But again this focuses purely on the frees against column. How can it be that we are constantly given less frees than the opposition. I can accept the frees against, I think you have articulated that part pretty well, we have several players that play close to the line and infringe (Nank and Pickett are 2) but why do we not get the same frees as other teams. I watch most games, and there are frees to forwards that I watch and react that "Jack and Lynch don't get that treatment", or HTB decisions that we don't get that other teams do etc.
What is it that we are doing where umpires cannot see the holds etc on Lynch and Jack that we can see in the crowd, or where they can't see players failing to control the disposal by dropping it etc?? I just cannot understand the frees for column. The frees against is ok, but why don't we draw the same frees that other teams get?
I'm not being a smart arse here so don't take me the wrong way but I'd suggest your bias in some of that. I watch games and see some frees we get, some we miss and the same for the opposition. Most people tend to focus only on what happens to their team and in my experience most supporters of other teams would say exactly what you are saying.
The other thing most people don't stop and consider is when you watch the game at the ground or on TV you are mostly watching from the opposite perspective to the umpires (maybe not so much now with 4). So you are outside looking in, they are generally in looking out, so naturally you are going to see things regularly that they miss and vice versa. Think about how often we see a replay from the other angle that makes something clear we couldn't see from the initial shot. And vice versa.
Having said that I also think the we don't get frees feeling is more complicated than it seems.
Year | Frees For Average | AFL Rank | AFL Average | Spread 1-18 | Frees Against Ave/Rank |
2017 | 18.8 | 10th | 18.8 | 4.1 | 21.2/18th |
2018 | 17.5 | 18th | 20.5 | 4.9 | 22.6/17th |
2019 | 18.5 | 11th | 18.8 | 3.7 | 19.6/11th |
2020 | 15.0 | 14th | 16.0 | 4.9 | 18.3/17th |
2021 | 17.1 | 18th | 19.1 | 4 | 21.1/18th |
2022 | 18.8 | 17th | 20.2 | 3.5 | 22.5/18th |
2023 | 17.5 | 13th | 20 | 15.5 | 22.5/14th |
So over those years our cumulative difference from the AFL average for frees for is - 10.2, our difference in frees against is +14.1, so we do worse in frees against.
Bet that makes you feel better!
Worth noting though these are very narrow clusters of stats. A change of one free kick a quarter either way would almost send you from last to first, as seen by the spread.