Roar eye holes in new-look Mariners

Brisbane forward Brandon Borrello says his side have spotted weaknesses in Central Coast's new attacking game plan and know how to exploit them.

Brisbane Roar have picked apart Central Coast's new, expansive A-League gameplan and are ready to take advantage.

Much has been made of the Mariners' transformation under new coach Tony Walmsley from one of the competition's more staid, defensive outfits into an all-action attacking unit.

Roar forward Brandon Borello isn't quite convinced, though.

Despite Central Coast's impressive 3-2 opening round win over Perth Glory, Borrello reckons there are obvious holes in the Mariners' set-up that his team can cash in on.

"We noticed areas we can exploit. We're going to try our best to target those areas," Borrello told AAP on Friday fresh from a video session led by coach John Aloisi ahead of Sunday's clash between the sides at Suncorp Stadium.

"We've got the players like Thomas Broich, Matt McKay, Jamie Maclaren and Dimi Petratos - I could name all of us, we can find the pockets or the space or the free man.

"That's what we're going to be looking for.

"We're feeling pretty confident. Both teams like to play an attacking style of football and we've just got to be careful not to be caught on the counter because they do have a deadly front three.

"In saying that, so do we. It'll be a very exciting game."

The last time Brisbane took on the Mariners at home back in April, the Roar romped to a 6-1 victory that featured a stunning hat-trick from midfielder Steven Lustica.

Central Coast has a losing record at the Milton venue and that's the way Aloisi wants it to stay, having this week declared his desire to see Suncorp Stadium become a fortress again.

"We've been successful and the home record is extremely important to that," said skipper Matt McKay, who will return to Brisbane's starting side after missing the opening round while on Socceroos duty.

"I remember back in the day we used to have Feng Shui people come in and do the changerooms - this was the Miron (Bleiberg) days. Things have changed.

"Generally we're quite good away from home. We've got a great bunch of guys and when we travel, we work hard and grind hard results.

"But home form is extremely important."

STATS THAT MATTER:

* Brisbane Roar have scored 11 goals in their past three encounters with the Mariners (W2 D1), including their 6-1 victory at Suncorp last term

* When going behind against Brisbane, the Mariners have never come back to win the match (D2 L4)

* Brisbane have lost six of their last seven games played on a Sunday in the A-League


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Source: AAP



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