First off I don't condone violence but you can't deny a fight on the sports field always gets the crowd onto their feet.

Fights are something that are frowned apon in an amateur game but if players are getting paid lots of cash to play sport, then we don't mind them getting the odd smack around the ears.

From scuffles to scraps, brawls to beat-downs here are the best sporting fights of all time.

I'm of course excluding boxing but other sports you won't see on this list include tennis, netball and golf (though some would argue fights could actually make them watchable).

10 - Bowyer v Dyer
Not a great fight but it kicks off the list because Lee Bowyer and Kieron Dyer both played for the same team. The two Newcastle teammates tried to settle an argument on the field late into a 3-0 loss to Aston Villa in 2005. Funnily enough it was Villa's Gareth Barry that broke up the fight - why not just let your opponents beat each other up? The referee sent both players off and they missed the side's FA Cup semifinal against Manchester Utd, which they lost 4-1. Dyer was handed a three game ban while Bowyer was forced to miss four games, as well as a $200,000 pound fine, because he started the fight.

9 - Malice at the Palace
One of the ugliest moments in the history of the NBA. In 2004 the Indiana Pacers were visiting the Detroit Pistons and led late in the game when a hard foul set up a melee which saw players throwing punches at fans. It all started when Detroit's Ben Wallace took exception to a foul by Pacers' guard Ron Artest. Both teams gathered and pushed and shoved each other around with no actual punches thrown. As things started to quiet down, Artest lay on the scorers' table where a fan threw a drink at him. Artest charged into the stands followed by teammates Stephen Jackson and Jermaine O'Neal, as haymakers were directed at unsuspecting Pistons fans. Artest was suspended for the rest of the season (86 games), while Jackson (30 games) and O'Neal (15 games) also missed games.

8 - Ryan v Ventura
Tension was high in a baseball game between the Chicago White Sox and Texas Rangers in 1993 after White Sox pitcher Alex Fernandez hit Texas' Juan Gonzalez with a pitch. Later in the game 46-year-old Rangers pitcher Nolan Ryan exacted revenge by hitting Chicago's Robin Ventura in the elbow. Ventura started to walk towards first base before rushing Ryan - 20 years his senior. Sounds like a mismatch on paper but Ryan put Ventura in a headlock and dealt to him. The veteran pitcher later told the press that he punched Ventura six times in the face before another player got to them. The dugouts emptied as both teams joined the fight with even White Sox manager Gene Lamont trying to have a go at Ryan - with little luck. A proud moment for all men in their mid-late 40s.

7 - Senators v Flyers
It's the old saying - 'I went to a fight and a hockey game broke out'. This 2004 fight between the Ottawa Senators is one of the great ice hockey fights with even the goalies getting involved. It all started with Rob Ray of the Senators and Donald Brashear of the Flyers and quickly turned into chaos. Ray and Brashear obviously didn't like each other having previously fought three times in 1996. You've got to love the commentary which quickly became Howard Cosell-like, calling every punch as they were landed. Hockeyfights.com (yes that's a real site) counts 11 different fights, all in the final two minutes of the game.

6 - NSW v Queensland - 1991
I remember watching this fight as a kid back in 1991 and thought it was epic, though looking back on the footage it doesn't completely live up to the memory. Still a great State of Origin moment. The fight started when Blues second rower Mark Geyer dropped an elbow on Steve Walters as the halftime hooter sounded. Queensland's Andrew Gee started to lock horns with Geyer and both teams were suddenly at it. As the teams settled down and the referee chatted to both sides, Wallie Lewis and Geyer almost started it up again on the way to the sheds. Then after halftime a blatant Geyer head-high/punch got the teams going again. As Phil Gould would say 'That's State of Origin'. All the greats were involved - King Wally, Mal Meninga, Steve Roach, Ricky Stuart, Alfie Langer, Benny Elias, Marty Bella, Des Hasler and the brilliant commentary of Ray Warren.

5 - NSW v Queensland - 1995
Four years later and the Origin rivals were at it again. Only two minutes into game two of the 1995 series an all-in brawl started during a scrum as Paul Harrogan could be heard yelling abuse at the Queenslanders. Suddenly players were sprawled around the field duking it out. Ray Warren quips - 'Well they've come from everywhere like it was a rehearsal'. Talk about mate-against-mate as Manly teammates John Hopoate and Danny Moore went toe-to-toe and even the little guys Adrian Lam and Andrew Johns got a few punches in. I can't remember who won the series let alone the match but I'll never forget that fight.

4 - NSW v Queensland - 1984
The final Origin biff on the list is from just the fourth year of the competition which set up the previous two entries. Just seconds into Game 2, with fireworks still going off around the stadium, a brawl started up as Queensland took their opening set of six. It was mayhem with bodies, punches and even a jersey thrown everywhere. It was not hard to spot the fiery red hair of Fatty Vautin and also Chris Close who continued to fight without a top on. The passion shown by both teams set up the roots of the great competition that continues to be the benchmark for rugby league.

3 - Punch-up in Piestany
Ok these two teams weren't pros but fighting is a part of ice hockey so I'll let it slide - also it has a cool nickname. At the 1987 World Junior Championships Canada were taking on Russia in the Czechoslovakian town Piestany. It was the final game of the tournament and Canada were leading 4-2 midway through the game, needing a big win to take home the gold. Though they would never get the medal as a massive brawl broke out, involving every player in both squads as the benches emptied onto the ice. The referees couldn't control the brawl, with 12 different fights happening at once, so they turned the lights off, leaving the players to fight in the dark. After 20 minutes the fight stopped and the game was suspended with both nations disqualified from the tournament.

2 - Lions v Springboks
The British and Irish Lions tour of South Africa in 1974 was as violent as a rugby tour gets. With South African referees in charge of every game it was pretty much a free-for-all with punches, kicks and the odd head-butt a usual part of play. The Lions divised a plan that if things got out of hand someone would shout '99' and you had to hit the closest Springbok player - thinking the ref couldn't send off the whole team. The best example of this came in the third test at Port Elizabeth when Lions fullback JPR Williams ran half the pitch to throw a punch at South African lock Moaner van Heerden. The Lions would win the four test series 3-0, with the final match drawn. Why 99? It was short for 999 - the emergency phone number in the United Kingdom.

1 - Tamati v Dowling
This battle personifies the Trans-Tasman rivalry. The Anzac attitude of never giving up and if a guy hits you - you hit him back. The fight between Kevin Tamati and Greg Dowling broke out after both props were sin-binned during a 1985 Test at Brisbane's Lang Park (now Suncorp Stadium). The initial fight that led to the sin-binning wasn't spectacular but when the two exited the field a few words were said and quickly Dowling and Tamati were at it. Right next to the crowd at the players' tunnel - away from officials and teammates. The Kiwis and Kangaroos weren't too sure to play on or stop the fight deciding to just stand on the field and watch. Before last year's Rugby League World Cup Tamati broke the silence about the fight saying Dowling hurled racial abuse at him before hurling his fists.