For so long the hunters, Central Coast are relishing being the hunted when they host arch rivals Brisbane Roar on Saturday night.

The 2010/11 grand finalists will renew their rivalry at Bluetongue Stadium but under very different circumstances to any of their eight previous clashes in the past two seasons.

While the Roar dominated the Mariners and the rest of the A-League for virtually all of last season and the start of this campaign, the tables have turned with Central Coast surging to a 10-point competition lead on the back of a 15-game unbeaten streak.

The Mariners scored a breakthrough win over the Roar in December and left-back Josh Rose believes his side’s new-found favouritism could play into their hands.

“Obviously the last few times we’ve played them they’ve been the favourites in the game so it’s kind of nice to be going in as the team they have to come here and beat,” Rose said on Friday.

“The pressure’s almost on them so it’s nice for once.

“… If one of us can come out and get a win tomorrow, psychologically it’s a big thing going into the finals.”

Rose freely admits the Mariners have been fortunate to keep their unbeaten streak alive in recent weeks in a series of below-par performances.

They came from behind to beat Adelaide 3-2 at home in their last match but Rose believes they won’t be done any favours against the reigning champions, who are sitting third amid an upper-table logjam.

“We’re not going to be able to put in a poor performance tomorrow night and get away with it,” Rose said.

“We’ll get punished by the Roar if we do that.

“For them it’s about getting back on track and they’re playing good football keeping possession again, so we’ll have to be on our toes.”

The blockbuster match has been hit hard by Olyroos commitments with the Mariners set to miss in-form goalkeeper Mat Ryan and midfielders Mustafa Amini and Olivier Bozanic, while the Roar are without Mitch Nichols.

Brisbane do receive a boost, though, with the return of Albanian striker Besart Berisha from suspension after missing last week’s 1-0 loss at home to Newcastle.

Brisbane coach Ange Postecoglou tipped the league’s top scorer would be up for a big game after an eventful month which included his involvement in the post-match melee with Sydney and a missed penalty against Melbourne Heart.

“He’s pretty keen to get back out there, hopefully he’s put everything behind him now in terms of the last few weeks,” Postecoglou said.