With the new lasso rule taking centre stage, all fans, no matter the state, city or colours have strong thoughts on the state of umpiring.
In particular, on which sides get the rough end of the stick and which teams are the teacher's pet?
Geelong has had the rub of the green when it comes to umpiring decisions in 2026. The Cats sit atop of the free kick differential ladder (+44) four rounds into the season.
St Kilda (+23) and Western Bulldogs (+18) make up the rest of the podium.
Greater Western Sydney hasn't only struggled to keep its players fit, but to keep them disciplined on the ground as well with the Giants (-23) coming last in the standings.
Gold Coast (-18) and West Coast - with the help of Harley Reid - (-14) sit 17th and 16th respectively on the standings.
The teams with the most free kicks against or the "bad boys" of the league are cellar-dwellers North Melbourne and West Coast (both on 93 free kicks against).
While the "angels" in the umpires' eyes have again been Geelong (102 free kicks for).
Essendon, Hawthorn, North Melbourne, Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney, Carlton, Fremantle and Collingwood all sit through the middle of the table between +8 to -8 on the free kick differential.
Below is the table analysing the differences in free kicks by club across the first four rounds:
- Geelong (+44)
- St Kilda (+23)
- Western Bulldogs (+18)
- Richmond (+10)
- Essendon (+8)
- Hawthorn (+3)
- North Melbourne (+2)
- Melbourne (+1)
- Brisbane (-3)
- Sydney (-6)
- Carlton (-6)
- Fremantle (-8)
- Collingwood (-8)
- Adelaide (-11)
- Port Adelaide (-12)
- West Coast (-14)
- Gold Coast (-18)
- Greater Western Sydney (-23)
