AFL umpiring: Pies ranked No. 1 for free kicks in 2020
Richmond has coughed up a staggering 25 50m penalties this year. No other club has given away more than 17. Who are the repeat offenders?
Sam Landsberger dives into the key umpiring stats ahead of the semi-finals.Sam Landsberger
Herald Sun
8 October 2020Richmond’s lack of discipline has been laid bare, with the Tigers ranked second-last for free kick differential and last for giving away 50m penalties in 2020.
The Tigers have coughed up a staggering 25 50m penalties this year, with Jack Riewoldt, Dustin Martin and Shai Bolton all conceding three each.
That’s effectively giving away 1250m gained, which is further than Dustin Martin, Shai Bolton and Trent Cotchin advanced the ball on Friday night.
No other club has given away more than 17 this season, while fellow finalists Western Bulldogs (six), St Kilda (eight) and West Coast (nine) have conceded far less from the same number of games (18).
Bolton’s two unforgivable 50m penalties against Brisbane on Friday night gifted the Lions two goals in the 15-point loss.
“We gave away undisciplined free kicks in the back end of that second quarter and the reality is that was the difference in the game,” Hardwick said.
“We have got to get better in that part of the game.
“Every now and then it rears its ugly head and unfortunately it was on the big stage, so it’s really disappointing.”
The Tigers addressed their mild case of white-line fever after Martin and Josh Caddy gave away 50m penalties in the Round 11 loss to Port Adelaide.
“We’ve got a bit of a protocol at the moment, if you do give away a 50, young Parker’s nappy, Trent’s baby, will be getting changed by that person,” Hardwick said a the time.
Hardwick said at halftime the umpires were “trigger happy” and, after the loss, called for them to just let the players play.
Free kicks were down from 32.2 (home-and-away) to 27.6 (week one) to start the finals
But the Tigers are -64 for the season, which is 15 worse than the 16th-ranked Essendon.
Scott’s team isn’t far behind the sloppy Tigers, with Geelong -44 in free kicks, ranked 15th.
Collingwood (+76) and Port Adelaide (+45) are the umpires’ darlings this season, ranked No. 1 and 2 in the AFL.
The Magpies even managed to win the free kick count 16-12 against West Coast at Perth Stadium on Saturday night.
The other remaining finalists have just about broken even, with the Lions +3 and St Kilda -3.
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