I was at the Sydney FC-Melbourne Victory match on Saturday night and even before a whistle was blown the fans were at it.

A brawl erupted near the Sydney crowd before kick-off. More than 15 people were escorted from the ground and could face one-year bans from soccer fixtures in Australia.

Be passionate, sure, but it's these acts of hooliganism that are ruining the spectacle for everybody else.

For Sydney United, it is back to the drawing board in preparation for 2009.

Their Premier League title aspirations were shattered on Friday night, going down to Manly United in the elimination final at Cromer Park.

The scores were locked up at 1-1 in the final stages of the match but an 85thminute goal to Manly's Craig Midgley broke the heart of the United faithful.

Despite missing several early chances to take the lead, the Reds first real highlight came in the form a penalty goal in the 61stminute to Luka Glavas, equalising at 1-1.

The curtain fell on the Red's 2008 season shortly before full-time when Midgley sealed the victory with his second goal of the match.

Abbotsbury siblings Carissa and Justin Holland haven't grown up playing your usual sports, but that doesn't mean they don't have a passion to represent the nation.

Justin, 15, is concentrating on the Commonwealth Youth Games in October, when he will travel to Pune, India to represent Australia in freestyle wrestling.

Carissa may be a year too young to qualify for the Youth Games but the 14-year-old has her eyes on the 2010 Pune Commonwealth Games and the 2012 London Olympics.

The Cabramatta Two Blues have overcome the Chester Hill Rhinos to claim a 24-10 win in the Jim Beam Cup last weekend. A win against the West Australia Reds this weekend will all but cement a semi-final berth with two matches remaining in the regular season.