Midfielder David Dodd says he is growing in self-belief after being thrust into the Brisbane Roar engine room over the past three weeks in the absence of first Massimo Murdocca and now Matt McKay.
The tough-tackling midfielder is expected to earn his first start of the season in Townsville this Saturday after McKay was yesterday ruled out for a month with a knee injury.
The former Lancaster City player has made 11 appearances for the Roar in two seasons, with nine of those coming from the bench.
Dodd came on to replace the injured McKay 25 minutes into the Central Coast Mariners match on Saturday and gave arguably his best showing in Roar colours as he helped the team to a first win and clean sheet of the season.
After overcoming his own injury problems during the pre-season campaign, the former Palm Beach hardman said he was regaining his confidence with game time in the first team.
"I'm just looking forward to playing again," he said. "I'm back to full fitness so I just want to play and hopefully we get the win.
"It's just a matter of getting games under my belt, the more games I play the better I'll get.
"But I feel confident enough that I can go out there and do a good job, which I'm sure all the boys will do this week."
Linking up with Danny Tiatto in front of the defensive line, Dodd said the pair were beginning to forge a solid partnership in the heart of the Brisbane line-up.
"Teets is a great player," he said. "He's good because he wants to win everything all the time. He talks a lot and lets you know what's going on.
"As long as we win all the second balls and don't give the opposition a chance to play in the middle I think we'll do well, because if you win the midfield you generally win the game."
The Roar camp has been in high spirits this week after claiming three points against the Mariners and Dodd said the team was looking forward to kicking on with another win against the Fury.
"I think they'll be up for it," he said. "I think it'll be a really good game but we should win. We should be able to go on a run now and get the next couple of wins on the board."
Brisbane Roar's match against North Queensland Fury kicks off at 7pm Saturday at Dairy Farmers Stadium, Townsville and will be broadcast live on Fox Sports 3.
