Discipline is an often-overlooked factor in NRL games and their results, particularly since the advent of the six-again rule.
Penalty counts will always come up from the losing side if they are on the wrong side of them, but other than that, it's rare penalties are referenced as a determining factor in NRL matches.
But why do losing teams blame the penalty count, or the six-again figures? Sure, it has an impact on possession, territory and the overall momentum of the game, but the stats will show it's possible be both good and undisciplined, with two of the top six finishing outside the top eight when it comes to penalties conceded.
In saying that, those two sides proved themselves as excellent defenders, and the remainder of the top six were all in the top half.
However, you could almost say the NRL need to look into these numbers and work out how to yet again clean the game up. Simply put, there is no way that teams conceding penalties for fun should be winning the competition, but that's the exact position the competition finds itself in.
On this list, we look at the top six teams in the competition and their position relative to penalties conceded throughout the 2021 regular season, with a full list of every NRL club on the final page so you can compare for yourself.
Ladder position: 6th
Penalties conceded: 88
Penalties conceded rank: 3rd
The Parramatta Eels were one of the competition's more disciplined teams, which actually may come as a surprise.
Their defence, at times, was woeful, and the run of losses they went on against some of the competition's top teams during the second half of the year was incredibly poor.
Despite all that, they managed to stay disciplined and not give up penalty after penalty. They leaked points, but it certainly wasn't the fault of piggybacking opposition teams out of their own end.
Clint Gutherson at fullback is, for what it's worth, an excellent organiser of the defensive line, which helps relieve the pressure, while the Eels also liked to play the game at a lightning pace, which would have made it disadvantageous to be slowing things down purposefully in their own defensive structure.
Given the Eels finished the season as one of the teams with the most possession, sitting third in that state, their defensive discipline has to be applauded as they attempted to play the percentages at both ends of the park.
Ladder position: 5th
Penalties conceded: 122
Penalties conceded rank: 15th
It's not a surprise to see the tri-colours with one of the worst discipline records in the competition.
When it comes to penalties and errors, no one does it more consistently than the Roosters. They fumble and bumble their way through most seasons, only to pop out the other side in the top eight or higher.
This year, they were limited to fifth spot on the ladder at the end of the season, but it could have been very different without an injury crisis bordering on what must be the worst the NRL has ever seen.
Trent Robinson has never seemed overly bothered however by the mounting penalties and errors against his team, with a defensive structure that will back themselves to get the job done time and time again.
Their attack is good enough to pounce on whatever opportunities they do get, and the strategy can hardly be questioned when they finish to far up the table.
Ladder position: 4th
Penalties conceded: 99
Penalties conceded rank: = 6th
It's hard to know exactly what to make of the Sea Eagles.
They came into the new season not expected to do great things, but then churned out consistently outstanding performance after performance.
It may not have happened with Tom Trbojevic sitting on the sidelines, but the moment he returned, they looked like a new footy club who weren't going to be beaten by many.
Manly may have finished equal sixth for penalties, but they played a generally disciplined style. They won plenty of penalty counts during their strong times, and it was only when they fell badly behind that penalties seemed to mount, such as in their qualifying final in Week 1 of the finals against the Melbourne Storm.
It's not a knock on Manly, and most struggling teams will resort to the strategy, but they simply didn't have the defence to hold up their end of the bargain in those circumstances like the Roosters did.
Ladder position: 3rd
Penalties conceded: 87
Penalties conceded rank: 2nd
The Rabbitohs were one of the most disciplined teams this season, and it showed.
They struggled badly with their defence during the first half of the season, at one point letting in 50 points - twice.
While the stat suggesting no team will ever win a premiership after conceding 50 points still stands after their grand final loss, the turnaround in defence over the second half of the season would have pleased Wayne Bennett.
Bennett is a coach who has always built disciplined football teams who do the little things right and let the big picture follow.
And that is exactly where the Rabbitohs got to by the end of the season, led by Origin-calibre middle third stars in Cameron Murray and Damien Cook, while the improvement of Thomas Burgess, Tevita Tatola and Mark Nicholls was equally impressive.
Jason Demetriou takes over in 2022, and having learnt from Bennett, you could almost put money on it that South Sydney will play a similar brand and style to the one they presented in 2021, allowing their attack to sing from excellent defence.
Ladder position: 2nd
Penalties conceded: 99
Penalties conceded rank: = 6th
The Storm are traditionally not the most disciplined side. Widely acknowledged as the inventors of the wrestle, Craig Bellamy has never been one to actively go out seeking winning penalty count scores each week.
The importance of discipline and not giving away penalties isn't lost on the super coach and his team though.
They came up to equal sixth this season, conceding under 100 penalties for the season at an average of just over four per game.
It's little surprise then that Melbourne spent so much time with the football, and were able to pile on the points as if other teams weren't even there.
Melbourne are never going to win the discipline stakes, but they certainly are far from the worst, and teams like the Roosters could learn a thing or two.
Ladder position: 1st
Penalties conceded: 106
Penalties conceded rank: = 9th
This is maybe the surprising one. Penrith had the competition's best defensive record by a considerable distance.
It was a distance that shrunk the longer the season went on, but they were deserving premiers and at one point halfway through the season were conceding single figure totals on average.
They are numbers the likes of which we have rarely seen before, and yet, with the rules this season, we saw on the whole more points than ever before.
Penrith were the exception to the rule, and while they sit outside the top eight when it comes to penalties conceded, it didn't seem to bother them in the slightest.
Personnel in the middle third plays a role in that, with James Fisher-Harris, Moses Leota and defensive rocks Apisai Koroisau and Isaah Yeo leading the way.
| Team | Ladder position | Penalties conceded | Penalties rank |
| Canterbury Bulldogs | 16 | 130 | 16 |
| Sydney Roosters | 5 | 122 | 15 |
| North Queensland Cowboys | 15 | 115 | 14 |
| Canberra Raiders | 10 | 114 | 13 |
| Gold Coast Titans | 8 | 110 | 11 |
| Wests Tigers | 13 | 110 | 11 |
| Penrith Panthers | 2 | 106 | 9 |
| New Zealand Warriors | 12 | 106 | 9 |
| Manly Sea Eagles | 4 | 99 | 6 |
| Melbourne Storm | 1 | 99 | 6 |
| Brisbane Broncos | 14 | 99 | 6 |
| Cronulla Sharks | 9 | 96 | 5 |
| St George Illawarra Dragons | 11 | 91 | 4 |
| Parramatta Eels | 6 | 88 | 3 |
| South Sydney Rabbitohs | 3 | 87 | 2 |
| Newcastle Knights | 7 | 84 | 1 |