiner, Cox and more recently Naitanui that have provided them with first hands on the ball more often than not.



I would expect the same effect to occur for Fremantle once they get all the pieces of their engine room on the park at the same time with Sandilands.

 

[SloppyJoe]

I don't have statistics to back this up but i would think that, on average, the better sides receive more and concede less free kicks. It would make sense that the less skillful sides give away more (ruck infringements, poor tackling, lack of awareness and slow disposal etc) and the more skillful sides capitalise on this.

Now apply this to the facts that WC have played 3 of the 4 worst teams and the other match (against the Hawks) was at home, where we can be expected to win the free kick count, and the high positive differential makes some sense.

That, and we are a bunch of duckers.

Check back when we have played more games against quality opposition.

 

[Butler]

Few factors:

-Cox led the AFL in frees for last year I believe. He draws frees from ruck contests like no other. Not his fault they love to grapple onto him.
- Selwood
-Our midfield. It's very inside mid dominant. Kerr, Priddis, S.Selwood, Masten and Shuey all get down and dirty. Apart from holding the ball, that's where the frees are.
-Glass gives away hardly any frees. Back men often give away a heap.
-Our press. Put players under pressure and they are most likely to make mistakes and give away frees.
-Crowd influence at home games. It happens everywhere. Umpires get sucked into giving frees because of the crowd.

If anyone actually believes that the umpires go out on the ground and intentionally favor a side then they are delusional. Umpires make mistakes in all games which go both ways.

Also regarding the Masten free. It's easy to tell why the umpire payed it. He believed it was 2 Hawthorn players holding it in. I don't believe it was the correct decision but I can't understand how people can say they don't understand it.

 

[Lestat]

This has been happening for a while now. It is well known that Westcoast get an armchair ride from the umpires, especially at Subi.

Was highlighted by Brayshaw last year if I remember correctly.