Frank Farina will revert to a 4-4-2 formation for tomorrow's match against the Newcastle Jets in an effort to secure a valuable three points on the road.

Reinaldo will partner Sergio van Dijk in attack for his first start in nearly a year, with injury-cover signing Ivan Franjic set to make his Hyundai A-League debut at right back.

Danny Tiatto moves to the left side of defence, while Bob Malcolm will anchor the attack-minded midfield of Mitch Nichols, Henrique and Charlie Miller.

Farina said last week's performance in North Queensland prompted the change.

"Last week was most probably our worst performance," he said. "Hopefully that's out of the way and we can move on and start to play as we can."

The Brisbane boss said he was expecting a tight contest against the Jets, with last year's wooden spooners off to an impressive start this season.

"It'll be a tough one," he said. "It always is going down to Newcastle.

"The Champions League helped them out a lot, kept them ticking over."

With Korean import Jin-Hyung Song strongly influential in the Jets opening rounds, his battle with Malcolm in the middle of the park is expected to be key in the outcome of the match.

Farina was confident the Scotsman would do well in his first start in midfield.

"Bob's got a role to do and he's got all the attributes to do it well," he said.

"Bob's an excellent passer of the ball; he's comfortable on the ball. He'll play that holding midfield role with Mitch, Henrique and Charlie as our go-forward guys."

Brisbane Roar's match against the Newcastle Jets kicks off at 5.30pm tomorrow at EnergyAustralia Stadium and will be broadcast live on Fox Sports 1.