Roland Bala is living his dream by pulling on the blue and gold for Southern United.
The 27-year-old Papua New Guinea international defender moved south a month ago and has already shown himself as a player to watch.
He impressed in the club's 2-2 draw against Auckland City in its National Football League opener on Saturday, and is looking for another big performance against Eastern Suburbs at the Caledonian Ground.
“I always wanted to play here because it was always my dream to play in the (New Zealand) national league,” he said.
“So when I got told I was going to come down here it was a really big blessing for me and a dream come true.
“Australia, New Zealand, every player in the Pacific, that's where they're looking at.''
Bala moved to New Zealand to pursue his football dream and after initially being hampered by a partially torn Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL), he is now making the most of his chance.
Bala is expecting a tough game against Eastern Suburbs, which claimed a 3-1 win over Team Wellington.
“I've only heard about them. They're a really good team so the team's got to prepare well for that.
“Hopefully we can bring last week's performance into this weekend and we have to perform well and get some points.''
Southern United defended well to hold a potent Auckland City team to two goals last week, although Bala said the team is still looking to improve on its effort at the back.
Despite that, the result was a good one and had acted as a confidence boost.
“[Auckland City are] the benchmark, so it was a confidence booster for the boys.
“We're just looking to be consistent every week, so hopefully we can take that into this weekend's game.”