Brisbane Roar youngster Luke Brattan sees the partnership between him and fellow midfielder Erik Paartalu as a work-in-progress as the club moves through its pre-season schedule.
Brisbane Roar youngster Luke Brattan sees the partnership between him and fellow midfielder Erik Paartalu as a work-in-progress as the club moves through its pre-season schedule.
Both Brattan and Paartalu played the full 90 minutes in yesterday-s hit-out against an Ipswich Invitational side as the Hyundai A-League Champions emerged victorious with a 5-1 scoreline.
With three local fixtures and four matches against Hyundai A-League opponents planned for the remainder of the pre-season, Brattan said the partnership was likely to flourish as the duo become more and more familiar with each other-s game.
According to the 22-year-old, the foundations are already in place.
“I-ve always said I love playing with Ezza,” Brattan explained.
“We work well with each other.
“He-s a great distributor of the ball and I like to work off that – I get into positions and he finds me easily.
“In the game, one goes and one stays and then we rotate depending on the play.
“That-s what I like about playing with Ezza, he-s easy to play with.”
Paartalu has been a constant starter in the Brisbane Roar line-up since joining the club in 2010 while Brattan made 15 appearances of his 22 Hyundai A-League appearances last season.
He has made it clear he wants a more regular position in the upcoming campaign, which will include the club-s second tilt in the AFC Champions League.
Brattan knows both his performances in pre-season matches and his efforts on the training paddock are vital to his cause.
“I definitely see my passing and my vision as the biggest aspect of my game,” he said.
“But that can-t be enough, you-ve got to have more than one aspect to your game and I-m still working on that.
“I-ve got to stay injury free and I need more game time and hopefully Ezza and I can continue this partnership through to the A-League season.”