A-League Men: Perth Glory full-back Sam Sutton ready for Brisbane Roar’s physical and mental approach

Perth Glory left-back Sam Sutton says they are ready for Brisbane Roar’s in-your-face attitude and determined to rectify their recent poor form. Glory are Queensland to face Brisbane at Kayo Stadium in Redcliffe off the back of seven losses in the past 11 games, their finals hopes flickering as they sit three points off the foot of the table. One of those losses was a 2-1 defeat to Brisbane at HBF Park, where the Roar got under Perth’s skin and were as physical off and on-ball as the referee let them, often chipping players as they ran past them. Sutton said Perth were well-equipped to deal with Brisbane and they would not back down after their last meeting. “We stood up to it quite well our team was just as aggressive. It’s just we don’t really get involved in heaps of fights and arguments with the referees, so it’s a different type of aggression,” he said. “It is a big strength of those and they can wind up a lot of teams by doing it, which has worked in the past for them, especially at the start of the season. “They’ve got some characters everywhere around the park that are going to be up for the fight so, and we’ve got a bunch full of that too. It’s exciting, if anything.” Under new coach Michael Valkanis, Brisbane’s style has brought criticism — but it has also earned them results and allowed them to win the on-field mental battle against several opponents. Having said that, their form has faltered recently and in the five games since they beat Perth, the Roar have lost four and drawn once and a Glory win would see them overtake Brisbane on the ladder. “They’re very physical. It’s a key strength of theirs, so we’re very aware of that but we’ve got our own DNA that we need to strengthen, and that’s what we’ve been doing this week,” Sutton said. The Kiwi full-back said Perth were not panicking just yet after two lopsided defeats to Newcastle Jets and Adelaide United in back-to-back weeks. “We’re making sure that we’re tidying up both boxes with finishing and defending the desperation in the box, so I think that’ll be key on the weekend,” he said. “We haven’t reinvented the wheel with anything. It’s just about making sure our standards are high and we can raise the levels of training and it’s focusing on what you can do every day instead of looking at the big pictures.”