Who Gets The Whistle: St Kilda Top The Ledger, GWS At The Foot
The 2026 free-kick ledger ranks all 18 clubs on net frees a game. It describes how sides play — not who the umpires like.
Here is the shape of it. St Kilda finish the season top of the pile at a net plus-two-and-a-half frees a game. GWS sit at the other end, a net minus-four a game. From the best-off club to the worst-off, the gap runs about six-and-a-half frees a game.
The field splits close to down the middle. Nine of the eighteen clubs come out ahead across the season; the other nine come out behind. So being on the wrong side of the ledger is nothing exotic — half the competition is there.
The second graphic cuts it by venue, and West Coast stand out. Their free-kick edge is about four-and-a-half a game bigger at home than away. Most sides win a few more frees at home than on the road. That is ordinary football, not a mystery.
St Kilda are the most rewarded at the whistle, a net plus-two-point-six a game, with Geelong just behind at plus-two-point-three and Richmond at plus-one-point-two. The plain-football read on a side that wins frees: they tackle hard and they live in the contest, and pressure at the ball earns the whistle.
GWS are the most penalised, a net minus-four-point-one a game — the widest deficit in the competition. Carlton at minus-nought-point-seven and Gold Coast at minus-two-point-four are the others down that end. An aggressive, high-possession, corridor side tends to concede more frees; that is the trade a certain style makes.
Neither end is a judgment on anyone. It is a description of how these clubs choose to play.
This ledger is not a claim that umpires favour St Kilda or punish GWS. It counts frees won and frees given away. It does not read minds and it does not find motives.
The innocent drivers are everywhere. A contest-heavy, disciplined side wins frees because it hunts the ball and tackles cleanly. A team that plays fast and takes risks through the middle concedes more, because that style invites them. The opposition matters, and so does the venue — West Coast's home edge of about four-and-a-half a game is the sort of thing most clubs show to some degree.
A free-kick count describes a style. It is not evidence of a vendetta, and no club here has been robbed.
So there it is. St Kilda on top, GWS at the foot, half the league ahead and half behind, and West Coast the biggest home-and-away swing of the lot.
What you make of it is yours. Just remember the numbers describe a style of play, not a scandal.
That is the ledger — who is up at the whistle and who is down. The numbers describe a style of play, not a scandal. What you make of it is yours to weigh.