Having made the switch at the end of the last A-League campaign, the striker has settled in well under Lawrie McKinna and confidence is high in the camp.

And taking down Sydney this weekend should also ensure that he retains his spot at the top of the pre-season scoring stakes.

Petrovski, who netted 14 goals in two seasons for Sydney FC, would love to shoot down his old club.

He said: “It’ll be interesting to come up against them and I’ve been looking forward to it.

“Hopefully I will get selected and if I’m not rested, I’m definitely up for it.”

Petrovski has banged in six goals since the competition was first contested and adding to that tally is very much in his thoughts.

His Pre-Season Cup haul beats that of fellow hot shots Danny Allsopp and Archie Thompson respectively with Mariners teammates Adam Kwasnik and Nik Mrdja boasting three apiece.

Should he be selected for the clash at Canberra Stadium, he will also become the first Mariner to play against a former club.

The occasion has added spice as anything less than victory for Sydney will dash its hopes of further progression in the competition.

The issue of bonus points makes the Cup picture somewhat more complex than the A-League but Culina’s men must look to win convincingly (by a margin of three goals) in order to make progress.

And Culina’s side will have to beat a team in good form.

Petrovski said: “We've worked very hard from day one when we all got together and the team is coming along pretty well, we're just trying to get into the winning mentality and get into the habit of trying to win every game.

"If we can do that, then it puts us in a healthy situation heading into the Hyundai A-League.”

And as for his own form in front of goal, he said: “It's always nice to be up there and recognised as a top goal scorer, but I can see that things are a little bit different at the Mariners.

“There are a lot of players in this team that are capable of scoring goals. As long as we win and get the results that we need, that's the main thing.

"In saying that, it'd be nice to keep my record and statistics going in the right way."

Not that the goalscoring burden has been placed entirely on Petrovski’s shoulders. There is other firepower in the Mariners' camp.

Of fellow forward Nik Mrdja, he said: “Our partnership is going along really well.

"Nik's a strong boy and he likes to hold the ball up and use his strengths.

"We've just got to read each other a little bit more, know our strengths and the right things will happen for us.”