(Transcript from World News Australia Radio. Click on audio tab to listen to this item.)
It's a bonza weekend for sporting fans, with the third round of football's A-League, the start of the Rugby World Cup, and Australia's fifth one-day cricket international against India to look forward to.
Round three of the A-League will kick off on Friday night in Melbourne, where Melbourne Victory will host the in-form Brisbane Roar.
The match will be an emotional one for Ange Postecoglou, leading the Melbourne Victory for the last time before moving on to coach the Socceroos next week.
The Victory players will be keen to give him a fitting farewell, but Postecoglou says he will not use his final match at the club as extra motivation.
"It's a big enough game as it is, and I don't think it needs any extra emotion or any other reason to be motivated. You know, Brisbane has started the season very well, and they look like they're going to be a contender this year. And we like to believe we're a contender this year. So it's going to be a good game. And both teams like to play good attacking football, so, in terms of a spectacle, I reckon it will be a good one. So there's plenty of motivation there without having to add anything extra to it."
The Victory kicked off the season with two draws, while high-flying Brisbane sits atop the competition table with maximum points.
Brisbane coach Mick Mulvey says he is surprised the new Socceroos boss has not already stood down from this position with the Victory.
"I'm quite amazed that he's actually coaching this game against us, because I thought he already has another job. And if you're holding one job, I found it difficult to understand that you can do two jobs at once. But that's the way it is. It's nothing of our business. We're just going down there to go and play. We're playing (the) Melbourne Victory."
Like every other Friday night match in the A-League, it will be broadcast live from 7pm on SBS Radio 3 and on free-to-air television on SBS Two.
The action in the A-League continues on Saturday with two more matches, including a highly anticipated derby clash between Sydney FC and the Western Sydney Wanderers.
The Wanderers are yet to record a win following draws in the opening two rounds.
Meanwhile, the Sky Blues will be desperate to bounce back from last week's humiliating 4-0 loss to Brisbane.
Sydney FC will be missing injured captain Alessandro Del Piero from the starting line up.
Coach Frank Farina says Nick Carle will replace the Italian star in the playmaker role.
"Nicky's a natural sort of playmaker, and we'll push him a little bit more forward, into that natural Number 10 for him. So, hopefully, a lot of the spark and start will come from him."
Elsewhere, Adelaide United defender Nigel Boogaard says the Reds will not adopt a more defensive style, despite conceding two late goals in last week's 2-2 draw with the Victory.
Adelaide will face defending champion Central Coast in Gosford in Saturday's other clash.
The Reds have been playing a positive, attacking brand of football under their new Spanish coach, Josep Gombau.
And Boogard says his side is not about to change its style.
"I don't think we'll ever try and close out a game, to be honest with you. I think the way we want to play football is to play football to the end, the way Brisbane has done in the past and the way Melbourne has done in the past. If you keep playing football and you're in a defensive mindset, you're not going to concede goals. As soon as you see teams that want to defend a game out, they usually cop goals."
Round 3 will conclude on Sunday with another double header.
In the New Zealand capital, Wellington will host the struggling Newcastle Jets, while the Melbourne Heart travel to Western Australia to face the Perth Glory.
In other sports, the Rugby League World Cup will kick off this weekend with Saturday night's blockbuster clash between England and Australia at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium.
Fiji and Ireland are the other two teams in Australia's group.
With only one debutant, Cronulla prop Andrew Fifita, selected in the side, Kangaroos coach Tim Sheens will rely on his experienced players in the opening clash.
"Experience won out in the end, I think. Although I've experimented with young (ones), Fifita will get a run off the bench, so that's one young player who's going to get a start... but I really wanted to go with the guys who had plenty of experience."
In cricket, Australia will take a 2-1 series lead into Saturday's fifth one-day international against India following a washed-out match in Game 4 on Wednesdaynight.
Despite the abandoned match, the International Cricket Council has confirmed Australia can take the Number 1 spot in one-day cricket if it wins all three remaining matches.
But captain George Bailey insists his side is not thinking about the world rankings.
"Yeah, I don't think anyone's thinking about the Number 1 ranking. As it's been said all along, it's an end product, end result. It's more about just each and every game."
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