ROAR REVIEW – Week Eight Wrap
With the league as a whole under attack once again from some anti-football reporting, it’s been a relatively quiet week here in the River City as the Roar prepare for a four game road trip.
The one piece of news which did emerge this week was the report that veteran defender Jade North is set for a contract extension in the coming weeks after a strong start to the season.
North is amongst a rather extensive group of Brisbane players out of contract at seasons end, a list that includes the likes of Devante Clut, Brandon Borrello, Jamie Young and Henrique.
Another player out of contract at seasons’ end is Daniel Bowles, whose taken advantage of injuries at the back to seemingly cement himself as part of the back four on a regular basis.
His partner at the back Jade was quoted on the SBS The World Game this week saying that “Daniel has been a rock at the back and he has come on in leaps and bounds over the last year”.
With James Donachie fit once again however, and Luke DeVere edging closer to fitness he’ll need to continue that long term form if he’s to retain his spot in the side.
This weekends clash against Jets is the first of four road games, with trips to Gosford, Parramatta and a regional game in Cairns against Wellington, a situation caused by the upcoming concerts at Suncorp Stadium.
Saturday’s clash with the Jets promises to be an interesting one, with Brisbane sitting top of the table while the Jets have surprised everyone this season and sit 5th as the season reaches the two month benchmark.
Newcastle’s resurgence this season has been led by wide man and former Socceroo David Carney whose got 3 goals in 7 games this season cutting in from the wide areas while Serbian striker Milos Trifunovic has been a handful for defences with four goals in seven games upfront.
The Jets remain a side full of young talent lead this year by former Brisbane defender Lachlan Jackson, who plays against his former team for the first team since scoring against the Jets in Round 27 of last season.
From the Roar’s perspective, it’s likely they’ll name a similar team to the one which drew 1-1 with Melbourne City last Friday, with Javier Hervas still unlikely to be considered fit enough to star the game. A similar case could be made for Henrique whose scored two in two off the bench since returning from a serious knee injury. In the National Youth League, the Young Roar head to Adelaide seeking to keep their unbeaten start to the season after wins against Perth and Melbourne Victory which see’s them sit top of Conference A after three rounds.
After coming off the bye week, the team coached by Josh McCloughan is aiming to continue their development, while this week they could be boosted by the presence of first teamers Devante Clut and Shannon Brady who are unlikely to play in the first team this week.
Rounding out the weekend the Brisbane W-League side are seeking to end a three game losing streak at home to Newcastle on Sunday afternoon at A.J Kelly Park in Redcliffe on Brisbane’s north side.
Belinda Wilson’s side were competitive for an hour against runaway league leaders Melbourne City, before a red card for Ruth Blackburn on the hour mark sparked a second half rampage from the home side. A brace for both Kim Little and former Brisbane striker Larissa Crummer condemned the Roar to 7th on the W-League table, although with the congestion on the table they’re just one game out of second if results go their way.
Finally this week, congratulations to Angela Beard who has been named W-League young players of the month of November this week. Beard, whose played in the left back role this season joins Larissa Crummer in the running for the award which will presented at the annual A-League annual awards night in May.