inMelbourne

Carlton coach Brett Ratten knows it is asking a lot of his men to defeat a Sydney unit playing arguably more fluent football than the 2005 premiership team.

In an ominous message for other finalists, St Kilda insists it has more improvement to come after beating defending premiers Geelong.

Melbourne Victory coach Ernie Merrick says his A-League side is lacking a killer instinct and has urged his young strikers to be more selfish in front of goal.

Geelong coach Mark Thompson has warned his men not to bother turning up for a sudden death AFL semi-final unless they are prepared to be desperate from the start.

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

St Kilda moved to within one victory of its second straight grand final appearance with a gripping four-point upset of Geelong in the second qualifying final at a slippery MCG on Friday night.

Carlton’s mission at the start of the season boiled down to two challenges – scoring goals consistently without Brendan Fevola and then winning in the finals.

Former Socceroo John Aloisi is set to make his first appearance for the Melbourne Heart, but the club has decided against risking Michael Beauchamp in its A-League clash with North Queensland at AAMI Park on Saturday.

Essendon has drafted club stalwart Scott Lucas onto a panel to select a replacement for dumped head coach Matthew Knights.

Hometown star Robert Allenby has agreed to head the challenge to defending champion Tiger Woods at the Australian Masters.