EXPERIENCED umpire Troy Pannell has found time to laugh about being in the spotlight after he paid 17 free kicks to the Western Bulldogs and just one to Adelaide last Saturday night.

Keen to move on from the controversy, Pannell told K-Rock radio that laughter was the best way to cope with the scrutiny that inevitably comes an umpire's way when the free-kick count is lopsided.

"For me, I tend to laugh about it a little bit. It makes it a little bit easier," Pannell said after visiting Geelong umpires on Wednesday night.

"People blow up photos and put them on your desk. You really need to laugh it off."

Pannell said he reviews his game each week and always finds room for improvement.

"I review my own performance first and put that in, then they [the umpires' department] review it and send me through my feedback and we discuss things," Pannell said.

"Once I've watched the game back and done my own self-assessment, I generally know if there's one or two things I can take out of it that I could have done better."

AFL football operations manager Mark Evans said it was wrong to get too caught up in the free-kick count but the AFL agreed to review the game with Adelaide officials to ensure they were on the same page.

The umpiring department concluded just one or two free kicks might have been missed, a fairly standard number in a game of AFL. 

Pannell will umpire in Launceston this week when Hawthorn plays Fremantle in his 179th game.

He started umpiring in the Footscray and District league (now Western Region League) after playing junior football at Hoppers Crossing.

Pannell also works full time as a commercial manager at SeaRoad Holdings in Port Melbourne and believes it's not long before umpiring is a full-time occupation.

"It just appears the game, again, keeps going up a notch," Pannell said.

"Whether that leads to full-time umpiring or, at least, four field umpires on the ground, I’m not sure."