Whenever the Socceroos lose, one player bears the brunt of fans’ anger

Whenever the Socceroos struggle, Mitchell Duke braces himself for what comes next.

Most teams have a whipping boy; a player who, for whatever reason, bears the brunt of the criticism from upset supporters after a disappointing result. Duke is used to it now – and if there’s a silver lining, it’s that he knows how to deal with it and move on.

“I definitely do feel like I have become the punching bag of supporters,” Duke tells this masthead. “I’m glad it’s me, rather than one of the younger boys – because for me, it goes over my head. But it can feel a little bit unfair at times.”

In that sense, Duke is the unfortunate holder of the baton once carried by Robbie Kruse, the former Socceroos winger who received so much fan abuse at the 2018 World Cup that teammates had to plead with the public to go easy on him.

Kruse wasn’t a prolific goalscorer, and there were certainly times when he’d blow a chance or misplace a key pass – but there were also plenty of others when his contribution was more subtle, and thus went unnoticed by his critics.

Duke’s contribution is similarly misunderstood. The 33-year-old has never been the kind of striker who scores bagfuls of goals, and the main quality he brings to the table – his incessant workrate – is difficult to quantify.

Mitch Duke puts his head on the line for the Socceroos on Thursday night.Credit: Getty Images

He doesn’t have it quite as bad as Kruse did, although he did have to take a chop-out from social media after missing two terrific chances to put Australia 2-0 up in their Asian Cup quarter-final defeat to South Korea earlier this year, when death threats appeared in his inbox.

“I was already devastated, disappointed, felt like I let my country down myself,” he says. “You can take constructive criticism, you can take harsh judgment on performances and whatever – but I think that’s where it starts to get a little bit unnecessary. At the end of the day, it is a game, so calm down a little bit. If you lost $5 on a bet, I’m sorry.”

Duke would be the first to admit he is not the most dynamic, silky-skilled forward in the world. But it’s not his fault Australia doesn’t have such a player to call upon right now, or that nobody else has adequately filled Tim Cahill’s boots. And though he is not responsible, he has unfortunately become a symbol of the failings of the system, and thus a lightning rod for frustration that should be unleashed at others in the game.

In Thursday night’s 0-0 draw with Saudi Arabia, Duke was out there doing his thing as usual, putting his body on the line to win a penalty that was later chalked off by the VAR, relentlessly pressing the opposition like an absolute madman, tiring out their defenders so his teammates could try to take advantage later. He created two chances but took only one shot himself, which was blocked - an opportunity coach Tony Popovic later said he wished had gone in, simply so his effort could be rewarded.

“He set up the game fantastically well for us,” Popovic said. “Sometimes a striker, in terms of goals, doesn’t show that result. But we know he’s worth a lot for the Socceroos.”

Still, the knockers came for him.

All Duke cares about is whether his teammates and coaches recognise his value, and they do - which is why, when the Socceroos face Bahrain on Wednesday morning (AEDT) in another key World Cup qualifier, he’ll probably be starting up front again, assuming he’s still got petrol left in his tank after emptying it in Melbourne.

“I can be covering ground - almost like two players potentially, with the way I can press, which is what I know I’m really strong at, and I know I can give defenders headaches. I can tire them out,” Duke says.

Mitch Duke reacts after missing a chance in the Asian Cup quarter-final against South Korea.Credit: Getty

“And if that means I’m working hard for 70, 80 minutes to tire their defence, and someone comes on - like against China, when Nish [Nishan Velupillay] comes on and plays seven minutes and scores a goal. Everyone thinks, ‘Oh, he did so much more than me in seven minutes than I did in 80 minutes.’ That’s the way they perceive it, because they just look at numbers when they don’t think about the actual impact.”

Duke has spent half of his career playing for clubs in Japan, and the last two with Machida Zelvia, who were promoted to the top-flight this season. Intriguingly, he doesn’t get nearly as much heat for his performances at club level, and it’s not because of the language barrier.

“When I played against Japan, I was getting nothing but amazing comments about my performance,” he says.

“And that’s just not coming off my own club’s fan base - that’s coming from neutral Japanese people, knowing what I bring to a team because they see me week in, week out. It gets a bit frustrating to see that in another nation, I get better support. And then I’ll see, ‘Boycott Duke, we don’t want him in there,’ from Australians. ‘Get him out, he’s crap.’ ‘He doesn’t know how to play football.’

Mitchell Duke celebrates after scoring against Tunisia at the 2022 World Cup.Credit: AP

”You laugh at those comments … I use it as motivation, because I know it’s those same people that were probably praising me at the World Cup for scoring the winner against Tunisia. And now, I’m a really bad player.”

Duke is actually rather keen to be replaced. He believes Australia’s forward stocks are in decent health, but the three players best placed to usurp him - Portsmouth’s Kusini Yengi, 25, Western Sydney’s Brandon Borrello, 29, and former Adelaide United ace Mohamed Toure, 20 - don’t yet have the runs on the board at club or international level, at least not in the eyes of the coaching staff.

“I’m a Socceroos supporter first. I want someone to dislodge my position,” he said.

“I’m not selecting myself in the team. If the coach believes I’m best suited to do that job, then I’m going to give it everything I’ve got. It’s up to all the boys, when they get their chances in training and in the club football, to take over. If someone else comes in and does that better than they deserve the spot, go ahead.

“Soon enough, I’ll be gone. Hopefully, they also see why I’m so appreciated to be able to start these games, take ingredients of what I do and add that into their game as well. They’ve got it in there anyway, they’re machines. They can do it. They’ll put me in my place on the bench or even out of the squad.

“As long as we’re having success, qualifying for the next World Cup … I’ll be the first one to be clapping and supporting us.”

Until then, Duke has a message for his haters.

“Keep the negativity coming my way,” he says. “I’ll continue to be in the punching bag, I’m sure, because I’m also one of the older ones. I’ve been set up for a while, and is what it is. I don’t let it affect me too much. I’ll just keep battling and doing what I do for the team.”

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