It's excellent fodder for talkback radio, panel shows, and social media comment sections.
Free kick chatter dominates water cooler conversations in offices everywhere in a sports-mad nation such as this one.
But what do the numbers say? Who is getting favourable treatment, and who might look to tighten up their tackling technique?
(Data retrieved from AFL Tables)
Total
Drum roll, please.
The Saints have the best total free kick percentage in the league, sitting an eyelash above 121 per cent. They have won the free kick count in nine of their 12 fixtures at the time of writing. Geelong sit second for total percentage, a shade over 116 per cent.
Six of the bottom nine rungs of the free kick percentage ladder are occupied by interstate teams, lending some credibility to the parochial 'Vic bias' crowd.
The Giants have the unwanted mantle of 'hardest done by', and are the only club with a percentage below 80 per cent. They have conceded more than 50 more free kicks than they have been awarded, they have won the free kick count just twice in 11 fixtures, and are one of just three clubs to have been awarded fewer than 200 free kicks at the time of writing.
Total Free Kick Percentage Ladder
- St Kilda
- Geelong
- Sydney
- Richmond
- Melbourne
- Collingwood
- Essendon
- Western Bulldogs
- Brisbane Lions
- Hawthorn
- North Melbourne
- Adelaide
- West Coast
- Port Adelaide
- Carlton
- Gold Coast
- Fremantle
- Greater Western Sydney
