Western Bulldogs have won free kick count in every game this season
THE Western Bulldogs are yet to lose the free kick count in seven rounds this year and are by the league leaders when it comes to winning frees. Check out these crazy stats
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THE Western Bulldogs are yet to lose the free kick count in seven rounds this year, as Adelaide prepares to ask the AFL about Saturday night’s alarming 12-28 discrepancy.
Adelaide coach Don Pyke was visibly frustrated, with umpire Troy Pannell awarding 17 frees to the Dogs and just one to Adelaide.
Crows captain Taylor Walker approached Pannell at three-quarter time, as the Dogs held on in a pulsating encounter.
But figures from the first seven rounds show it is a season-wide trend rather than a single-game aberration.
The Bulldogs have won 66 more free kicks than their opponents, an amazing 50 free kicks better than second ranked Essendon (+16).
In that time they have been awarded 57 free kicks for high tackles, a league-high 33 for pushes in the back and 23 for holding the man.
The Dogs have a fleet of diminutive aggressive midfielders who are consistently on the bottom of packs.
Luke Dahlhaus, Tom Liberatore, Mitch Wallis and Jackson Macrae epitomise the Dogs’ bull-at-a-gate mantra.
While some clubs have players who drop their knees or duck their heads to win free kicks, no Bulldog is seen as a deliberate milker of free kicks.
Geelong is a league-last in free kick differential (-21) but has a league-high 19 free kicks resulting in Cats goals.
Sydney has won 12 free kicks for deliberate out of bounds this year while Adelaide has received only two for the entire season.
Adelaide is ranked 14th in the league for free kick differential (-13), with the Crows to seek satisfaction from the AFL on Monday.
“You guys (in the media) know your footy. It was pretty frustrating for our fans and players. We will address that with the umpiring department during the week. We will seek some understanding,” Pyke said.
Adelaide goalkicker Josh Jenkins offered a contrarian view on the free-kick count.
“You can see there were Crows players with arms around Western Bulldogs players’ throats and things like that,” he said on the ABC.
“It’s hard to see without having seen it on replay but in my opinion, (my) first gut feel was 90 per cent of those free kicks are there.
“So we’ve got a job to do and for the most part, it’s because the Dogs got into the footy before us.”
The Dogs average 23.9 free kicks a game but have given up only 14.3 free kicks.
Coach Luke Beveridge said after the match the Dogs had recalibrated to ensure their rapid-fire ball movement returned after a quiet month.
“Sometimes you need a reminder,” Beveridge said after the 15-point win.
“We asked our players to branch out and explore their attacking game a little bit more. Although we conceded some goals, we did use the ball a hell of a lot better.
“We were bolder, we found teammates in open space and challenged their defence.
“We just had a level of calmness and a level of composure when they were really coming at us. It’s an outstanding win and a big night for our side.”
Originally published as Western Bulldogs have won free kick count in every game this season
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