One player who has been crucial to the rise of the Roar this season is left back Corey Brown.
After finishing 4th last season finish last season, the Brisbane Roar have been a side on the rise this season with exciting young stars like Riku Danzaki, Kai Trewin and Alex Parsons lighting up the league.
The Roar have found themselves in 4th place and becoming one of the feel good stories of the season.
Born in Brisbane, the local boy Brown has found himself in career best form for his hometown club where he made his debut for in the 2012 Asian Champions League against Beijing Guoan.
“It was an amazing moment, I had my whole family there, it was my boyhood club, I used to go to Suncorp and watch the Roar as a youngster and to play for Roar was something I always wanted to do, so it was a great moment for me.
It was against Beijing, who are a huge club and I had a pretty tricky winger on me, but you always want to test yourself. I have played in the Champions League on a number of occasions now, so to make my debut in that competition was a great honour“
The following season he made his A-League debut and it wouldn’t be long before Brown would force himself into a star-studded Brisbane squad and find himself becoming a regular in the line up starting in the 2013/14 season, where Brisbane Roar would eventually become A-League champions as they defeated the Western Sydney Wanderers 2-1 after extra time at Suncorp Stadium.
“It was a great time at the club, there was so many great players, I was lucky to have both Thomas (Broich) and Matt (McKay) on my side of the field and it really made my introduction to first team football so much easier, I’d just give the ball to Thomas Broich and he would make me look good.
I am very grateful for them, and learned so much from them, hopefully I can pass some wisdom to some of the youngsters coming through now.“
The following season Brown found himself being Brisbane’s first choice left back, being preferred over former Socceroo and club legend Shane Stefanutto.
From there he grew from strength to strength as a player, culminating in winning the Gary Wilkins medal at the club in the 2016-17 season.
After the following season Brown would depart the Roar and sign for the Melbourne Victory in 2018 on a 2-year contract.
Despite a strong start to life at Victory he would soon have a few injury woes and find himself out of the squad.
Brown and Melbourne Victory parted ways 18 months into his contract eventuating in his return to the Brisbane Roar.
“I was looking to make a change and Robbie (Fowler) was keen to get me, I made the move back, and I think it’s been the best move for me, I’m really enjoying my football here.”
Since rejoining Brisbane Roar half way through the 2019-20 season, Brown has hit the ground running, growing as a player and finding career best form, quickly establishing himself as one of the best left backs in the A-League.
Surrounded by plenty of young talent, Brown, who recently played his 150th A-League match has been given a leadership role for Brisbane Roar under coach Warren Moon, a role which he is currently thriving in.
“I’m a more confident player here … Mooney has really given me a senior role and I’ve really grown into that position, it’s something I really enjoy, the responsibility has been really good for me.”
Image credit – Brisbane Roar/Getty