Football: Roar final hurdle for the Phoenix

Thomas Broich of the Roar and Vince Lia of Wellington Phoenix compete for the ball. Photo / Getty

Beating the Roar in Brisbane is the final frontier for the Wellington Phoenix.

They have toppled the Victory in Melbourne, tamed the Wanderers in Western Sydney but beating the Roar away from home has always proved too tough.

Wellington have played the Roar at Suncorp Stadium 11 times, and once at Skilled Park on the Gold Coast, for 10 losses and two draws dating back to 2007.

There's a long road ahead to even the ledger but Wellington can make a start when they meet the Roar across the Tasman tomorrow.

"It'd be nice," Phoenix skipper Andrew Durante said. "It's an important game. It's a game that we need to win to stay top of the table and as long as we play the football that we've been playing over the last few weeks then there's no reason why we can't come back with three points."

There's an extra buzz around the Phoenix at the moment given they've reach the giddy heights of leading the A-League and with six rounds to go are on track for a top-two finish.

The stretch to the post-season is tricky for Wellington as they will meet teams who are all in the hunt for the playoffs.

"We've got four home games out of the last six so even though they're against good opposition, you like to back yourself at home and I think we've got a good chance," Durante said.

Durante will have a new member of the backline alongside him this week with defender Manny Muscat ruled out through a shoulder injury. Michael Boxall will likely play with Louis Fenton pushing over to left back.

Meanwhile, the All Whites have a friendly against Korea next week but Durante is still not required for duty under Anthony Hudson.

The new coach has made a point of picking inexperienced players since he came in to the role but Durante said he knew where he stood after a recent chat with Hudson.