It’s A-Leagues Membership Week, and there’s no better way to explain what membership means than to hand the microphone to someone who has lived it. A reminder that you can sign up this week and go into the running to win with more information here.
Angus Barnes is 24, born and bred in Brisbane, and has been a Roar member for 13 years. He describes himself as a football fanatic, following the game “from FQPL4 all the way up to the Isuzu Ute A-League”. His story starts at Suncorp Stadium in 2008, at his very first professional football match.
“For a 6-year-old who had never been to a professional sports game before, walking into the monolith that is Suncorp Stadium with the Den in full voice was spellbinding,” he says. “I couldn’t tell you the first thing that happened in the game because I didn’t stop bouncing up and down for 90 minutes. I had never felt an energy like that before.”
The family kept coming back, and a few years later his mum surprised him with a membership for his 11th birthday.
“As a fan, it just made me feel that bit closer to the Roar. Knowing that I was going to be there rain, hail or shine wove a thread into me that couldn’t be broken. It didn’t make me a better fan than those who go once or twice a year, but it did make me feel like my loyalty made a difference.”
The games you only see as a member
Ask most long-time fans about their favourite memory and you’ll hear about grand finals. Angus goes somewhere else entirely: the final home game of the 2014/15 season, a dead rubber against Newcastle Jets with finals already secured.
“We played a very young side and came out of the blocks attacking. We must’ve had 20 shots on goal, Jets goalkeeper Ben Kennedy had the game of his life, and it seemed like we were never going to score. Up stepped super sub Kofi Danning in the 70th minute, who got on the end of a Jean Carlos Solorzano cross to tap in at the back post for the opener. It felt like the roof of the stadium was lifted off when that went in.
“We ended up winning 2-1, and even for an ostensibly nothing game, the emotions I felt when we scored were absolutely electrifying. It was one of those games where you’d probably only be there if you were a member, and for me it was a poignant reminder of why it’s worth it.”
That’s the quiet truth about membership. The big nights sell themselves. It’s the rest of the season, the games nobody circles on the calendar, that end up producing the memories that stick.
More than football
Earlier this year, Angus was diagnosed with testicular cancer. His connection to the club runs right through that chapter of his life, and it started long before his diagnosis.
“I first found out about testicular cancer at a Brisbane Roar game, a Dylan Tombides Foundation awareness round, in 2016. Dylan’s story really stuck with 12-year-old me and I made a habit out of checking daily for lumps. Fast forward to this year, I found a lump. Fortunately, that experience with DT38 gave me the awareness to seek the right treatment.”
When the club heard about his situation, Angus was invited down to a training session, where he spoke to the players and staff about his Roar journey and his experience with cancer.
“Speaking in front of players I’ve grown up idolising was an experience that I’ll treasure for the rest of my life. The generosity and kindness of Michael Valkanis, the players and all of the staff was truly humbling. It’s so easy to get bogged down in the mire of results and performances, but the true power of football lies in its ability to be a force for good and to make a tangible impact on the lives of its supporters.
“It was an experience that had the potential to be really traumatic, but ended up being one of the most transformative experiences in my life. If I hadn’t been at that game in 2016, and didn’t have the club’s support during my treatment this year, who knows where I would be.”
Sharing the ride
Angus and his mum have been members side by side since 2013, his dad often joins them, and over the years he’s dragged plenty of mates and even a few ex-partners along to matches and away trips.
“Some get it and some don’t, which is fine. But it’s gratifying to know I was able to give them an experience they otherwise never would’ve had.”
His matchday isn’t complete without one tradition. “I’ll always stay back 10 minutes after a game for the celebratory Who Are We. Being able to celebrate with the players, or better yet when one of the players leads the chant, makes victory ever so sweeter. You don’t see that in any of the big leagues.”
And what keeps him renewing, season after season, through the highs and the lows?
“It’s always the hope that keeps you going. It’s anyone’s to win. You get the right blend of players and a few decisions go your way and you’re lifting a trophy come May. You never know what you’re going to get going into a new A-League season and that’s why it always feels so fresh and exciting.”
His message to anyone on the fence
“Just do it. There’s truly something in it for everyone. When you become a member in the A-League, you’re not just a number like you would be in another code, you’re part of something much bigger. Your support genuinely makes a tangible difference to football in Australia.
“I love telling mates that before I saw Mohamed Toure play at a World Cup, I saw him pushing the luggage trolley for Adelaide United at Brisbane Airport after an away game in 2019. Or that I first saw Lucas Herrington playing at a suburban ground in Brisbane. There are these magical little threads that pop up every so often that make it all worth it.
“What for me was once just a thing to do every weekend has touched me in ways that no other passion could, and for all the highs and lows, I wouldn’t change any of it for the world.”
Be there for all of it
Membership for the 2026/27 season is on sale now, with 13 home games across Suncorp Stadium and KAYO Stadium in Redcliffe. All Club memberships cover both teams and all venues, or you can choose a Suncorp Only or KAYO Only option for our men’s matches, with 3-game and 6-game Part Season memberships available shortly if you wish to start smaller.
Thirteen years ago, a membership was an 11th birthday present. Now look at what it turned into for Angus…
