IT WAS an unusual sight on Saturday when Greater Western Sydney forward Jeremy Cameron gave away a 50-metre penalty against St Kilda for throwing opponent Blake Acres' boot towards the boundary line. But it wasn't unusual for a 50-metre penalty to be given against the Giants.
In the past two home and away seasons, the Giants conceded the most 50-metre penalties of any club – a total of 55 across the 2016-17 period.
In contrast, Hawthorn gave away a relatively paltry 30 50m penalties over the same period.
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GWS coach Leon Cameron didn't catch the incident involving his star forward late in the third quarter of last weekend's draw, instead running down the stairs at Etihad Stadium to be ready for three-quarter time. But by now he has seen enough, and he stated after the clash that cutting back on giving away 50-metre penalties had been a focus for the Giants.
"You hate giving away '50s' at any day of the week so I think we've worked really hard this year as a footy club to address that. You don't want to give a free 50 [metre] hit to anyone," Cameron said post-game.
The Giants gave away 30 50-metre penalties in 2016 – the most of any club – and were ranked sixth for conceding them in 2017 with 25 paid against them. This season so far they are ranked seventh overall, having conceded five in 2018.
It might not be a surprise who has been the worst-behaving Giant in this period, with star forward Toby Greene giving away nine 50-metre penalties. Heath Shaw is next on the list with seven to his name, while important midfielder Tom Scully rounds out the Giants' top-three in this category with six to his name.
The other clubs in the top rung of conceding 50-metre penalties over the past two years include St Kilda (54), Fremantle and Melbourne (53 each) and Brisbane (52).
So far this season (in only four games), reigning premiers Richmond has given away nine 50-metre penalties, meaning it is on track to eclipse its totals of 20 in 2016 and 24 last season, while the Lions and West Coast have each conceded eight.
Statistics supplied by Champion Data
Club-by-club 50m penalty tally
2016
Greater Western Sydney 30
Fremantle 28
Geelong 27
North Melbourne 27
St Kilda 26
Brisbane 25
Melbourne 25
Gold Coast 24
Carlton 23
Port Adelaide 23
West Coast 21
Richmond 20
Collingwood 18
Essendon 17
Sydney 17
Western Bulldogs 16
Adelaide 15
Hawthorn 14
2017
Melbourne 28
St Kilda 28
Brisbane 27
Essendon 25
Fremantle 25
Greater Western Sydney 25
Port Adelaide 24
Richmond 23
Adelaide 22
North Melbourne 22
Carlton 20
Sydney 19
Geelong 18
Western Bulldogs 18
Collingwood 16
Hawthorn 16
Gold Coast 15
West Coast 12
2018
Richmond* 9
Brisbane 8
West Coast 8
Gold Coast 7
Collingwood* 6
Geelong 5
Greater Western Sydney 5
Melbourne* 5
Port Adelaide 5
Adelaide 4
Hawthorn 4
North Melbourne 4
Sydney 4
Essendon* 3
St Kilda 3
Western Bulldogs 3
Fremantle 2
Carlton 1
* Richmond, Collingwood, Melbourne and Essendon have only played four games this season compared to the rest of the clubs who have played five.
