The former Socceroos striker limped off the field with a thigh injury after 57 minutes during his side's nil-nil draw with Yeovil, but the prolific scorer had already done enough to ensure an offer from the A-League newcomers.

"I was happy with what I saw," said Bleiberg. "We'll approach him when permitted."

Having notched up 12 goals already this season, Porter is one of the six top scorers in the UK's League One. Although he remains officially off limits to other clubs until January 1 next year, a return to Australia now looks all but certain.

Bleiberg rated Porter the best player on the pitch on Saturday, and dismissed any lingering fitness concerns. He pointed out the 30-year-old had played 17 full games out of 19 this season - more than any of his team mates, according to the official match program.

Porter quickly smacked in five goals after joining Hartlepool in 2003, and scored another 15 the following year. But he missed the majority of the 2005/06 campaign with a knee injury, and remained sidelined through most of the following season.

This year has been another story, however, with Hartlepool sitting comfortably in the middle of the table and Porter's regular goal-scoring feats the key to avoiding relegation. Porter's best-scoring team-mates have only eight and five goals apiece.

A Smeltz-Porter front line partnership at Skilled Park will be a bitter pill for Wellington Phoenix fans, who had both players lined up last season before Hartlepool refused to release their Australian ace.

Bleiberg has previously insisted that he will not sign players he has not seen in person, and he travelled all the way to England's cold north in near-zero temperatures to confirm his interest.

Hartlepool's last game this season is against Bristol Rovers on May 2, 2009, and Gold Coast fans will be hoping to see Joel Porter take the pitch against Beijing Guoan FC in the Chinese capital's Bird's Nest Stadium the following month.