Frank Farina's men ended the season with a preliminary final date with Adelaide but an Ognenovski-inspired Reds ended their chances with a 1-0 win.

Milicic, a Roar player from 2006 to late 2007 after switching from the Jets, says Queensland are still lacking in certain positions on the park and he points to the loss of the Macedonian international in waiting as being the one that hurt the most.

 "Maybe defensively I still feel they never replaced Sasa Ognenovski suitably," he told au.fourfourtwo.com. "It's a big statement but I think if Adelaide didn't sign Sasa, they wouldn't have been the team they were.

"He was the standout. Losing him made Roar's direct opponent Adelaide much stronger."

Roar paired talented youngster Luke de Vere with veteran Socceroo Craig Moore for most of this season to plug the gap left by the aggressive defender who is set to make his international debut with Macedonia in the next few weeks.

"They weren't as solid as they could've been with Sasa there. Which striker would get any change from Sasa and Craig?" asked Milicic, a former NAC Breda striker who was capped five times by the Socceroos.

Milicic also questioned whether the Gold Coast versus Roar derby would take over as the A-League's biggest rivalry when season five kicks off later this year.

"I'm sure in that first year Gold Coast will get a lot of hype and attention," he said. "Have they got that confirmed supporter base to make that a huge rivalry? I'm not sure.

"Sporting-wise and football-wise I'm not sure how much the Gold Coast public will take to the team.

"They've built a very exciting squad and they have an exciting assistant coach but it's probably too early to tell if the rivalry will be as big as other [derbies].

"Sydney versus Melbourne [Melbourne-Adelaide, Jets-Mariners] and Sydney versus Queensland are the main derbies in the A-League and I can't see that changing."

Currently, Milicic is Sydney United's player-coach in the NSW Premier League and was a guest speaker at the recent FFA coaching conference.