The era of #freekickHawthorn may just be dead. 

The popular hashtag grew to fame in recent years as a tongue-in-cheek reference to the Hawks’ supposed favourable treatment from the umpires. 

As can often happen with social media, the concept took on all sorts of ridiculous proportions, being the subject of thousands of memes and sarcastic tweets.

 

 

The hashtag had its obvious flaws, with three sides Western Bulldogs, North Melbourne and Geelong all earning more free kicks than the Hawks last season. 

But nevertheless, it stuck.

Until now.

Hawthorn is the only team in the competition to not have been awarded 300 free kicks this season, ranking 18th in free kicks for.

They have received 16.2 whistles a game, the lowest average that any side has recorded over the past three seasons. 

This season is set to bring to an end a decade-long stint in the statistic, with Hawthorn having ranked in the top six for free kick getters every year since 2008.

Interestingly, the Hawks’ opponent this week, Richmond, are the number one side for giving away free kicks, conceding almost 22 per game.

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