A home debut, pitting himself against a Qantas Socceroos legend and returning to his former club – this week is shaping as a big one for young Brisbane Roar defender Matt Jurman.
A home debut, pitting himself against a Qantas Socceroos legend and returning to his former club – this week is shaping as a big one for young Brisbane Roar defender Matt Jurman.
Jurman, 21, was a stand-out performer on debut for Brisbane in a strong team performance which saw the men in orange claim an opening round three points against the Central Coast Mariners.
Composed on the ball and clinical in the tackle, Jurman looked comfortable next to central defensive partner and club captain Matt Smith throughout the contest.
For his part, the former Sydney FC man said he was happy to have ended his Roar debut with a win.
“Everyone really enjoyed watching Brisbane Roar play last year,” Jurman said.
“Sometimes it was tough to play against, so it-s nice to be on the other side and actually play with these guys.
“Matty Smith is a great player and hopefully we can form a good partnership together.
“I thought we played really well together and kept a pretty tight, high line.
The tests keep coming for Brisbane Roar, this week facing a Sydney FC side buoyed by an opening round draw in Melbourne in front of 40,000 fans and boasting arguably one of the recruits of the off-season in Brett Emerton.
The Australian international will no doubt be looking to mark his own home debut with a win, something Jurman and his teammates will be out to prevent.
“Brett Emerton is a great player who has done a lot in his career,” he said.
“It should be a good test for us against Sydney FC away from home, hopefully we can go down there and get a good result.
“I was at Sydney for two years under (Sydney coach) Viteslav Lavicka and I-m sure I can help some of the boys out with some tactics.
“I-m not really sure what reception I-m going to get on Saturday, I didn-t really leave the club on bad terms so it will be interesting to see what I get from the crowd this week.”
