Fremantle breathed a huge sigh of relief after scans cleared ruckman Aaron Sandilands of serious knee damage, freeing him for Friday night's semi-final against Geelong.

Minor premiers Collingwood have doubled the Western Bulldogs score to easily win their qualifying final by 62 points on Saturday night at the MCG.

Barry Hall's temper is again threatening to disrupt a finals campaign after the Western Bulldogs forward landed a punch on Collingwood's Harry O'Brien.

Sydney Swans have given Paul Roos and Brett Kirk a second week of AFL finals action by downing Brett Ratten's brave Carlton by five points at ANZ Stadium on Sunday.

Carlton must withstand an expected early onslaught from Sydney in their elimination final at ANZ Stadium, according to key midfielder Marc Murphy.

The AFL has backed the contentious free kick paid against Geelong's Cameron Mooney in the dying minutes of their qualifying final with St Kilda.

Fremantle's band of talented youngsters will enter Friday night's semi-final showdown against Geelong at the MCG without fear after ending Hawthorn's season in convincing fashion.

Gary Ablett is in the mix to make it four AFLPA MVP awards on the trot but the Geelong superstar faces stiff competition from fellow nominees Luke Hodge and Dane Swan.

Vastly improved midfielder/small forward Richard Douglas has won the Malcolm Blight Medal as Adelaide Crows' best-and-fairest player in 2010.

The league-legend father of Sydney Swans poster boy Kieren Jack is predicting his son will do "a reverse Israel Folau" and switch from AFL to NRL before his career is over.

Fremantle breathed a huge sigh of relief after scans cleared ruckman Aaron Sandilands of serious knee damage, freeing him for Friday night's semi-final against Geelong.

Minor premiers Collingwood have doubled the Western Bulldogs score to easily win their qualifying final by 62 points on Saturday night at the MCG.

Barry Hall's temper is again threatening to disrupt a finals campaign after the Western Bulldogs forward landed a punch on Collingwood's Harry O'Brien.

Sydney Swans have given Paul Roos and Brett Kirk a second week of AFL finals action by downing Brett Ratten's brave Carlton by five points at ANZ Stadium on Sunday.

Carlton must withstand an expected early onslaught from Sydney in their elimination final at ANZ Stadium, according to key midfielder Marc Murphy.

The AFL has backed the contentious free kick paid against Geelong's Cameron Mooney in the dying minutes of their qualifying final with St Kilda.

Fremantle's band of talented youngsters will enter Friday night's semi-final showdown against Geelong at the MCG without fear after ending Hawthorn's season in convincing fashion.

Gary Ablett is in the mix to make it four AFLPA MVP awards on the trot but the Geelong superstar faces stiff competition from fellow nominees Luke Hodge and Dane Swan.

Vastly improved midfielder/small forward Richard Douglas has won the Malcolm Blight Medal as Adelaide Crows' best-and-fairest player in 2010.

The league-legend father of Sydney Swans poster boy Kieren Jack is predicting his son will do "a reverse Israel Folau" and switch from AFL to NRL before his career is over.

Pakistan batsman Yasir Hameed has denied reports in which he was said to have told an undercover journalist that his teammates were corrupt and had constantly fixed games.

Pakistan one-day international captain Shahid Afridi has apologised for the scandal engulfing his side's tour of England after players are questioned over an alleged betting scam.

Pakistan bowlers Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif, currently embroiled in a corruption scandal, have been dropped from the International Cricket Council's annual awards list.

Cricket's fight against corruption received the breakthrough it has been craving, with the discovery of cash used in the Pakistan betting sting in the belongings of captain Salman Butt.

India's batting great Sachin Tendulkar on Friday called for a "thorough" investigation into Pakistan's spot-fixing scandal, saying the guilty should be punished.

The International Cricket Council said it has charged Pakistan's Salman Butt, Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif with various offences under its anti-corruption code.

Graham Onions's hopes of featuring in England's defence of the Ashes in Australia ended when the seam bowler was ruled out for nine months with a back injury.

The decision to drop three players accused of spot-fixing from Pakistan's tour of England tour received a mixed reaction from Pakistani cricketing personalities.

Injured wicketkeeper Brad Haddin will miss Australia's two-Test series in India next month after being left out of a 15-man tour squad named on Thursday.

Three Pakistan cricketers at the centre of illegal betting allegations are innocent, Pakistan's ambassador to Britain said after meeting the players.

Spain's Dani Pedrosa, took pole position for the San Marino Grand Prix. The Honda rider edging out compatriot Jorge Lorenzo and Australia's Casey Stoner.

In-form Honda rider Dani Pedrosa clocked the fastest time in practice for the San Marino Grand Prix, with Australian Casey Stoner the eighth quickest on the Italian cicrcuit.

Mark Webber has drawn rare praise from Red Bull team boss Christian Horner, who is consistently accused of favouring the Australian's teammate Sebastian Vettel.

Troy Corser is confident of a good performance when the 2010 Superbike World Championship resumes at Nurburgring this weekend.

Formula One pacesetters McLaren claim Red Bull is infatuated with erratic young star Sebastian Vettel and will never back Mark Webber over the young German.

Dani Pedrosa seized the lead on the seventh lap and then fended off a fierce challenge to post his third MotoGP win of the season at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Lewis Hamilton pressed home his challenge for this year's drivers' world championship in emphatic style when he won a dramatic and incident-filled Belgian Grand Prix.

Mark Webber has claimed his fifth pole position of the Formula One season, the Australian Red Bull driver setting the fastest time in qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix.

Australian Ducati rider Casey Stoner was fastest in practice for the Indianapolis MotoGP, edging championship leader Jorge Lorenzo.

With just seven races remaining, Mark Webber has admitted that he will be driving with the world championship title in mind at this weekend's Belgian Grand Prix.

It wasn't the lap of honour Melbourne Storm had imagined when they kicked off the 2010 NRL season, but the fans at AAMI Park didn't seem to mind.

Fox Sports has the 2010 Dally M Awards, on Tuesday September 7, covered both online and on TV with live and exclusive coverage of rugby league's night of nights.

Canterbury-Bankstown finished their disappointing NRL season on a high note on Sunday, stunning Manly 30-24 in a thrilling encounter at Brookvale Oval.

North Queensland Cowboys forward Willie Mason will join Super League club Hull KR in 2011 on a two-year deal - subject to receiving visa and medical clearance.

Brisbane Broncos coach Ivan Henjak lost the biggest gamble of his NRL coaching career by sensationally overruling club captain Darren Lockyer's demand to play against Canberra.

Manly's finals fate will be in their own hands at Brookvale Oval on Sunday afternoon when they take on a Bulldogs side who will be keen to send Brett Kimmorley out a winner.

Parramatta chief executive Paul Osborne believes Quade Cooper will stay in rugby union as he has not heard from the Wallabies star for a number of weeks.

Frank Pritchard is doing his best to ensure a memorable farewell, scoring a hat-trick for Penrith to secure second spot on the NRL ladder with a 50-12 win over a deplorable Cronulla.

Sydney Roosters will face Wests Tigers in the opening round of the NRL finals after beating North Queensland Cowboys 18-8 in an unconvincing display at Dairy Farmers Stadium.

The Warriors missed out on a home final but they will take plenty of momentum into the NRL playoffs after a comfortable 26-12 victory over Parramatta.

Uncertainty over Newcastle's A-League future failed to fire up the Jets as they were held to a dour scoreless draw with Brisbane Roar at EnergyAustralia Stadium.

Sydney FC coach Vitezslav Lavicka is reluctant to rush back injured stars Alex Brosque and Terry McFlynn as the reigning champions try to recover from their slow start.

Brisbane Roar coach Ange Postecoglou is bracing his side for a Newcastle Jets onslaught despite signs the floundering side have imploded on and off the park.

Sydney FC's miserable start to the season hit a new low after the reigning A-League champions were outclassed 3-1 by high-flying Adelaide United at the SFS.

Melbourne Heart bounced back from their gut-wrenching late draw last week to finally post their first A-League win - a 1-0 triumph over North Queensland Fury at AAMI Park.

Central Coast put a frustrating week behind them with a convincing 2-0 A-League win over Melbourne Victory at Bluetongue Stadium on Friday night.

Following the transfer of Shane Smeltz to Turkish club Genclerbirligi SK, Gold Coast United have filled their striking void by signing Socceroo Bruce Djite.

Newcastle Jets players are preparing to battle Brisbane Roar in round five as the off-field controversy Jets owner Con Constantine and Football Federation Australia continues.

Fox Sports football commentator Paul Trimboli brings you his thoughts and predictions for round five of A-League action. Read on for his full preview.

All the ins and outs for all the teams in round five of the 2010-2011 Hyundai A-League.