Luke DeVere scored in the sixth minute of stoppage-time as 10-man Brisbane Roar salvaged a 1-1 home draw against Melbourne Victory on the opening day of the new A-League season.

The 26-year-old defender had not scored in the A-League since October 2010, but found the bottom corner with a right-footed strike with the last kick of the game after a free-kick had fallen into his path.

That brought a dramatic period of action to a close after Victory thought they had done enough to secure all three points on 83 minutes when Mitch Austin reacted quickly to fire in a low finish on his debut after the hosts failed to deal with Fahid Ben Khalfallah's cross from the right.

The visitors were sitting a goal and a man up at that stage – Roar captain Matt McKay having been sent off on his 200th club appearance midway through the second half having being shown two bookings – both for fouls on Ben Khalfallah.

However, DeVere had the last word to cap a frantic finish as the most successful two teams in A-League history shared the points.