Roar coach Michael Valkanis insists veteran goalkeeper Dean Bouzanis remains an “important” part of the club’s plans despite being axed from Brisbane’s starting team.
Bouzanis, 36, watched from the bench on Friday night as 18-year-old gloveman George Plusnin made his A-League debut in Brisbane’s 2-1 home win over Perth Glory.
Having started in every game for Brisbane last season, Bouzanis’ demotion came on the back of poor August performances in the Roar’s 4-2 Australia Cup round-of-16 loss to Sydney FC and the club’s embarrassing 4-0 loss to Indonesian outfit Persija Jakarta.
His axing also signals a changing of the guard, with Plusnin’s talent already having led to him representing Australia’s under-23 team against South Korea earlier this month.
“He’s a very good young goalkeeper,” Valkanis said of the former Gregory Terrace schoolboy.
“I’ve seen him develop really quickly in the last 16 months and really show good things.
“He’s a real shot-stopper. He can make amazing saves. We’ve seen that in the NPL, and I just felt that it was his time to start.
“To me, age doesn’t really matter. Of course we know he’s a young keeper and he’s going to make mistakes. That’s going to happen, but we have a lot of belief in him at the club.”
Valkanis was adamant there was also still a similar “belief” in Bouzanis, who in the early stages of his career was on the books of English Premier League club Liverpool.
“Dean’s a top professional,” Brisbane’s coach said of the experienced custodian who at times last season captained the team.
“He’ll be ready for any opportunity that comes his way – there’s no doubt about that.
“I’ve known Dean for a long time. He’s in the leadership group, and he’ll do what’s required by him, and he’ll be ready if anything happens.
“He’s very important in the energy and the synergy that he creates as a leader to keep the team together. I see him continuously do that. I saw him doing that before the game (against Perth), pumping up the team.
“Dean’s very important to the team and this club.”
Plusnin was part of a revamped Roar team that secured the club’s first A-League win – courtesy of a Justin Vidic tap-in and a sublime volley from new South Korean signing Nam Tae-hee – since a 2-1 away victory, also over Perth, on January 16.
Following that success, Brisbane failed to win any of its remaining 12 games in what ended up being a poor 2025-26 campaign.
The Roar will chase back-to-back wins when they host reigning champions Auckland FC at Suncorp Stadium this Friday night.
“There’s still a long way to go ... but (beating Perth) leaves a real positive outlook with what’s still to come,” Valkanis said.