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With the transfer window nearly over and the season beginning for a new Brisbane Roar side, read below to see a brief overview of where this new squad could finish.
Last season’s position
6th, 33 goals scored and 40 goals conceded.
Finals series: 6th, lost 2-0 to Melbourne City.
FFA Cup: Round of 32 in 2017, Round of 32.
Last season, Brisbane finished sixth. They did well in the latter part of the season, but if they had started off the season stronger, they could have been a serious title contender. They won their first game in Round 7, 3-1 against Melbourne City, thanks to a rare brace from Avraam Papadopoulos.
In the offseason, Brisbane lost seven players, defenders Jade North, Corey Brown and Ivan Franjic, midfielder Mitchell Oxborrow, and attackers Corey Gameiro, Fahid Ben Khalfallah and Massimo Maccarone. They have replaced these players by signing utility player Stefan Nigro, midfielder Stefan Mauk, and attackers Adam Taggart, Tobias Mikkelsen and Dylan Wenzel Halls.
Strengths/weaknesses
Defence (fullbacks, central defence, discipline), midfield (distribution, holding midfield), attack, (goalscoring, lead up play) and general (slow, poor teamwork).
Brisbane’s new attacking duo of Bautheac, Mikkelsen, Taggart, Mauk and Henrique is sufficient, although the unit will take some time to adapt as Taggart, Mauk, Mikkelsen and Henrique are recent signings. Taggart is, of course, one of the best strikers in the league and could have challenged for the golden boot if it wasn’t for injury concerns.
Brisbane’s holding midfield, especially as skipper Matt McKay and his partner Thomas Kristensen are in their mid-thirties and well past their best. The only ideal replacements are Joe Caletti and Stefan Nigro, who is a recent signing and has played as a fullback at Melbourne Victory.
Knowing Aloisi, it is unlikely he will move McKay and Kristensen on. Furthermore, Brisbane was poor last season on their home turf, losing two-thirds of their games there. There’s a lack of fullbacks in Brisbane’s squad as well.
Transfer window grade: Indifferent. The attack is rebooted but the defence is weaker, especially out wide.
Player stats from last season
Most goals: Massimo Maccarone (9).
Most assists: Massimo Maccarone (5).
Most passes: Matt McKay (1,279).
Most minutes: Massimo Maccarone (2,437).
Squad
GKs
21) Jamie Young, 31) Brendan White
DEFs
3) Luke DeVere, 4) Daniel Bowles, 6) Avraam Papadopoulos, 8) Jacob Pepper, 15) Stefan Nigro, 19) Jack Hingert, 24) Connor O’Toole
MIDs
7) Thomas Kristensen, 17) Matt McKay, 18) Joe Caletti, 25) Rahmat Akbari, 27) Adam Sawyer, 35) Jay Barnett
AM/WIs
2) Dane Ingham, 10) Brett Holman, 11) Eric Bautheac, 13) Stefan Mauk, 20) Shannon Brady, 22) Tobias Mikkelsen, 36) Daniel Leck
STs
9) Adam Taggart, 23) Dylan Wenzel-Halls, 26) Nicholas D’Agostino, 33) Henrique, 37) Bryce Bafford, 40) Mirza Muratovic
Predicted best eleven: 4-2-3-1.
4) Daniel Bowles, 7) Thomas Kristensen, 8) Jacob Pepper, 9) Adam Taggart, 11) Eric Bautheac, 17) Matt McKay, 19) Jack Hingert, 21) Jamie Young, 22) Tobias Mikkelsen, 24) Connor O’Toole, 33) Henrique.
Prediction
7th. A new squad of players, so similar yet so different. With other teams improving, it is likely that Brisbane will finish slightly lower than last season, especially with holes in the middle and out wide.
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