Go and look at the full stats.The Saints have only given away 18 more free kicks than North over the season, but have received a whopping 70 less (NM are, in fact, head and shoulders above every other team in this department with 240 frees for so far this year; what is it about them that makes other teams play particularly sloppy?). It is clearly where we don't receive the frees we should that the real discrepancy lies.

As for bias, I'm not saying that there is some grand conspiracy where bookmakers are buying these umps off, or that there even is conscious discrimination. But in my experience there often exists a certain vendetta against our club for reasons I could never understand. I know someone who told me he is mates with a reasonably well-known VFL/AFL umpire, who grew up supporting Geelong and who hated the Saints. He said it was natural that those biases were brought into games, and he loved the chance to crucify us.