The tone was set at the Northern Ireland Trophy last August. Three solid wins against Ian McCulloch, Jimmy White and Shaun Murphy set up a semi-final clash with Matthew Stevens, which the Welshman won 6-4.

The talented Australian then recovered from the disappointment of a first-round loss to Andrew Norman at the Grand Prix by qualifying for the final stages of both the Malta Cup and the China Open.

Better was to follow at the UK Championship. Robertson beat Rory McLeod, Stephen Lee and Shaun Murphy; the second time he had beaten the world champion in a decider within the space of a few months. Ding Junhui proved too good in the quarter-finals but it was another good showing nonetheless.

So far 2006 has not been anywhere near as fruitful for the 23-year-old. He has suffered three consecutive first-round exits to Stephen Hendry, Mark Selby and Ken Doherty. However, he was unfortunate to come against all three when they were in hot form, particularly Hendry who knocked in four centuries against him in five frames.

A 10-6 win in final qualifying over Gerard Greene has got him his Crucible pass for the second straight year. With Paul Hunter in the first round and, in all likelihood Stephen Lee in round two, a man who he beat 9-4 in York, Neil Robertson will be hopeful of extending his stay in the country just a little bit longer.

Prediction: Second-round exit