James McGarry

Kiwi left back James McGarry is one of four new signings at Brisbane Roar. Photo supplied by Brisbane Roar.

A rebuild of the A-League Men squad is well under-way at Brisbane Roar this winter, with a significant turnover of players being a feature of the off-season to date for the Queensland club.

Club stalwarts Jack Hingert, Louis Zabala & Corey Brown are amongst a group of 10 players to depart since the Australia Cup defeat to Wellington back in May, which marked the start of new coach Michael Valkanis’ tenure.

With the club seeking to reverse its fortunes after a disappointing campaign that saw them finish second bottom of the ladder last season, new signings are a priority – and they are starting to arrive in numbers as the Valkanis era begins to take shape.

Round Ball Australia caught up with Roar COO Zac Anderson to get his thoughts on the rebuild process, and what Roar fans can expect from the remainder of the transfer window.

Experienced duo head new arrivals

One of the highest profile arrivals so far has been experienced left-back James McGarry, who has spent the last two seasons at Aberdeen in the Scottish Premier League.

The 27-year-old also has significant A-League experience, having started his career with Wellington Phoenix in his native New Zealand, before being a part of Central Coast Mariners’ Championship winning side in 2023.

As Anderson pointed out, McGarry also has extra motivation for the season ahead.

“James McGarry is a New Zealand international, who we know is determined to push for a spot in their squad for the 2026 World Cup finals,” he commented.

Having an experienced, naturally left-footed option seems sure to bring more defensive balance to the Roar, who often utilised right-footed Anthony Burke-Gilroy in the position last season.

The club has added more A-League pedigree in recent days with the acquisition of experienced Goalkeeper Dean Bouzanis, who worked with Roar coach Valkanis during his four years at Melbourne City and was most recently on the books of English Championship club Charlton.

“With an average squad age of 23 years, we needed a few experienced leaders, with Dean being an important addition to Michael’s plans,” explained Anderson, who was keen to highlight how the 34-year-old custodian could be pivotal in helping to develop the club’s young centre backs.

Aside from the experienced duo of McGarry and Bouzanis, the Roar have also made a couple of more youthful additions to their squad, with former Western United forward Michael Ruhs (22) and Bosnian midfielder Milorad Stajić (23) both signing on the dotted line in recent weeks to bring the new additions to four.

While that seems like a positive start, given the number of departures there are still significant gaps in the Roar roster for 25/26. So what else is in the pipeline?

Striker & Right Back now the priority

While Anderson was understandably reluctant to divulge ongoing transfer targets by name, he was happy to share the club’s broader recruitment priorities for the remainder of the current transfer window.

“Our focus now is to secure a powerful right back and a goal-scoring number nine, with possibly an attacking midfielder to increase competition for places,” he explained.

The decision to target a striker is hardly surprising given the departure of Asumah Abubakar late last month, despite the club’s best efforts to keep him.

After scoring four league goals in 12 appearances since joining in the January transfer window, the Ghanaian forward reportedly turned down a multi-year deal to stay in Brisbane.

That’s a blow for a team that scored only 32 goals in 26 A-League games last season, and work is under-way to find a suitable replacement.

However, there are budgetary limits to their search.

“We won’t compete by outspending other teams, so our strategy has to be different. We are focusing on recruiting motivated and hungry individuals who have a fire inside to help the team be successful,” outlined Anderson, who is heading up the recruitment process.

The search for a right back reflects the need to replace record appearance holder Hingert, and although Burke-Gilroy may also be an option on the right side of the Roar defence, securing an alternative to create competition for places seems prudent.

With an additional midfielder also in the plans, it promises to be a busy few months for Anderson and his team.

Youth still part of the plan

One possible solution – in midfield at least – could be promoting from within, with Brisbane having a track record of unearthing impressive talent from their Academy in recent times.

The last 12 months has seen the emergence of centre back Lucas Herrington and central midfielder Sam Klein, both of whom achieved international age-group recognition earlier this year due to their impressive A-League performances in Roar colours.

And Anderson believes there are more to come, with Australian under-17 captain Quinn MacNicol heading the list.

“We expect Quinn MacNicol to push on this season under Michael, who has a track record of developing youth. James Durrington and Noah Maieroni have performed well in midfield for our NPL side recently, so we expect them to continue pushing this pre-season,” he said.

Australian U17 midfielder Quinn MacNicol at a Brisbane Roar training. Photo supplied by Brisbane Roar.

It’s no secret that MacNicol in particular is highly regarded around Suncorp.

If the 17-year-old midfielder can transfer his goal-scoring exploits for the Joeys to the A-League, that would be a welcome boost for a manager who’s remit clearly involves a focus on youth.

However, while nurturing emerging talents like MacNicol and others is important, proven A-League personnel are still required if Valkanis is to have any hope of reversing Brisbane’s fortunes in the short term.

Four new faces already in the building is a good start, but the test for Brisbane will be to continue the rebuild.

Despite having already reinforced the back-line, a lack of goals was the issue for the Roar last term – highlighted by their leading scorer being young midfielder Sam Klein with five.

While new signing Ruhs has pace to burn and Henry Hore is a creative spark, neither would claim to be the out and out goalscorer needed to fire Brisbane to success next season.

As a result, securing a striker to complement Hore & Ruhs prior to the close of the transfer window on September 15 seems likely to be pivotal to the Roar’s short-term prospects.

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