Western Sydney coach Alen Stajcic says the Wanderers need to do more than just match the “fire and brimstone” of the A-League’s most physical team, Brisbane Roar, if they are to return to winning ways on Saturday night.
The Roar have been the surprise packets of the competition this season under coach Michael Valkanis, whose team has ruffled the feathers of more-fancied opponents with an aggressive an uncompromising style.
However, Stajcic said there was more to the Roar, who have only lost one of their seven games in a good start to their 2025-26 campaign.
“They’ve shown a lot of fight, a lot of spirit, got a lot of results from it, been very effective, whether they played home or away,” Stajcic said of Brisbane.
“It’s not just about physicality. There are a lot more elements to their game. They’ve got a lot of other factors in their game that have contributed to their wins.
“They’ve been very resilient at the back, they’ve been very direct at times, they’ve outnumbered teams in different areas at times and shown some real quality in different moments as well.
“It’s a little bit too simplistic just to say that they’re aggressive and have good team spirit. They’ve certainly built up a lot of good passages of play as well, and we’re not underestimating them as a football team at all.
“The fire and brimstone is just one element of the game. You have to have that in your locker as well as all the other elements to be in the game.”
The Wanderers seemed to have got their season on track with back-to-back wins, including a 1-0 victory over arch-rivals Sydney FC, but then again came unstuck last Friday night with a 1-0 away loss to a 10-man Perth Glory.
“As a team, we let ourselves down and you can’t afford to have that kind of dip in the A -League,” Stajcic said.
“The competition’s too close, too equal, too level, to have a dip in form or a dip in team mentality like we did have for that first 30 minutes (against Perth), and certainly against a team like Brisbane, you’ll get punished.
“I know that’s not going to happen again, so it’s definitely going to be a good contest.”
A loss to the Roar would add to the pressure on Stajcic, particularly following the Wanderers’ announcement on Friday that Paul Lederer has returned to the role of club chairman after having stepped away from the position in June 2024 due to “personal family matters and other commitments”.
Roar boss Valkanis rated the Wanderers “one of the strongest teams in the A-League”.
The teams met in a behind-closed-doors pre-season trial in Sydney, with the Wanderers prevailing 2-1.
“We had a good battle … it wasn’t so much of a friendly game,” Valkanis said.
“They’re a tough team to play against … we’re really looking forward to it as we continue our journey away from home.”
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