HIRED gun Leonardo played the final 30 minutes but the Brazilian was unable to conjure a winner as the Jets played out a scoreless draw with the Brisbane Roar in Redlands on Saturday.
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Leonardo, a former Feyenoord and Ajax star, replaced Mitch Cooper in the No.10 role on the hour.
Welcomed to the A-League by a crunching tackle by former jets captain Jade North, the 32-year-old pushed and probed in an encouraging start to his campaign.
Labinot Haliti went closest to breaking the deadlock in the 81st minute when he had a shot cleared off the line by Corey Brown.
Haliti had early been denied by a fantastic save from Roar keeper Jamie Young after the striker had latched on to a cross from David Carney.
Costa Rican forward Jean Carlos Solórzano was the most likely for the Roar.
The Jets have restructured their defence under new coach Scott Miller and it was again at the forefront.
“The commitment and desire that I am seeing from our players as we head into the season is very good,” Miller said.
“Today they demonstrated a real understanding for their roles and responsibilities, and while there were no goals scored in the match I was happy with the chances we created in attack.
“The mentality of the group is definitely positive, and with just 29 days to go until we start the season proper I am pleased with where things are at.”
