BRISBANE Roar’s preparations for their FFA Cup clash against Perth Glory will step up a notch on Friday in a behind-closed-doors clash with Western Sydney Wanderers.

The Wanderers are in camp on the Gold Coast, giving the Roar the chance for an early pre-season test against A-League opposition.

“The boys are really excited for the game on Friday — we can’t wait,” attacker Brandon Borrello said of the Robina battle.

“We’re all keen to show what we’ve learnt in the past couple of weeks, and build on the foundation that was laid last season.”

It will be the Roar’s only match before their August 10 round-of-32 Cup battle with the Glory at Ballymore.

Borrello, who turned 21 on Monday, is keen to hit the ground running and back up his solid 2015-16 campaign.

media_camera Brandon Borrello (C) says he wants to build on his form from last season.

“I just want to build on last season. I’ve set a good platform for myself and … hopefully I can get the best out of me this season, and hopefully it’s a good one for the club as well,” he said.

“I’m still at a great stage of my career where I’m still learning and I’m taking everything on board. It’s only upwards from here as long as I do all the things off the pitch right as well.”

Brisbane coach John Aloisi expects Borrello to take his game to another level when the new A-League season kicks off in October.

“We’re expecting more because he’s still got a lot of room for improvement,” Aloisi said.

“He’s a hard worker, he wants to keep on improving and he wants to learn.”

One Roar player who won’t be in action on Friday or in the Cup clash against Perth is defender Luke DeVere, who has had a knee operation.

The Roar hope DeVere returns to full training by late next month.

Former Melbourne Victory striker Joey Katebian is currently trialling with Brisbane.

Katebian, 20, made just one A-League appearance for the Victory but was a key member of the club’s NPL team.

“Joey’s a goalscorer. We wanted to have a look at him in our environment and see how he fits in,” Aloisi said.

“We need players but we’re not in a rush to make any decisions on players.”