The 1-0 loss to Newcastle on Friday continued the Roar’s uncanny replication of last season’s opening results which were eventually turned by the talented youngsters who perhaps face a tougher task this time as known threats.

Coming off the bench in the 67th minute against the Jets, the pair immediately boosted the Roar attack as Zullo snapped a half-chance at goal with his first touch while Minniecon’s mazy runs caused chaos.

While there can be no doubting the potential impact of the zippy youngsters, Minniecon said playing the role of impact player left little margin for error.

“It’s difficult if you don’t get the ball as much as you’d like to but I got the ball early on and got a few touches straight away and got into the game quickly so I enjoyed it,” he said.

“You can’t wait around because we don’t have the whole 90 minutes to prove ourselves, so we’ve got to do as much as we can in as little time as we can.”

Zullo said the players were looking to atone for letting the Jets somehow snatch a win in front of the Roar’s own fans.

“You always want to try and be the best player that you can be and we weren’t that on the weekend,” he said.

“All the boys felt bad for ourselves, slipping in the league, but also the supporters who come out to pay to see us. They were very disappointed and we knew that so we’ve definitely got to lift it this week.”

The Roar now face two daunting trips away to Melbourne Victory and Sydney FC who share top spot on the Hyundai A-League ladder.

“It’s going to be a big challenge for us going down to Melbourne and Sydney,” Minniecon said. “They’ve got two good teams this year.”

Zullo said the next two games would be crucial to the Roar’s season.

“(Melbourne’s) attacking play is second to none in the league,” he said. “When they gel they can be really scary so we’ll definitely have to clamp down on that early and try and stop that.”

Queensland Roar’s match against Melbourne Victory kicks off at 5pm this Sunday and will be broadcast live on Fox Sports 2.