Melbourne Victory marskman Nick D'Agostino says he's much like his A-League Men's club: rising in confidence.
Victory enter Wednesday night's away fixture against Central Coast buoyed by a two-game winning streak.
And D'Agostino's stocks are rising after scoring a last-start brace against Macarthur FC.
"I came here to work hard and put myself in that starting contention every week and I think I am slowly doing that now," the former Perth Glory and Brisbane attacker said on Tuesday.
"I have had some good performances but I want to keep the consistency.
"That is the main part, just being consistent, scoring week-in, week-out and playing well and helping the team as much as possible.
D'Agostino has scored six times in his first season with Victory, who are now perched in fifth spot with 21 points from 13 games.
And the 24-year-old believed his club's 3-1 win against the Bulls was a pointer of things to come.
"It was a top performance with and without the ball," he said.
"With the ball, we were so dangerous and created many chances.
"And without the ball, we were just so solid.
"It was really disappointing to concede right at the end but it gives us a chance to always keep improving and keep learning and that is what we're aiming to do."
Victory downed the Mariners 1-0 on February 19, a fortnight after downing Central Coast 2-1 in the FFA Cup final.
But D'Agostino was under no illusions about the threat posed by the Mariners, despite them being in 10th spot with 14 points from 13 games.
"We have had a couple of tough battles," he said.
"They come out and fight for every ball and opportunity and we have got to match that - and if we can match that, then our quality can definitely show in the end.
"They're very, very tough to try and break down and they have got some quality players in attack, they have got a lot of firepower up front ... and obviously good young defenders as well.
"We know we're up for a battle."
