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Former Liverpool star Daniel Sturridge faces another frustrating stint on the sidelines after injuring his groin in Wednesday's drama-filled 1-0 loss to Macarthur in Launceston.

Sturridge was brought on for the start of the second half, but he lasted just 18 minutes before injuring his left groin while stretching for the ball.

Macarthur hit the lead courtesy of Ulises Davila's ninth-minute strike.

Sturridge had the perfect chance to equalise in the 58th minute, but he scuffed the shot from inside the box with the goal beckoning.

There was plenty of late drama in the match after Macarthur defender Aleksandar Susnjar was given his marching orders in the 75th minute for a second bookable offence.

His first yellow card came for bringing down Sturridge.

But Susnjar only had himself to blame for the second yellow, with the 26-year-old penalised for standing directly in front of the ball while a Glory player was trying to take a free kick.

Glory midfielder Daniel Stynes almost snatched an equaliser in the 90th minute, only for his strike to clatter off the upright.

Then in the third minute of injury time, Glory were awarded a penalty for a Lachlan Rose handball after the ball was kicked into him from close range.

The VAR was called into action and referee Kurt Ams reversed his decision after deciding Rose hadn't moved his arm away from the body.

"What a shambles mate, absolute shambles," Glory coach Richard Garcia fumed from the bench.

The sight of Sturridge limping off in the 64th minute was a major downer for Glory.

Sturridge was making just his fifth cameo off the bench, with his stint in Australia blighted by three separate stints in quarantine and a slow build-up to match fitness.

"I don't think he probably warmed up as hard as he probably should have," Garcia said of Sturridge's injury.

"But that sometimes happens in games. We had him in during the half-time and he probably didn't get as much time as he should have to warm up, and he pulled something."

The result lifted Macarthur into third spot, while Glory remain 10th but with games in hand.

A defensive blooper by Aaron Calver handed Macarthur the only goal of the match.

Calver could only watch on in horror as the ball squeezed under his boot and Davila pounced on it for an easy goal.

Macarthur defender Jake McGing came off in the 32nd minute after injuring his left hamstring.

Bulls coach Ante Milicic was absent from the match after falling ill.

"He was a little crook in the morning," stand-in coach Ivan Jolic said.

"We had our usual chat on match day and I was under the impression he would make it.

"But we just felt it was best to quarantine for the day. He's got a bit of a bug."

© AAP 2022

Australia will target Russia with a round of sanctions following its invasion of Ukraine, as Prime Minister Scott Morrison promised to "ratchet up" the response should military action continue.

Sanctions and travel bans will target eight members of the Russian Federation's security council, while existing sanctions in place over past aggression will be expanded.

Russian banks have also been targeted.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he expected further tranches of sanctions against more individuals but remained tight-lipped about who would be targeted.

"We will take this step by step and I can assure you those steps will get stronger and stronger," he told reporters in Sydney.

Meanwhile, Russia's ambassador to Australia, Alexey Pavlovsky, met with the secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday afternoon, following announcement of the sanctions.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin has ordered troops into eastern Ukraine in a move he said was aimed at keeping the peace, after Moscow recognised the separatist regions of Donetsk and Luhansk as independent.

US President Joe Biden described the action as the beginning of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Mr Morrison, who convened cabinet's national security committee on Wednesday, said Russia needed to understand the world's condemnation of its decision.

"The invasion of Ukraine has effectively already begun. They're acting like thugs and bullies," he said.

"Australians always stand up to bullies and we will be standing up to Russia."

Around 430 Ukrainian visa applications will jump to the top of the pile and the more than 1000 Ukrainians outside Australia who already have visas are being welcomed back, Mr Morrison said.

It is believed up to 1400 Australians remain in Ukraine, with 184 registered for embassy support, which is currently being run out of Poland.

"Ukrainian visa holders who wish to remain in Australia beyond the validity of their current visas are able to apply for further visas for which they may be eligible," a Department of Home Affairs spokesman said.

"Australia does not return individuals to situations where they face persecution or a real risk of torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment."

Mr Morrison spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart Denys Shmyhal on Wednesday night informing him of the sanctions.

A spokesman said Mr Morrison told Prime Minister Shmyhal that Russia's behaviour towards Ukraine was "unacceptable, unprovoked and unwarranted".

"Prime Minister Morrison reaffirmed Australia's unwavering commitment to Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity," the spokesman said.

"The Prime Minister affirmed Australia's preparedness to do more, working with our partners, and in response to Ukraine's needs."

The sanctions policy will follow the United States and United Kingdom, which are targeting Russian billionaires and financial institutions.

Germany has also put the brakes on a new gas pipeline.

Australia has ruled out direct military assistance and is supporting Ukraine's cyber capability.

"It's important that we play our part in the broader international community to ensure that those who are financially profiting from an autocrat should have nowhere to run and nowhere to hide when it comes to trying to move their money around," Mr Morrison said.

Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese, who has been briefed on the situation by intelligence agencies, said the Russian invasion was a shocking development.

"Labor supports the announcement made by the government - we believe it is important when it comes to national security that we express a common view on behalf of the Australian people," he said.

"What we see with ongoing intimidation against the people of Ukraine is aggressive Russian action which undermines security in the region and indeed the world."

Labor's foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong said it was important for Australia to act in lock step with its international partners in condemnation of the Russian action.

Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews, who met her counterparts in the Five Eyes intelligence alliance over the issue, has voiced concerns about a potential cyber attack on Australian critical infrastructure.

© AAP 2022

The police officer who led the initial search for a backpacker missing in Byron Bay was inexperienced, missing vital training and would conduct the operation very differently with the benefit of hindsight.

Speaking at an inquest into the disappearance of Theo Hayez on Wednesday - the same day police announced a $500,000 reward for information in his case - Senior Constable Louis Papworth admitted he had conducted only two minor searches before the Belgian teen went missing.

Both were launched within hours of when the subject was last seen and both people were located quickly.

Sen Const Papworth said the magnitude and complexity of the Hayez search - which began nine days after he was last seen on May 31, 2019 - made it vastly different to anything he'd ever done before.

It remains the hardest search he's ever done, and he thinks of the teen on a daily basis, he told the inquest.

Sen Const Papworth ended up coordinating the search over its first two days, despite being recently accredited, simply because he had the on-call phone at the time, he said.

He also had no training in a GPS search mapping tool, and instead relied on paper maps and pens.

The officer was under a lot of pressure from the get go, given time was running out to find the 18-year-old alive.

"I'm not an expert in timeframes of survival, but obviously nine days being injured or in need of medical attention is a very long time," Sen Const Papworth said.

"It was concerning."

Due to the urgency of the search and his inexperience, he told the inquest he had made some mistakes.

His paperwork from the first day of the search wasn't up to its usual standard, and he had deployed volunteers without a picture of Theo and had also sent out teams without GPS devices to log their movements on at least the first - and probably the second - day of the search.

"I've sort of got a belief now that if there's not GPS data, (in my eyes) that area hasn't been searched," he said.

Sen Const Papworth was also asked why a helicopter or drone capable of thermal imaging hadn't been requested to help find a body.

"I don't really have an explanation for that. I suppose it was an oversight on my part in regards to my inexperience."

He said he could not recall receiving a text from another officer who earlier gave evidence she had suggested he do so.

With the benefit of hindsight he would also have tried to find out more about Theo's interests and behaviour, to help tailor the search.

If he had access to location data sourced from Theo's phone on those first two days, Sen Const Papworth agreed he would have approached the search "in a very different way, and with a lot more intensity".

The data showed Theo had spent seven minutes at a local sporting field, before charting a route through the Arakwal National Park to Cosy Corner Beach.

The current police theory is that Theo clambered up the beachside cliffs, dropped his phone, then fell and was swept out to sea, something his family says goes against the teen's sensible, risk-averse nature.

Another search and rescue operator who searched the cliffs in the area with a drone and by abseiling down some told the inquest on Wednesday they were incredibly steep and crumbly.

"I've been off many, many, many cliffs and that one made me nervous," Senior Constable John Stirling said.

The inquest will continue on Thursday, when it is due to hear "significant" new evidence that could narrow down the teen's last movements, the counsel assisting the coroner said.

She also said investigators are hopeful they've tracked down someone who was exchanging messages with Theo shortly before his phone stopped transmitting his location.

© AAP 2022