Can Robertson be the Winner in Oz?

Neil Robertson would love dearly to be crowned the Wizard of Oz.

Picture by Moniqe Limbos

The Australian home hopeful began his trip along the yellow brick road in almost perfect fashion today. His 5-1 demolition of Nigel Bond was ruthless, commanding and made to look easy.

But his journey began very similarly here a year ago too, where he also beat Bond in the opening round. It was Dominic Dale in round two who caused him greater problems, winning a dramatic deciding frame to dash the hopes of the locals and leave poor Robertson stunned in front of his family, friends and fans.

Plenty of people are tipping a fairytale ending to his second Australian snooker venture, but there's still a long way to go before he can rewrite last year's wrong.

I guarantee you that no-one would begrudge him victory on his home soil this week.

Robertson is a perfect example of a player who grasped the nettle to make his dream of playing professional come true. The chances to play the sport competitively in Australia have always been next to none and it's only now because of Robertson's great impact in the game that we're seeing this tournament on our televisions.

In an age of the game where large numbers of British players moan about the vast amounts of travel they must do to retain their ranking, it's worth considering that Neil did that just to start out his life within the sport.

He upped sticks, left his homeland and took a gamble on his talent by coming to England with little money in his pocket and just hope he could carve out a name for himself.

Make a name for himself, he has done.

The current Masters champion and 2010 world champion is, today, one of the finest players on the planet. He's got everything. A super tactical game, long-potting prowess and a super cool attitude.

Not only is he a fine talent, but a great bloke as well.

Winning back in Australia would mean the world to him. With that comes pressure but the prospect of putting the largest of smiles on his home fan's faces should be his motivation.

Robertson has laid the foundations for a truly great week.

He'll be desperate to go on to lift the trophy now.