Roar coach Michael Valkanis has added steel to the side that finished 12th last year, and they absorbed early pressure to stay right in the fight.
"They are a team capable of creating chances and I thought that part of the game we did very well in terms of stifling them," Valkanis said.
"I am a really happy with that effort, grit and defending part of the game. The (attacking) part of the game we will grow and get better at."
City's point kept them at the top of the ladder.
The biggest concern for coach Aurelio Vidmar was the hamstring injury to midfielder and stand-in captain Matthew Leckie, who did not return after halftime.
Vidmar said Leckie was "complaining of tightness in the hamstring", but he wasn't sure of the extent of the injury ahead of Tuesday night's away AFC Champions League Elite clash with Japanese side Machida Zelvia.
"We didn't move the ball as well as we usually do and made our life difficult in the first half. We fixed that in the second half and created two clear chances," Vidmar said of his side's performance.
Friday's clash ended with fire and brimstone in stoppage time after Roar's George Vrakas won a penalty after a Nathaniel Atkinson challenge.
The players came together in a melee that threatened to explode.
"That's passion," Valkanis said.
The Roar had won just the once against the powerhouse City outfit in their past 10 meetings, losing their previous three.
The heavy pitch at Suncorp Stadium, cut up by rain and a Samoa versus Tonga rugby league Test match five days earlier, had players slipping and sliding in highly humid conditions.
The visitors dominated possession in the opening quarter of the match but did little with it in front of 5146 fans as the Roar found it tough to string multiple passes together.
Roar midfielder Jordan Lauton was given a yellow for a challenge on Atkinson in the 18th minute.
Socceroos star Leckie was classy when he glided forward and drew a yellow card for Roar defender Lucas Herrington.
Neither goalkeeper had much to do in the opening half.
The best chance for either side came in the shadows of halftime when forward Justin Vidic set up captain Jay O'Shea for a shot that slid wide from just outside the box.
The Roar started the second half like they began the first, giving the ball away.
City forward Ben Mazzeo was presented with a clear shot on goal after the break, but sprayed a golden chance.
Vidic couldn't get his angles right with a shot from the near post after the Roar's best move of the second stanza.
O'Shea drilled a free kick from outside the box that deflected just over the bar in the 77th minute.
City 16-year-old Besian Kutleshi had a strong match in defence in his first A-League start.
Herrington was a tower of strength for the Roar in central defence and will be missed when he joins the Colorado Rapids in January.
Roar teenager Quinn MacNicol offered plenty going forward when he came on late.
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