Brisbane Roar is delighted to announce the return of Queensland goalkeeper, Matt Acton to bolster its Isuzu UTE A-League squad.
Townsville-born and raised, Acton returns to the Roar after being a product of the Roar Youth system and signing his first senior contract with the club in July 2012, making his debut in 2013 in place of an injured Michael Theo.
After seven years at the Roar, the shot-stopper finished a stint in Myanmar where he played 14 matches and helped Yangon United to second place in the Myanmar National League.
The Under-20 Australian international then returned to the Roar for just under a season, before joining Olympic FC.
In December 2015, Filipino professional football club Kaya FC signed Acton in the United Football League, before starting his career with Melbourne Victory in November 2016.
Victory re-signed Acton for an extended three-year deal in September 2020, where he has remained until 2023.
In Acton’s return to the Roar, he will bolster the club’s goalkeeping stocks alongside Macklin Freke.
Acton is looking forward to returning to Brisbane, where his family is based, to continue where he left off at the Brisbane Roar.
“I’m really excited, obviously been a long time, excited to be home and I can’t wait to get started,” Acton said.
“I’ve got a lot of good memories here in Brisbane, I’d love to create more memories like I have in the past,” he added.
The 31-year-old has high hopes for the Isuzu UTE A-League 2023/24 season and aims to get the club back to winning ways.
“We’re looking for the ultimate prize which is the Championship and just go as far as we can, we’re going to try and build on the past of the club and try to add a bit more success to the club,” he said.
He is looking to use his knowledge and experience to assist the younger players and help shape them as professionals.
“I’ve experienced it all, so I’ll be able to pass some of those experiences down to the younger boys, hopefully they can lean on that, and hopefully we can build these young players because they’re the future of the football club.”
Acton signs on at a very exciting time, with Ross Aloisi stepping in as Head Coach, and Acton believes it is the right time for him to return.
“It wasn’t that hard of a decision to sign with the club, speaking with Ross about what his visions were and what he’s bringing back to the club, it was an easy decision and a really good time to be coming back to the club.”
Aloisi is excited to be bringing Acton back to Queensland and is looking forward to working with the experienced goalkeeper.
“Matty was available and with his experience at Victory, I’ve watched him for a number of years, I think he’s a quality goalkeeper and is going to add a lot of value to this squad.”
“It’s now for both him and Macklin to fight for that number 1 spot,” Aloisi said.
