The 2025 AFL Free Kick Ladder - Round 5

Free Kick Ladder! Where’s the Free Kick Ladder?!?!

We know it’s what you’ve been calling for and after five rounds of the 2025 AFL season, it’s time to unveil the rankings.

Now, we are acutely aware that free kicks don’t have to be even but we do find this cathartic content for the fans of clubs who believe they are hard done by.

See the free kick numbers in categories below and then the full Free Kick Ladder down the bottom.

Best differentials

1 - Gold Coast (+38)
2 - Hawthorn (+24)
3 - Brisbane (+18)
Eq.4 - Carlton, Collingwood & Geelong (+8)

Worst differentials

1 - North Melbourne (-24)
2 - Port Adelaide (-22)
3 - West Coast (-21)
4 - Adelaide (-17)
5 - GWS Giants (-15)

Most frees for

1 - Hawthorn (113)
2 - Brisbane (108)
3 - Carlton (107)
4 - Geelong (104)
5 - Sydney (102)

Least frees for

1 - Essendon (73)
2 - West Coast (80)
Eq.3 - Richmond & Port Adelaide (82)
5 - North Melbourne (84)

Most frees against

1 - North Melbourne (108)
2 - Adelaide (105)
3 - Port Adelaide (104)
Eq.4 - GWS Giants & West Coast (101)

Least frees against

1 - Gold Coast (58)
2 - Essendon (71)
3 - Richmond (84)
4 - St Kilda (87)
Eq.5 - Hawthorn & Melbourne (89)

The 2025 Free Kick Ladder - Round 5

The Gold Coast Suns with +38, despite having played one less game than 16 other clubs, sit miles clear on top with a favourable differential.

And to think Dimma-coached teams of the past have been rock bottom…

Hawthorn on +24 sits second with a nice advantage while the Brisbane Lions are in third with +18.

The above trio of teams are the only ones with positive differentials in double figures.

In equal fourth are three clubs - Carlton, Geelong and Collingwood - all on +8.

At the other end of the FK Ladder, North Melbourne finds itself at the foot with a -24 differential.

Second bottom is Port Adelaide on -22, then West Coast on -21, Adelaide on -17 and yet another team outside of Victoria in GWS on -15.

See the FK Ladder after Round 5 below:

NOTE: Gold Coast and Essendon have played four games, the rest of the clubs have played five.