Clark spent two years in the nation's capital between 1998 and 2000 with the Canberra Cosmos in the now defunct National Soccer League.

But while he made 21 appearances for Cosmos, there was a more lasting partnership that began during his time in the city.
 
"Back to Canberra to visit my lovely fiancé's family, so that will be nice," says Clark, who is due to marry his partner Rebecca later this month after the pair met during his time in Canberra.

"It's a great place to play football, and it will be a tough game against Perth, so I hope we can get the result down there."
 
Clark has been battling a niggling calf injury for much of the club's pre-season, the final 10 minutes of last week's round four match in Brisbane being the sole game time he's experienced so far this campaign.
 
"It's been a really difficult time for me, missing pre-season with a bit of a calf strain," he said. "It seemed like a long road back, but I can see the end of it now, so hopefully I can just keep working on my game, and get back to where I need to be."
 
The Mariners enjoy a better record against Perth than any other opponents in the A-League, with 10 successes over Glory in 15 meetings, most memorably the 1-0 victory in the final of the 2005 Pre Season Cup, to claim the club's first ever piece of silverware.
 
But Clark is only too well aware of Perth Glory'srevitalised vigour this season.
 
"(Perth) are a new team this year. They're really pushing forward in terms of the players they've signed and what's expected of their squad," he said.

"History is nice, but we've got a really big game ahead of us and we've got to be prepared for a significantly different Perth squad to what we've seen in the past.
 
"I think they are going to be thereabouts this year, and we are going to have to be at our best to win the game."
 
Central Coast have a good record in Canberra too, having beaten Sydney FC 3-0 in a Pre-Season Cup clash at Canberra Stadium two years ago, before repeating that scoreline in a trial match against Newcastle just over 12 months ago.
 
With Football Federation Australia due to announce the successful bid for a 12th A-League licence next month, and with Canberra among the front-runners, Clark believes Friday's match serves as the perfect opportunity for locals to send a message of support to the A-League4Canberra bid.
 
Clark added: "The crowds weren't massive when I was at the Cosmos but they are serious about getting an A-League franchise in the future and if they want to do that they are going to have to turn up to the game, and show the FFA they are ready to support football."