Joey’s back and ready to Roar

Joey Champness, the former Moreton Bay United and Albany Creek Excelsior (ACE) player, has joined Brisbane Roar for the upcoming A-League season.

The 23-year-old striker, who grew up in Warner, has signed on loan from Newcastle Jets after returning from the United States.

Champness spent almost a year in Los Angeles pursuing a career in music with his latest single My Plan currently closing in on 1,500,000 streams on Spotify.

Buzzing to be back

However, he has returned to Brisbane and joined the Roar again – the first time was in 2016 after he hit the headlines as Moreton Bay United won the 2015 NPL Qld Premiership and Grand Final.

“I’m buzzing to be back on the pitch here in Brisbane, surrounded by my friends and family. I would also like to say a quick thank you to the Jets for granting this opportunity,” Champness says.

“People close to me know I’m a very competitive person, always looking for that next challenge and I’ll give my all to anything put in front of me.

“This is my next challenge and I can’t wait to be back on the pitch in front of the Brisbane fans and doing my part to help this team and this Club hopefully win some silverware.”

Exciting times

Roar’s Head Coach Warren Moon adds: “We have all seen just what Joey can do with a ball at his feet and to have a young, exciting player like him in our squad is something we are very excited about and I’m sure our fans are too.”

Champness was spotted by ACE playing in Church League football and joined Moreton Bay United when the state-level NPL competitions started in 2013.

He moved up through the junior ranks and made his senior debut in May 2015, going on to play 17 times before Brisbane Roar came calling for the first time.

After spending 2016 in Roar’s Youth team, Champness signed for Newcastle Jets and was loaned to Portuguese side Academica de Coimbra before cementing his place in Jets’ top side for 2017-2018.

International caps

Champness has Australian Under 20 and Under 23 honours, scoring four times in 10 appearances across both age groups.

His younger brother Danny has followed a similar path and this year also made his senior debut for Moreton Bay United.

Joey Champness joins another ex-Moreton Bay United player, Josh Brindell-South, at Brisbane Roar. Brindell-South was at United in 2013 before signing for A-League Wellington Phoenix.

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