AFL free kick count: Which clubs have conceded most freekicks, Graham Cornes claims Victorian bias
Graham Cornes believes there is a Victorian bias in regards to free kicks in the AFL. But the stats show there may be a deeper issue that the Power must address immediately.
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South Australian football great Graham Cornes believes a Victorian bias is contributing to both Adelaide clubs getting a bad run with umpires.
Port Adelaide has given away the most free kicks this AFL season with 160, a whopping 26 more than the next most undisciplined team, the Crows.
Champion Data statistics show the Power also is the equal league leader for 50m penalties against with nine.
Free kicks have cost Ken Hinkley’s side 15 goals, ranked second only to North Melbourne’s 17.
Adelaide is second in the competition for frees against with 134, while the Kangaroos (133), Richmond (125) and the Western Bulldogs (125) round out the top five.
Essendon and Gold Coast have given away the fewest with 94 each, although the Bombers have conceded an equal competition-high five goals from 50m penalties.
Recruit Jason Horne-Francis (14) has given away the most free kicks at the Power and second-highest number in the AFL.
Spearhead Charlie Dixon (three) has coughed up the equal-most 50m penalties in the league.
Cornes did not think Port Adelaide players were undisciplined, rather they were being adjudicated harshly.
“I go to these games and feel like they get a bad trot,” the former Crows coach said.
“It’s not so much the free kick you give away because it’s possibly there, it’s the similar free kick you don’t get.
“I’m convinced there is a Victorian bias.
“I believe they (umpires) come to Adelaide with a very definite perception that they’re not going to be impacted or affected by the crowd, the noise of affirmation factor.
“They both get a raw deal, but Port Adelaide much more than the Crows even.”
Port Adelaide has not copped the umpires’ wrath as much over the past fortnight amid a three-game winning streak, losing the free kick count 47-44 overall.
Its biggest discrepancies have been 34-15 in the round 2 thrashing by Collingwood at the MCG, 25-12 in its season-opening home win against Brisbane and 32-22 during the away victory over Sydney three matches ago.
The Power has conceded a league-high 53 holding free kicks – 20 more than the next highest infringers, Adelaide.
Port is second for most high tackles conceded with 36, three behind Geelong.
Cornes said all clubs would be spending a lot of time practising tackling but umpires were making contradictory decisions.
“You see a tackle from behind and one umpire says it’s in the back, then the next umpire says it’s fine, you rolled him over,” he said.
Earlier this season, Cornes wrote a column in The Advertiser arguing SA’s two AFL sides had always been marked harder by Victorian umpires, the match review officer and the tribunal.
He said it could be traced back to state clashes from last century and “the same bias still prevails”.
“Call me paranoid, delusional, and unashamedly parochial and you would be right, but the record speaks for itself,” Cornes wrote.
GWS and Richmond are tied with the Power for most 50m infringements this year with nine.
As for individuals, Horne-Francis and Fremantle ruckman Sean Darcy have conceded the second-higher number of frees, one fewer than the Kangaroos’ Charlie Comben (15).
Out-of-favour Power veteran Scott Lycett ranks fourth with 13.
Midfielder Rory Laird and ruckman Reilly O’Brien (11 each) lead the way for the Crows.
Like Dixon, Western Bulldog Riley Garcia, Essendon’s Mason Redman and Geelong’s Tyson Stengle have also given away a league-leading three 50m penalties this year.
Power assistant Nathan Bassett said the team had been working hard on its tackling technique and had looked to make adjustments to reduce holding frees.
“The holding the man one has been the common theme across all parts of the ground,” Bassett said.
“It’s certainly something we’ve been looking at.”
Originally published as AFL free kick count: Which clubs have conceded most freekicks, Graham Cornes claims Victorian bias
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