Newcastle Jets wide midfielder Jeremy Brockie is looking forward to returning to his homeland this weekend.
The New Zealand international will be in Wellington, which is just a 20 minute flight across to the south island from his home city of Nelson, as the Jets strive to get back to form following two disappointing losses on the trot.
Newcastle meet the Phoenix at Westpac Stadium on Sunday and Brockie, who is still regaining full fitness after three months out with a broken bone in his foot, is eagerly anticipating the trip.
"I'm looking forward to heading to Wellington where I will get to catch up with family and friends," he told tribalfootball.com.
"When I first got injured I wanted to be back in time for the Wellington fixture. I've had 20 minutes or so in the last two games and I'll be aiming for more than that this week."
And the magnitude of the clash with the seventh-placed Phoenix is not lost on the 23-year old, who sees his Jets side sitting eighth on the table but just two points out of the final six.
"It's an important game for us and we have to bounce back and try to get a result this weekend," he added.
The Jets take on the Phoenix this Sunday, January 30 at Westpac - kick-off is at 5:00pm local time (3:00pm AEDT). After that, the Jets squad will travel straight to Melbourne to prepare for the midweek clash with Melbourne Victory on Wednesday, February 2.