Roar battled hard in the closing stages of their 2-1 defeat and came close to snatching a point at the SFS yesterday.

New coach Postecoglou had no complaints on the effort front but knows points are the immediate order of the day.

However, the boss was happy with the way his side performed against Sydney and that instructions and tactics were followed.

Another step forward was the defeat brought only one addition to the club's yellow card count, a late booking for Andrew Packer.

"They set a standard in terms of effort, discipline and organisation. I thought tactically we were good, we were disciplined. People did their jobs," he said.

"I think in this league sometimes I think that's more important than the actual personnel you've got out there. If the team's off five per cent, even in their effort they get punished."

Despite seeing plenty of positives to build on, coach was still disappointed that another 90 minutes had ended without a point in the bag.

He added: "We didn't win and have to turn that around pretty quickly."