Brisbane Roar will brace themselves for more tight turnarounds and tough travel schedules as they attempt to juggle border restrictions with the start of the A-League Men season.
Roar flew into Melbourne on Friday afternoon, just hours out from facing Melbourne City, and suffered a 2-1 loss.
The whirlwind trip was amid tight travel restrictions imposed by Queensland authorities to allow Brisbane to make the return trip across state borders without quarantining.
Coach Warren Moon was prepared for the same rules to apply next Sunday against Melbourne Victory, and potentially against Western United on December 11.
“We are going to have to be resilient and we’re going to have to find a way,” Moon said.
“What choice do we have? We’re not the decision-makers unfortunately.
“I would love to obviously have the same opportunities and advantages everyone else has: a proper preparation for the games that we all expect – every team.
“So that’s our challenge and we have to try and find a way to overcome it.
“We can’t moan about it now, it’s done, it’s in place and I believe unless anything changes we’ll do it again in round four for Western United.”
A bemused Moon had lamented the Roar only learning about the restrictions they would face on Tuesday
“When the draw came out officially six or seven weeks ago, Brisbane Roar were asking the questions of the league and the government and I think it wasn’t until Tuesday that we had a definitive answer what we were doing,” Moon said.
“So I’m gobsmacked, really. I don’t know what to say about it.
“I come from the NPL where we would travel the day before because we know that’s best practice yet in the A-League we’re round one against one of the best teams in the land, we’re not arriving in Melbourne until three o’clock in the afternoon.
“The state government was dealing directly with the APL and the APL were very aware of the government restrictions from our state coming into this state.
“Melbourne’s not the only team we could’ve played round one, I know that much. But again, the decision has been made and here we are.”
The Roar will sweat on Jack Hingert after the experienced defender was substituted off with a hamstring injury.
Moon expected Juan Lescano (hamstring) and Jez Lofthouse (groin) to be fit to face the Victory but was less confident on the fitness of skipper Tom Aldred (knee).
