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Roar Women ready to hit the ground running for 2019

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A refreshed Roar Women outfit will hit their first clash of 2019 this Friday night full steam ahead according to Head Coach Mel Andreatta.

The Roar return to Westfield W-League action for the first time this year away to defending champions Melbourne City at AAMI park on Friday afternoon.

After having the bye first-up in 2019, a chance for the group to refresh and prepare for a big end to the season has Andreattaā€™s side well placed for the trip south.

ā€œWeā€™ve had a great training week. Everyone is feeling positive and really looking forward to taking on a great opposition,ā€ Andreatta said.

Andreatta

ā€œIt [the bye] was timely with a lot of younger players who had a big winter & have then earned debuts in the Westfield W-League this season.

ā€œIt was a good opportunity for us to freshen up, and thatā€™s shown at training this week.ā€

The meeting will be the first between the two sides since last seasonā€™s Semi-Final and Andreatta expects a typically controlling style of play from the Roarā€™s opposition on Friday, who will also be spurred on by the importance of picking up points on home turf so late in the campaign.

ā€œWe expect nothing else but the Melbourne City brand of football. Theyā€™ll want to control the game and I think theyā€™ll have that extra fire in the belly,ā€ Andreatta continued.

Ubogagu

ā€œBut, they know us too & they know that weā€™ll never take a backwards step. Iā€™m just looking forward to it, itā€™s going to be an exciting game.ā€

One of the tightest Westfield W-League competitions in history looks set to go down to the wire, with the vast majority of the league still in contention for a top-four berth.

The Roar head into Round 11 in fourth position & a win on Friday would send them in to the top two for at least 24 hours.

ā€œYou want to be playing against the best in a league where every game is competitive. Every wants to be playing in February, weā€™ll take it week-by-week & time will tell where we end up,ā€ Andreatta concluded.

Catch Friday afternoonā€™s clash from Melbourne LIVE on Fox Sports Ch 505, SBS Viceland or streamed on the MyFootball Live App, from 4:20pm QLD time.

Arnold

MATCH DETAILS

Westfield W-League 2018/19 – Round 11: Melbourne City v Brisbane Roar
AAMI Park, Melbourne
Friday, 11 January (4:20pm KO QLD time)

BRISBANE ROAR WOMEN SQUAD

Goalkeepers: 1.Mackenzie ARNOLD, 20.Annie GROVE

Defenders: 2.Carson PICKETT, 4.Clare POLKINGHORNE (c), 5.Jenna MCCORMICK, 8.Kaitlyn TORPEY, 11.Natalie TATHEM, 14.Summer Oā€™BRIEN

Midfielders: 6.Celeste BOUREILLE, 18.Leah DAVIDSON, 19.Hollie PALMER

Attackers: 7.Indiah-Paige RILEY, 9.Chioma UBOGAGU, 12.Allira TOBY, 15.Abbey LLOYD, 17.Yuki NAGASATO, 2.Anna MARGRAF **two to be omitted**

Ins: 18.Leah DAVIDSON (promoted), 22.Anna MARGRAF (promoted)
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: 10.Katrina GORRY (ankle ā€“ season), 16.Hayley RASO (back ā€“ 1-2 weeks)

Westfield W-League Round 12: Brisbane Roar v Sydney FC, Lions Stadium, Saturday, 19 January (4pm)