North Melbourne players bring back the biff, early

North Melbourne skipper Brent Harvey and teammate Daniel Pratt had to be separated by teammates at Arden Street yesterday following a tackle Harvey later called ''a cheap shot'' from his teammate. The pair came to blows during the two-hour training session, which included a practice match that led to several flare-ups, including another between Pratt and small forward Matt Campbell. ''These big hulking backmen … they resort to taking cheap shots in order to get a touch - 'Pratty' has been doing it for years,'' Harvey said on the club's website. Pratt refused to back down, joking afterwards that Harvey ''clearly couldn't handle being run down from behind'' and didn't like being caught any time. ''Seriously though, I tackled 'Boomer' and the ball went to ground and I just tried to climb over him to get to the ball … there may have been contact with his head on the way through,'' Pratt said. ''I thought it was pretty funny … Boomer didn't.'' Campbell, too, played down his tangle with Pratt, saying all three players had shaken hands and made up.

AUSSIE TO STAR

The doyen of formula one team owners, Frank Williams, predicts that Australia's Daniel Ricciardo will be the sport's next star. But Williams won't be able to get Ricciardo into the cockpit of one of his cars. The 21-year-old West Australian is locked into the Red Bull camp and will start this year driving for the smaller of their two teams, Scuderia Toro Rosso, in the Friday practice sessions at each grand prix. Mark Webber remains with top team Red Bull Racing as teammate to reigning world champion, German Sebastian Vettel. But speculation is strong in F1 circles that Ricciardo could make his GP debut this year, replacing either of Toro Rosso's race drivers, Swiss Sebastien Buemi or Spaniard Jaime Alguersuari, if they don't step up.
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HARRY HOPEFUL

David Beckham trained with Tottenham for the first time on Tuesday as Spurs boss Harry Redknapp expressed his hopes that a loan deal for the midfielder could yet be agreed. The former England captain smiled and joked with Spurs players as he took part in a light session at the club's training ground in Essex. Redknapp said Spurs were still hopeful that the Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder could be signed on a short-term deal before returning to the US for the start of the Major League Soccer season in March. ''There is nothing at the moment, but we will see what happens, who knows?'' Redknapp told Sky Sports News.

CUP NIGHTMARE

The head of England's Football Association warned on Tuesday that moving the 2022 World Cup in Qatar to the start of the year would be a logistical nightmare. Since the contentious vote in December, FIFA president Sepp Blatter has said he expects the event to be staged in early 2022 due to concerns about the blistering summer heat in the desert nation. ''The notion of playing in Qatar just leaves me in a cold sweat at the moment,'' said FA general secretary Alex Horne. ''Preparing the teams for that environment, we don't know enough about what they are promising logistically in terms of training grounds etc. It doesn't feel like a great experience for the fans, the whole thing is odd.''

MORE IMAGES

The teenager who published lewd photographs of two St Kilda footballers has posted more images, including one of her heavily pregnant and dressed in St Kilda shorts. The 17-year-old claimed she fell pregnant to a St Kilda player last year while she was a schoolgirl. She said her twins were stillborn. Last night she posted two images on Twitter, including one of her posing in St Kilda shorts displaying her bare and clearly pregnant midriff. Her hand is over the mouth and an expression of mock surprise on her face. ''Just found my old pregnancy pics! :-( This pic is a bit controversial, so don't judge!,'' the caption read. Another shows her clutching her stomach while dressed in lingerie, with the words: ''Beautiful Memories. Nate-Samuel! xx'' The teenager claims to have had consensual sex with at least one St Kilda player after meeting in a Sydney nightclub. She was interviewed by police and the AFL at the time but the two players were cleared of inappropriate behaviour. The alleged father of her children was not one of the players featured in scandalous photographs the teenager posted on her Facebook page last month.

TWO OF THE BEST

So You Think is acclimatising to his new home at Aidan O'Brien's Ballydoyle yard in Ireland with two world titles to his name. Bart Cummings's former charge has been named champion middle distance performer and champion stayer. So You Think was rated 126 on the World Thoroughbred Rankings to take both titles, while the unbeaten Black Caviar was given a mark of 123 and the world champion sprinter title.

Megan Levy, Chris Roots, Agencies