Scott Neville’s second game for the Club will bring about a major milestone as the defender is set to reach 200 Hyundai A-League appearances tomorrow night at Suncorp Stadium.
Speaking to media ahead of Friday’s night’s first home game of the 2019/20 season, the defender is hoping to create positive memories to counteract some tough times at Suncorp Stadium in opposition colours.
TICKETS: Be there this Friday night
“My second ever game was at Suncorp [Stadium] as a wide-eyed 18-year-old & we got torn 3-1 that day. It’s been a fun journey & hopefully there’s plenty more to come,” Neville said.
“Our fans are going to see some entertaining football – we just want to bring excitement and win as many games as possible. I think the boss [Head Coach Robbie Fowler] has instilled a winning mentality which we’ll be taking forward with us.
The experienced defender has been on the wrong side of a number of packed-out crowds at Suncorp Stadium and knows full-well just how important a big home crowd could be for his side against the Victory.
“It [the Suncorp Stadium crowd] intimidating as an opposition team. Everyone has the belief that we’re a strong side and nobody is going to come to our home turf and bully us,” Neville continued.
“We want to dictate teams and take the game to whoever we play – we showed that in Perth we want to play good football and dominate wherever we go.”
The Roar returned from Perth with a hard-earned point in Head Coach Robbie Fowler’s first game at the helm.
Fowler believes his side are well-placed to hit the ground running on home turf tomorrow night.
“We’re a new team, a new squad of players and everything about this set-up is brand new,” Fowler said.
“We want to play the right way, we have a good work ethic, with a good bunch of lads and, from what I’ve seen so far, we’ve ticked a lot of boxes.
“It’s about getting results now and that’s what we’re planning on doing.
Tomorrow night’s opponents head north to Suncorp Stadium following a draw and a defeat from their opening two games.
“From our point of view, we’ll worry about ourselves. We know the Victory have a good manager and good players – they’ve had a tough start but we just have to focus on what we can do.”
MATCH DETAILS
Hyundai A-League Round 3: Brisbane Roar v Melbourne Victory
Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Friday, 25 October (6:30pm KO)
Brisbane Roar squad: 1.Max CROCOMBE (gk), 2.Scott NEVILLE, 4.Daniel BOWLES, 5.Tom ALDRED (c), 6.Macaulay GILLESPHEY, 7.Jai INGHAM, 8.Jacob PEPPER, 9.Roy O’DONOVAN, 10.Bradden INMAN, 12.Aiden O’NEILL, 13.Stefan MAUK, 14.George MELLS, 15.Aaron REARDON, 20.Aaron AMADI-HOLLOWAY, 21.Jamie YOUNG (gk), 22.Jake MCGING, 23.Dylan WENZEL-HALLS, 24.Connor O’TOOLE, 25.Rahmat AKBARI, 26.Jay O’SHEA
**2-4 to be omitted**
Ins: 14.George MELLS (promoted) 23.Dylan WENZEL-HALLS (promoted), 25.Rahmat AKBARI (promoted)
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: 19.Jack HINGERT (knee)
Melbourne Victory squad: 2.Storm ROUX, 3.Corey BROWN, 4.James DONACHIE, 6.Leigh BROXHAM, 7.Kenny ATHIU, 8.Jakob POULSEN, 9.Andrew NABBOUT, 11.Ola TOIVONEN (c), 14.Thomas DENG, 16.Josh HOPE, 17.Elvis KAMSOBA, 18.Migjen BASHA, 19.Ben CARRIGAN, 20.Lawrence THOMAS (gk), 21.Adama TRAORE, 22.Kristijan DOBRAS, 26.Jay BARNETT, 30.Matthew SUTTON (gk)
**0-2 to be omitted**
Ins: 16.Josh HOPE (promoted), 26.Jay BARNETT (promoted)
Outs: 24.Anthony LESIOTIS (illness), 25.Brandon LAUTON (illness)
Unavailable: 1.Matt ACTON (shoulder), 5.Tim HOOGLAND (quad), 10.Robbie KRUSE (hamstring), 13.Birkan KIRDAR (international duty)
Referee: Kurt Ams
Assistant Referee 1: David Walsh
Assistant Referee 2: Andrew Lindsay
Fourth Official: Alex King
VAR: Kris Griffiths-Jones
