MORE: AFL ROUND 5 PHOTOS
Dockers undisciplined
Fremantle will be missing a host of players due to suspension when they host North Melbourne at Patersons Stadium on Friday night.
Forward Hayden Ballantyne is in the bad books of coach Ross Lyon after being suspended for the fourth time in two years.
Ballantyne will miss Friday night's Len Hall game against North Melbourne at Patersons Stadium after pleading guilty to kneeing and striking Sydney's Rhyce Shaw in Saturday's 17-point loss at the SCG.
Meanwhile fringe player Josh Simpson's immediate playing future hangs in the air after the midfielder's refusal to make the trip to Sydney as the club's travelling emergency last week.
Simpson, the No.17 pick from the 2012 national draft, is dealing with some sensitive family issues in his remote hometown of Yalgoo, and the Dockers are unlikely to end his AFL dream just yet.
His ban came just a week after high-profile recruit Colin Sylvia copped a two-week suspension for an off-the-ball hit in the WAFL.
Dempsey back from exile
A remorseful Courtenay Dempsey has rejoined Essendon's senior playing group.
Dempsey was dropped from Mark Thompson's side indefinitely at the start of April, with the two-time premiership coach saying he'd failed to meet the club's professional standards.
The 26-year-old, still recovering from a hamstring injury, was welcomed back to the fold this week, and addressed his teammates and Thompson on Tuesday.
"He just spoke to the playing group about how different his outlook on the game is now, and how much he appreciates it," Thompson said.
"He got a real dose of the real world in a short four-week period.
"I think he appreciates footy (now) and, hopefully, there's good results to follow."
Williams sentenced
Collingwood defender Marley Williams has been given a 12-month suspended sentence in a Perth court for a one-punch attack in 2012.
The 20-year-old had been on bail since a jury convicted him of grievous bodily harm in February.
Williams had argued self-defence after admitting to punching Matthew Robertson, then 29, outside a nightclub in his home town of Albany in December 2012.
Tribunal to sit
Adelaide's Richard Douglas has been sent straight to the AFL Tribunal for his heavy bump on Greater Western Sydney co-captain Callan Ward.
The match review panel referred the rough conduct charge directly to the tribunal, with the hearing to take place on Tuesday night.
St Kilda's Adam Schneider missed their flight to Wellington for their Anzac Day clash with Brisbane after accepting a one-match ban for striking Essendon's Mark Baguley.
North Melbourne defender Scott Thompson will miss the Fremantle clash on Friday night after taking a one-match sanction - also for striking.
Fremantle's Hayden Ballantyne will also miss the clash after accepting two reprimands and 187.5 demerit points across both charges for a one-game ban.
West Coast's Darren Glass (rough conduct) and GWS' Toby Greene (striking) will also be sidelined for a week through suspension.
Easter Monday reaction
Geelong coach Chris Scott played down the significance of his side's victory over Hawthorn, but counterpart Alastair Clarkson was quick to talk up the Cats. READ MORE
Star in the making
Adelaide's Matt Crouch has won the Round 5 AFL Rising Star nomination.
The midfielder, who turned 19 on Monday, was one of the Crows' best in the 65-point win over GWS on Sunday.
It was Crouch’s third AFL match after his debut in Round 3 and his tally of 28 possessions could have been more had he not been subbed out of the game at three-quarter time.
Opinion
Sportal's Dejan Kalinic asks whether footy has become unwatchable. READ MORE
I enjoy the coach v coach battles, but teams avging just 86.37 points this #AFL season. Avg margin also still high. http://t.co/vpGLtHEsHB
— Dejan Kalinic (@DejanKalinic) April 21, 2014