Very happy that we seem to be over the scoring after the drought in past years. We have options, without Scotty or Jamie Mc. Enjoying the Japanese influence so hoping we keep one of them at least.

My bad ---- Over the scoring droughT ---

we are still underscoring if we want to be a champion team but it is a solid base to work on, particularly when we have such a solid defensive unit. still probably one above average player short but parsons could grow into that player in a year or two. 

I would be doing my absolute best to lock in Danzaki next season (and longer if at all possible but i suspect he will want to go onto something bigger and better either next season or the one after). i think Champness will want a permanent move up here but he is the weakest link in my view (even though he has an x factor he is way too inconstant) and i dont think we can be a champion team with him and DWH starting. 

Having Danzaki, Champness and Gillesphey all on loan could really upset our core again - especially if we continue playing good football and getting results where we have dropped points over the last couple of seasons. Finishing this season on a high with those players all performing there is surely no way in hell their owners would not see a better outcome having them play back with them - loan development successful.

The big advantage of Champness is that on a dry pitch they cannot afford to just mark him one on one and trust that he will be controlled. They have to keep both his foot and ball speed in mind and have half a leg ready to intervene if he gets by the first defender. Anything that puts defenders in doubt is great for DWH, Danzaki, or whoever else we end up with at the front. His x factor adds more value to our attack than just what he does himself and we have a team that beats opponents by our number and variety of attacks rather than by having a handful of top notch forwards who beat their opposition by ball and guile as they build their flawless attacks. We are harder to defend against because we have no idea what we are going to do as opposed to Melb City (for example) who have waves of players and well structured attacks worked out in advance and applied with skill on game day.

I agree Melbourne City have one hand on the first trophy with a solid breakaway now under their belt, but I think we are a good chance of top 4 already and another catchup win puts us second on the table. Our consistent results (points out of every game but 4) are adding up, and at some point even the disgruntled and disillusioned will find it hard not to think we might be turning out at the right end of the season again and be in with a very orange chance of something this season - despite pitch, playing roster, owners, and any other extraneous factors affecting their view of our club.

I am daring to hope, and now expecting us to beat everyone. I don't care if we don't - we are a major player this season!

Another win for Roar and that has shaken the table a bit. 
Can we sustain it. It could have been 5 against WU but for the Keeper.
that tells me we are making chances, 
yes chances aren't goals but there's no goals without chances. 
I disagree a bit on Champness, I think he has been crucial in the last 2 games and I'd be absolutely doing whatever to keep him. 
Saturday nght at the stadium all eyes were on Joey in the slip and slide. 
He just needs to let it go earlier at times, and needs to go for it and get in behind that bit more.
i think he is in 2 minds at times and this causes him to slow up and run into dead ends.
He is absolutely a handful and if  he can vary that play up a bit he could take it to the next level.

I agree totally with this and especially the bold part.

Champness is electric and dangerous when he just backs himself and goes - putting fear and doubt in everyone's mind. When he plays his more contained game he is just another passer of the ball and no great threat to anyone.

It was that spark that earned him his place in the starting line up, and the lack of that spark that saw him come in off the bench for awhile.

I think the wet really killed him in the last two games and he only ever half ran past players. Against the Nix he was easily dispossessed every time he tried to run past his defender one on one because he did not commit to the play. Give him a dry pitch and I expect him to be back in it. You know he wants to...

Seeing some articles from India saying Steinmann as signed with the roar. The thing is I have no idea how he can play this season with our full contingent visa players. Although with boarder issue there no chance till he here until June or July anyway. So it could be next season.

Which means we definitely losing a visa player for next season.

Maybe this confirms that Gillesphey is gone or at the end of the season One or both Japanese players are gone.

The commentator in the Glory v City game last night said "the premiership is in City's hands" - but we can also say the same thing since we are 5 points behind City on paper (as in win our last catch up game) and we play City twice in the next couple of weeks.

IF we win all our games from here we are premiers and no-one could stop us. City are the only other team who can say that. To be fair, if we did all that we would deserve to be premiers.

Crazy Fact: Mathematically we could go from 9th to 1st in the space of a month.

I choose to ignore the possibility that we may not win of course...

It ties in with what we heard a few posts back about Kudo.

I really hope it means that, and negotiations are still positive with Gillesphey.

The team is continuing to get the points and climb that ladder (which many of us thought they would).  They have also proven they can get the job done without Scotty Mc.  Things a looking good.  My main concern is the run home, which is really going to test the physical prep that Moon put into the squad in preseason.  Hopefully they can maintain what is now the best record in the league over the last 5 games.  

And now we're 6th

Yes, 2 games later we’re 6th. It’s great. More impressive is the games in hand could leap us even further, however having to play them close to the scheduled games will have repercussions. 

Mathematically, we could be second after the next game!

Realistically though, if we were to win our next game, wouldnt that make us premiership favourites, as the in form team? 

Even as things stands right now, if i were a Melbourne City fan, i think that i would see Brisbane as the only real danger to the Premiership and the biggest danger for the grand final.  this next game really should be promoted in Grand final like manner because it virtually is.

With all that being said, it would definitely not be too unexpected if we missed the finals altogether.

the mismatch in games played has really made it hard to gauge who is going to make the finals. i think with the way city are playing they really are the run away favourites. they have never really looked troubled, but i think that plays into our hand and as moon says we have a free shot at them this weekend. 

On champness even though he has the x factor i can only really recall 2 or maybe 3 games where he has actually had a big impact on the game, and that really is not enough for a starter, particularly when he brings the least off the ball (or when not "having a go"). DWH has not really had the huge impact in games that he has in previous seasons but the work he puts in defensively is huge and he has definitely improved his link up play and ball retention. Danzaki is tireless in his work rate getting back to help defensively, and brings the ball through the midfield pretty well with his passing and movement (though he was quite wasteful on the weekend). Champness can light up a game with a run, but when he doesnt back himself he often loses the ball and defensively he is by far the laziest of the front 3. In my view at the moment Champness's strength does not cover for his weaknesses but a with a little more effort and smarts on when to unleash  his x factor and when to recycle and consolidate and that swings the other way. 

I think it's most likely he's being looked at as a replacement for Kudo. As much as I was hoping to see more from Kudo, I suspect the club has felt they haven't seen enough.

It was Moon who convinced Champness to come back to football and Brisbane, they seem to have a good relationship so he may want to stay in Brisbane regardless of other offers etc. 

On Danzaki, I'm really hoping Sapporo see the benefit in him playing a second season here. I wouldn't blame them if he got recalled but at 20 he's no guarantee of walking straight into a J-League first team given the depth in that comp. A second year here to kick on would do him good if they're looking at the long term outlook.

I should point out that I realise Steinmann is not a like for like replacement for Kudo, more of an S Mac. But I suspect it's that visa spot they're looking to free up.

Yeah, I took your comments to be talking visa positions.

Kudo is not working out (so far) as a good visa investment. We can still hope that while he is with us he can be given more opportunities like his goal to be more useful.

Scary thought is maybe Moon wants Steinmann to feed Kudo better...if Rat McDog had stayed around Kudo might be showing more of a return because of the quality of pass McDog could put through. Without that quality midfielder to identify the pass and execute it Kudo is somewhat hamstrung.

Yeah and they never really got the chance to play any meaningful minutes together which was a shame. You could be right about that. Although if Steinmann signs in the summer window I would have thought they would wanted more from Kudo by then to warrant a second season. Unless he's dirt cheap, but then again, visa spots are too valuable to take a another gamble on.

Isn't Steinmann a proper number 6 player? You'd imagine signing him would allow O'Shea to play further forward, thus it would actually be O'Shea giving Kudo proper service/support as he wouldn't be playing so deep.

That would make sense.

Many of us have recognised the loss of attacking options with O'Shea playing that deeper role this season, as well as by a lack of a true quality 6.

Two birds with one stone.

It would also somewhat explain why Gillesphey is being allowed to depart, as it does seem a bit of overkill to use 2 import slots on central defenders. Personally, I would keep MG and allow Aldred to depart, but that's just me.

To me, Aldred is more a player to build a team around long term.

At Roar we have lost our legacy players and long term players sometime ago, and it is no small thing that we kept the bulk of our squad intact for this season. Something really important about knowing who your team is and the culture that creates.

Gillesphey is never going to be a long term prospect at Roar in my opinion - he is too young and too good to stay here and it is just time before he moves on and up. Would love to have that wrong mind you.

Aldred on the other hand is a character who in 5 years we might say "that may be, but he is OUR Tom". Some things in club football mean more to me than just being a better player.

Who knows what our team will be next season...I would like to have a solid core that says 'us' for a few seasons like we used to.

Alex Parson was the only player that exited me last game. Looks effective and provided 2 assists I think for Roars 2 goals. At only 21 he could have a promising future. Which brings me to this point. How good our locals. 

At least someone excited you mate.
And yes locals looking good. 

Couple u/7 kids playing at Aspley and playing up in U/8 Div1 both scored hat tricks this morn. 
Go have a look a talk them, they'll excite you. 
Maybe future Roar kids???

I an excited by a very good team performance. Looking forward to the same again tomorrow.

Just an observation on paulc - which he could say himself if he cared what people say.

Roar could go on to win the whole thing and paulc would be ecstatic just like the rest of us - but if they did it playing boring solid football with slow build up and flukey goals he would not be happy or excited about how we were playing.

Some of us just like 'not losing' especially in comparison to how we have been in previous seasons.
Some of us like watching us win by skin and bone if that is how we hang on.
Paulc gets excited by real quality play, fast counter attacks, good combinations and the like. It takes really good football to get him excited. So that tells you something about how he rates Parsons at the moment.
Often comes across as pessimism and a lack of interest in the team - but it isn't - it is more jaded frustration with a club that does not hold the same values he does from my reading of his posts over time.

Nuff said on that.

I get excited by us just playing these days - the results are a bonus.

Game Day and I am absolutely buzzing for this one, first of three games that will determine if we can overtake City and win the premiership. If we don’t win this one then City can pretty much be given the league title and we will be fighting for champions league places. 

Damn you’re good.

Now what colour am I thinking off? 😆 

I know you can fight your own battles, but wanted people to remember that you are a Roar supporter - been a few jabs at you on numerous posts but in here you deserve to be recognised fairly at least.