WELLINGTON Phoenix boss Ricki Herbert expects it to be well into the second half of the campaign before a leading group breaks away in a charge towards the finals - with his club to be one of them.
Gold Coast lead the way at the top while there is little between several teams at the lower end of the table.
Herbert said: "I said it before the season kicked off, the leading group won't be sorted till well past half way and I'm confident we'll be in that leading group."
Another three points this weekend would certainly help Phoenix in their quest but they will need to stop the man called 'God' to do so.
Robbie Fowler unleashed an absolute cracker as North Queensland Fury saw off Sydney FC on Saturday and Herbert cannot wait to welcome the former Liverpool and Leeds star across the Tasman.
Herbert added: "What a game it's going to be. Fury turned in a great performance against Sydney and we'll need to be at our best at Westpac on Sunday.
"It goes to show the closeness of competitiveness of this league. It's close from top to bottom and already things are tight."
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