The old sporting cliche says the table doesn’t lie but Brisbane coach Warren Moon senses plenty of falsehoods in Newcastle’s position at the bottom of the A-League Men ladder.
The Jets’ 2-1 loss to Adelaide United last Sunday left Arthur Papas’s team bottom of the league after six games, despite having a positive goal difference.
Newcastle have won plenty of plaudits for their eye-catching brand of football under Papas, but it has only resulted in one win.
Before a trip to McDonald Jones Stadium to face the Jets on Thursday, Moon believes that lowly status will almost certainly not be the case when the league progresses deeper into the season.
“They’re an excellent team,” Moon told AAP.
“We’ve looked at them closely knowing this game was coming up and yeah, they’re a really good side.
“They say the table never lies but I think with Newcastle, they’re a good side, you’re going to see them up the table — hopefully not on Thursday — but they’re a vastly improved side from last year.”
The Roar head to NSW riding high after an emphatic 3-0 win over Western Sydney, which proved to be the last match of Carl Robinson’s tenure with the Wanderers.
Having been forced to play a makeshift line-up against the Wanderers due to a mixture of injury and COVID-19 cases, Moon is anticipating the return of Nick Olsen and Alex Parsons to to boost his options.
He can also draw upon the good form of Nikola Mileusnic, whose double against the Wanderers took his tally to four goals in his past four matches.
“He’s a key player for us. That’s why we brought him in,” Moon said.
“We knew he offered something completely different with that threat in behind, directness, work rate and we knew he could contribute with goals.
“Now if you ask Nikola he’d probably liked to have scored more than he has but he’s scored four in the last four games and I think his contributions have been invaluable.”
Newcastle will be seeking a first win in six against the Roar, having failed to beat Brisbane at home in their past four visits.
