Some have suggested the loss – and the free kick count discrepancy – were self-inflicted, via the Dogs requesting the celebration game be at the MCG, in front of extra Pies fans, rather than at their home ground of Marvel Stadium.

So were the Bulldogs robbed? And is the so-called ‘noise of affirmation’, coined by Alan Richardson to describe the phenomenon of home-ground teams (in his case, West Coast in Perth) influencing the umpires into a lopsided free kick count, an endemic problem that decides games?

If the 33-14 count felt unusual, you’d be right. In all of the 2024 season, no AFL game had a differential as large as that.

The only one that got close was the 18 extra free kicks that Geelong received against West Coast in the final round. Aside from the peculiarities that often haunt season closers, this was a game that Geelong led by 100 points at half time.

In games that are one-sided, free kick counts become irrelevant and/or are dictated by one team’s dominance.

On the numbers, and in a game that was evenly matched, the Dogs’ misfortune was a true outlier in the last 12 months. It may not have been ‘absolute murder’ like one famous game of days gone by, but the ‘Scray have a legitimate case to be angry.

The strength of the Collingwood crowd in number and noise, is how a logical mind could apportion blame for this anomaly.

And it may well be right.

Yet over the last 12 months of footy, it’s way too simplistic to say the noise of affirmation affects AFL matches markedly.

26 games have seen a free kick differential of ten or more. Of those games, surprisingly, there was no advantage to the nominated home team – the count was split 13-13 for home and away teams. Even then, only ten of the 13 were true situations where the crowd numbers would favour the ‘home’ team.

Of those ten, only seven actually became wins for the favoured home team, while two were blowouts wins for Gold Coast in front of Darwin crowds that are hardly relevant.

All up, aside from the Bulldogs’ loss on Friday night, there have only been three games in the last year where any argument could be mounted that ‘home cooking’ influenced a result.

Of course, though, Collingwood are unique. Last season they stole a game against North Melbourne as the ‘away’ team when they had ten more free kicks and likely significantly more fans attending, punctuated by the infamous non-50 metre penalty to Roo Bailey Scott.

But Collingwood don’t have it all their own way.

Last season they copped a three-point loss to the Swans on the back of an 11 free kick ‘loss’ at the SCG – that included a dubious non-50m penalty against Tom McCartin for overstepping the mark on the edge of the 50m arc in the dying minutes.

Craig McRae even said of that decision after the game that ‘if it was at the MCG, it would have been paid’.

Earlier in the season, in a game that has parallels to the Bulldogs clash, St Kilda had an irregular MCG home game against the Magpies and rode a 30-16 free kick count to a win, despite being outnumbered by the Collingwood noise.

Few people apportioned the win to the front office on that occasion.

For Western Bulldogs fans and Magpie-haters, Collingwood may have profited on Friday.

It’s quite reasonable to blame the free kick count as the deciding factor – yet the size of the Collingwood army does not have this effect on umpires regularly, nor do other partisan crowds across the league.

The team that has the most favourable record in lopsided free kick matches in 2024 and the early part of 2025? Gold Coast- four times the Suns have won the free kick count by ten or more (three at home and one away) and took four wins.

Even the saltiest fans would never suggest the cacophony of the pop-gun army of Suns supporters creates a noise of affirmation.