The improved form coincided with the return of Brett Holman, who scored the winner against Perth Glory off the bench a week after their loss to the Jets. He has also bagged two more in the last three games.

But this game brought a new challenge for the resurgent Roar when they took on a Newcastle side who have had mixed results themselves of late with a win, loss and two draws. If the Hunter outfit were to pressure Sydney FC at the summit and mount a realistic challenge for the Premiers Plate, they needed three away points here.

It looked, for a long time, that two outstanding goalkeeping displays would ensure an entertaining scoreless draw, but on a muggy evening in Brisbane the game opened up and the substitutes would have their say. Joey Champness came on to provide the spark and took just two touches to finish nicely against his former employer and secure a 1-0 win for the Jets.

Who else performed at the top of their game? Check out our player ratings below.

Brisbane Roar

Jamie Young – 9

Showed wonderful anticipation to keep the score at 0-0 when he denied Nabbout then pressured the second shot also. Pulled off a wonder save from a Petratos free kick. Was beaten in the end but could hold his head high. Outstanding performance.

Jack Hingert – 6

Had a challenging night and had to deal with a lot of the attack coming down his side.

Avraam Papadopoulos – 7

A lot of interceptions in the first half where Newcastle had most of the ball. Was strong in the air and typically staunch with his back to goal.

Jade North – 6

Lucky not to pick up a booking when he clattered into Roy O’Donovan, then lucky again when he slid in to take out a charging Jason Hoffman. Third times a charm when he upended Dimi Petratos and he received his yellow card. Despite that, unlucky not to keep a clean sheet.

Ivan Franjic – 6

Fantastic intervention to clear a rebound from a Jamie Young save. Missed a golden chance to head into an open net after a set-piece. Replaced by Corey Brown with 10 minutes left.

Thomas Kristensen – 6.5

Clever player and a clever ball should have given Ivan Franjic a goal. Again was the creator to put Maccarone through in the second half but the Italian couldn’t capitalize. As fitness returns Brisbane will be better for it.

Matt McKay – 6.5

Worked hard to upset the rhythm of the Newcastle midfield and got on top for periods. A little wayward with his distribution.

Brett Holman – 6

The switch of play from the veteran was a delight to watch, along with Bautheac’s. Had a chance to give the Roar the lead on the stroke of half-time but couldn’t get around Jack Duncan. Didn’t have as much effect as recent weeks and subbed off for Henrique.

Fahid Ben Khalfallah – 6

Not his best night as Wayne Brown and Steve Ugarkovic kept him relatively quiet. Had few chances.

Eric Bautheac – 6.5

Touches of class and quality distribution but needed more chances on the ball.

Massimo Maccarone – 7

Stretched the legs out several times in the first half and became a creative source with some nice touches. Should have done better when Kristensen played him in but he went for the assist and should have been more selfish. On a humid night was subbed after 78 minutes.

SUBS

Henrique – 6.5

It was a welcome home reunion for the multi-Championship winning ‘Slippery Fish’. Given 20 minutes and came on to a rapturous applause. Saw the headlines shortly after his introduction when he sprung the offside but his cross let him down.

Corey Gameiro – 6

A 78th minute substitute for Maccarone. Had one good chance forward but the ball didn’t fall for him.

Corey Brown – N/A

Replaced Ivan Franjic with less than 10 minutes to go. His fresh legs certainly made a difference as the Roar broke down the left with ease but in the end couldn’t make a telling contribution.

Newcastle Jets

Jack Duncan – 7.5

Denied Khalfallah at close range with a good stop then kept it scoreless at half-time with a smart save to deny Brett Holman. A hard-earnt clean sheet.

Jason Hoffman – 7

What a season he is having. In the right-back position tonight but got forward almost as much as he would when playing on the wing. His positioning and pass selection was top notch.

Nikolai Topor-Stanley – 7

Cool calm and collected. Almost blew it when he clearly fouled a Roar defender in the box with minutes left but the referee didn’t call any foul play.

Nigel Boogaard – 7.5

Beautiful release to set up O’Donovan one on one but the Irishmen couldn’t capitalize. Wonderful interception when it looked like the script was written for Henrique. He sprinted 40m to get in between Henrique and Maccarone and it paid off.

Daniel Georgievski – 6

A few nervous moments but overall did his job containing the Roar attacking raids.

Wayne Brown – 7

Involved in a lot of short sharp link up play in the centre of the park and showed good close control. Plugged the gaps in the midfield with Ugarkovic very well.

Steven Ugarkovic – 7.5

On the receiving end of an Ernie Merrick spray when Newcastle lost a bit of control in the midfield. Almost made up for it with a long-range shot after 66 minutes. Became the creator when he evaded defenders and slid a lovely ball through for Joey Champness to open the scoring.

Dimitri Petratos – 6

Along with Nabbout took a bit of a back seat to McGree but still managed to come within a foot of scoring a beautiful free kick. Given an early shower to help at a more defensive minded player on the pitch.

Andrew Nabbout – 6

Won’t be proud of his efforts on 18 minutes when he should have finished to put the Jets up. A quiet night by his standards and was taken off for Joey Champness with 20 minutes left.

Riley McGree – 7.5

Chance to start and almost set up the opener with a lovely touch in for Nabbout. Exciting to watch the 19yo and he tried to mimic his teammates effort of last week with a wonderful outside of the boot shot to threaten Brisbane’s goal. Was denied again by Jamie Young late in the game.

Roy O’Donovan – 5.5

Had a one on one opportunity early when played through but got himself in a tangle. Clearly still short of a run. Spent a lot of time on the ground. Subbed off with 10 minutes to go.

SUBS

 

Joey Champness – 7.5

Almost an immediate impact when he cut the ball back into the middle but it was not to be until 10 minutes later when he took one touch with his right before finishing with his left.

Angus Thurgate – N/A

Gave Roy O’Donovan a rest and nearly sealed the result when he put in a lovely cross to Riley McGree at the death.

Ivan Vujica – N/A

Came on to sure up the defence after the Jets went ahead.