It is one of the anomalies of the A-League that has seemed to be around from the inception of the competition and nobody seems to know why.
The Newcastle Jets head to Brisbane this weekend to tackle the Roar and on the line will be their excellent record in the Queensland capital.
Jets fans have come to know Brisbane as their home away from home. Some fans have even referred to Brisbane as ‘three-point city’ due to the Jets’ outstanding record at Suncorp Stadium. In total, the Jets have tasted victory at the home of one of the A-League’s powerhouses on nine occasions, with the Roar winning three times, leaving two clashes ending level.
Scott Miller will bring his men north in a confident mood after a surprise 2-1 victory at home last time out against Melbourne City. Newcastle had a season-high 17 shots on goal and their new signings in Steven Ugarkovic and especially Morten Nordstrand gave the team a new-look attacking emphasis and threat.
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Many pundits were worried where the threat was going to come from after the recent defection of David Carney to Sydney FC, but the Jets looked revitalised on the weekend. For one of the few times this, season the Jets took the game to their opponent and on another day could have found the net a few more times.
Even much maligned Serbian import Milos Trifunovic came to the party with both goals and he even received the praise of his boss Miller. Miller commented after the match how his Serbian striker had improved his work ethic and movement, resulting in finding himself in areas where he could hit the score sheet.
They will need their new players and the big Serb firing this weekend as they head across the border to face a Roar side that was in a dominant mood last weekend. Brisbane demolished the Central Coast Mariners 4-0 in front of the Den and in reality they should have won by more. In the end, they settled for goals from Jade North, Jamie Maclaren, Corona and Henrique in a comfortable victory.
John Aloisi has turned his coaching reputation around in the A-League after a difficult time at the helm of the then-Melbourne Heart. He has his new team playing a high-possession, high-tempo game that few sides in the league can match. Brisbane have the highest average possession percentage of any team in the competition (56.9%) and it is no surprise that they will try and unsettle the Jets this weekend.
Unlike many teams around the footballing world at the moment though, the Roar have no problem turning their possession dominance into goals. They are the equal-second-highest scorers in the league this season with 30 goals and they possess threats all over the pitch in the likes of Thomas Broich, Maclaren and Corona.
The Jets will have to be on their guard defensively if they are to contain the Brisbane strike force, but again they will be confident. Apart from a momentary lapse last weekend, they were able to successfully keep out the high-scoring City outfit. Newcastle will bring their full-strength back four to town this Friday and will attempt to make it as difficult as possible for Maclaren and company to penetrate.
It will be a simple game of the Roar looking to control the ball and therefore the match, while the Jets will look to win the ball back as quickly as possible and hit the Roar with quick, incisive counter-attacks. Looking at the ladder, you would think it should be a comfortable win for the home side, but this has been one fixture that has often thrown the form guide out the window.
It will be Miller’s task to tap into that record this weekend as he attempts to sustain Newcastle’s flickering finals hopes against a side that is up to its eyeballs in the race for the premiers’ plate. Aloisi’s men should be more desperate for the points as they look to sustain their title charge, but it would not be the first time the Jets have sprung the surprise north of the border now, would it?
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