On the Isuzu UTE A-League Men’s ladder, the Roar are only one point behind the league-leading Wanderers going into the weekend.
With victories over Perth Glory and Sydney FC, Ross Aloisi’s team has a perfect record at Suncorp thus far this season.
Neville praised the influence of the team’s new head coach. Neville has started alongside Tom Aldred in the center of the Roar defense in each of the team’s five league games this season.
Neville stated, “It’s been a really exciting start. I think winning the two games at home was crucial. We picked up a win and a draw away, and although we played below par in Wellington, it’s been a really good start overall.”
However, Ross (Aloisi) always emphasizes that the process is what matters and the results follow naturally, so we’ll keep putting in a lot of effort and staying focused as we go forward, week by week.
“You know Ross has completely changed the dynamic of the playing group and the club, and the way we play now is a lot more exciting. Last year was a completely different vibe.
“As a defender, I’m really enjoying this aggressive style of play. We’re on the front foot, and as you mentioned, three or four players have scored a lot of goals already. That’s because of the way we play and the preseason tactics Ross put in place. You know it’s a journey, so we’re going to get even better as the season goes on.”
The defender went on to say that his team was eager to improve on their winning home record and restore Suncorp Stadium to its former glory.
“I used to play against Brisbane Roar during the Ange Postecoglou era, and coming up here was disgusting,” Neville remarked.
“You know, it was an extremely difficult place to be, and if you were able to get any kind of outcome, it was positive.
“We want to really establish it as a fortress and win as many games as we can by kind of replicating that through our own procedures and the way we play under Ross.
“We enjoy performing in front of our supporters, and the larger the crowd, the more successful we are.”
This season, Roar has already faced the Wanderers once, winning 4-2 at Perry Park in September after exciting play highlighted by goals from Carlo Armiento, Thomas Waddingham, Joe Caletti, and Henry Hore in the Australia Cup Quarterfinal.
All the best bits from our thrilling 4-2 #AustraliaCup Quarter Final win in our last clash with the Wanderers ⚡️
Ready to do it all again at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night. #BRIvWSW Tickets 🎟 https://t.co/DbjCeUGGuu pic.twitter.com/fqX748A91S
— Brisbane Roar FC (@brisbaneroar) November 30, 2023
Neville stated that his team wouldn’t be taking the Wanderers lightly on Friday night, despite the fact that they have won their last six competitive meetings.
“We’ll stick to our game plan and create as many opportunities as we can because we beat them pretty convincingly here in the Cup last week,” Neville stated. “They had a good win against Sydney FC last week.
It will be a difficult test for us, but one that we are looking forward to. As I mentioned before, they are a determined team, and I believe that they had the best defense last year and are good again this year.
MATCH DETAILS
Isuzu-UTE A-League Men 2023-24 – Round 6: Brisbane Roar v Western Sydney Wanderers
Suncorp Stadium, Milton
Friday, 1 December (6:45pm KO)
