Despite being named the best player in the A-League grand final in 2008 as he guided the Newcastle Jets to a historic championship, Andrew Durante decided to up sticks and move across the ditch to join the Wellington Phoenix.
The Australian defender was starting to enter his prime at 26 and with the Joe Marston Medal in his luggage for his man of the match performance, after the Jets beat the Central Coast Mariners 1-0 to lift the crown, Durante linked with the Phoenix.
It may have been a surprising move to some; joining a New Zealand club competing in an Australian sporting league isn't always the fashionable option, but as players across rugby league, basketball and football can tell you, it has been the launching pad for their careers.
To be fair, Durante was hardly an unknown when he began his tenure with the club having played professionally in Australia and Singapore since he started as a rookie with Sydney Olympic in 2001, but once he made the move he stamped his mark on the A-League.
His partnership in the heart of the Phoenix defence with Ben Sigmund has matured during the past two years and the ultra-durable Durante rarely seems to miss a game.
The 29-year-old played every minute of the 2009-2010 season as the defender, and on the back of some Paul Ifill magic and goalkeeping heroics from Liam Reddy, led the fledging club to within one game of the A-League grand final.
That campaign also marked Durante breaking his much publicised goal-drought when he finally netted in his 88th A-League game - although some records suggest it was his 86th - which was one of the longest dry spells in the short history of the competition.
His header against Sydney FC in the preliminary final put the side back on level terms at 1-all, before Chris Payne handed the Phoenix the telling blow with a goal off his arm and Wellington saw their season end with a 4-2 defeat.
Fast forward a season and a half and Durante is on the verge of extending his contract in Wellington, which will keep him at the club for another two or three seasons and the 1.82 metre leader said he has loved his time in New Zealand's capital.
"This is my fourth season now, so I've really settled in well and and I'm really enjoying it,'' he told APNZ.
"I guess the weather's the toughest thing you have to adapt to, but I think generally the lifestyle - I'm here with my wife and my little one and she loves it - you can walk everywhere and it's such a great town for that. And, on a nice day there's not many better places. So I think the transition's been pretty easy and I think the playing group helps a lot. We've got such a great bunch of blokes here that it's so enjoyable to come to training everyday.''
It's a good thing the club is full of those great blokes Durante refers to, because the Phoenix have endured some tumultuous times during the past six months.
Following the never ending questions about former owner Terry Serepisos' ability to run the club, then the take over of the licence by the Welnix Ltd consortium, to starting the season with a paper-thin squad that was crippled by injuries and suspension, it hasn't always been plain sailing at Phoenix HQ this year. The club also lost chief executive Nathan Greenham after he resigned recently.
"Personally I found it a really difficult time going through the transition,'' Durante said of the ownership change.
"Will Terry be around? And who are the new owners? Will there be a club? And there was a lot of questions from the players obviously towards me and then me on towards the staff above. But it was a really testing time and I guess you come out of that a better person and grow from that. So I think I've done that and I think most of the players have come out of it on the better side. I thought we handled it really well, the whole situation and obviously that's in the past now and I think it's really positive going forward.''
One thing that hasn't changed about the Phoenix is their formidable home record at Westpac Stadium.
Teams from Australia seem to take to the turf in Wellington and lose the ability to perform and no side has done it worse than Durante's former club, the Newcastle Jets, who have only won once in nine trips to the Cake Tin.
Durante can't quite put his finger on what makes it so tough to come to Wellington.
"I don't know. I think, obviously, there's always the travel factor that plays a part in when players come here and teams come here. But I think the Yellow Fever [supporters group] are brilliant. The surface here's always immaculate and we really enjoy playing here, whether it's on a Friday night or a Sunday it's really good. Night games are nice to play, but I think the families really get out on Sunday afternoon games and it's probably a bit of a better feel.''
As for the future of the club, the new owners are yet to dig in to their deep pockets to make a major signing, but with the January transfer window looming, Durante said he would love to see a five-star addition come to Wellington.
"I'd like to see players come in. Really exciting players, big players, marquees. That's on a personal note ... Obviously there's all the talk about academies and yeah, development and that's fantastic. But you know, I've got a couple of years, maybe three to four years left in the game so I'm probably a little bit selfish and I really want to see results on the field and that's buying some big name players so we can win stuff. And, I think winning things breeds winners so I think that's the most important thing at the moment. But definitely the youth system is always equally important.''
The Phoenix sit fifth on the A-League ladder with about half of the season gone and if they want to make a serious tilt at the finals during the next few months then a signing in the transfer window would be an ideal time to strike.
Although Durante has been named in Australian squads he has never taken the field for the Socceroos, which begs the question, could we see him in an All Whites' jersey if he completes the residency requirements?
"I've been asked this so many times. You never know, I don't know. I'm obviously a proud Aussie, but sometimes football throws some funny things at you and look, if Ricki [Herbert] is in need and I haven't represented Australia, we'll talk at the time. But you never say never, I guess.''
