Damn you CA have now spent an hour on AFL tables and have found these facts.
We have had a positive differential on 9 occasions at an average of 1.02. We have had a negative differential on 14 occasions at an average of 1.58.
Our best year in terms of differential was in 2001 when we finished 16th on the ladder at 3.3+ , we enjoyed our best sustained run of positive differentials between 1999 and 2003 during this period we finished 15, 12, 16, 13 and then 5th, Our differential went into negative territory for the following 4 years.
Our worst sustained run of differential was between 2013 & 2017 during this period we finished 3, 4, 1, 16 & 17.
In fact of our top 5 differentials in the negative two were in our first two years and the next three we finished 3rd 1st and 4th.
2003/10 &12 were years when we finished 5th, 3rd and 6th respectively with a positive differential of .86.
I have tried to represent the figures as clearly and balanced as possible.
There is good evidence to suggest that there is some form of bias at play. This is before comparing the figures that other teams enjoy specifically WCE given that they are the team that we would most closely resemble. I might add when I did this exercise a few years ago much more thoroughly than i have today the results re surprising and from memory Hawthorn were not one of the favourites.