 Mitchell Duke, the captain of the Western City Wanderers, Ahsoka Roo and the Duke of Western Sydney. Known for his leadership, flexibility and being able to rise to the occasion when it matters most for the red and black. He first joined the Wanderers midway through the 2018-19 season, scoring seconds into his debut against the Newcastle Jets. Since then, this season, he's starred for the Wanderers. I sat down with Juki through the week at the Wanderers Centre of Football. How good is it to be playing again, Mitch? It's unbelievable to be fair. As a footballer, you want that stimulation. You're used to a routine. And just to be able to do what you love again is the best feeling in the world. I think it's probably the longest break any football has had from the game. Something new for me, but you kind of use it as a learning experience. I've been learning on the way and making sure I can better myself, not just on the pitch but off the pitch with the boys and that communication side of things and the mental side of things to better everyone and make sure I'm doing right by them. It was a learning experience, but not easy for sure. What about when COVID-19 hit? It sideswiped everybody. With how unpredictable the scenario was with things changing every day was a high adjustment to deal with, but lucky enough I have a small family that kind of kept me through it. But yeah, it definitely sideswiped us all and I think everyone's in the same boat all across the world. So it was a bit of an adjustment, but in saying that, I also turned it into a positive and enjoyed that extra family time. That extra time that I had with my four-year-old was a massive enjoyment for me. Tell us a little bit about the fight, your story, your journey. Yeah, definitely. Obviously growing up in Western Sydney, started out at Parramatta Millita, bounced between there and Blacktown City, and then lucky enough I eventually, yeah, I'm one of nine kids, just so you can know. So it wasn't easy. My dad was just a grafter, a battler, check to check, looking after nine kids. It was not easy. Definitely had to go with plenty, plenty without and work for yourself. I was working three jobs while I was also playing with the youth team at the Mariners, you know, living off three hours sleep. And yeah, I was a late bloomer, if you could say that as well. I didn't get my first contract until I was 21, which if you look at a club now in the A-League, you've got at least a good eight or nine players that are around the 20 undermark. You know, you get scholarship roles now as well. So yeah, I was on the brink of obviously not becoming a professional footballer, as I had to make my own money. My mum and dad couldn't just, you know, help me escape by to keep going for football. You know, so yeah, I started an electrician apprenticeship, had three casual jobs. One was at Bankstown Airport from 12am to 6am. And then I'd go to training, then I'd work in the afternoon in the city for a freight company and then in the afternoons on a Thursday afternoon I'd work at Super Cheap Auto. So it was a bit of a graft, but it was definitely a mental challenge because I was ready to be like, what more can I do? And I got 11 months in before, lucky enough, on my final legs, I guess, I got offered a professional contract at the Central Coast Mariners at the age of 21 and never looked back, lucky enough, the hard work pays off and that's what my dad taught me. And to be fair, I would even say the way I play is very much to that as well with the hard works mentality. Now being 29, I'd say I'm a much more complete footballer than I was at 21. And I thank all my experiences with the Mariners being in the Grand Marnolds, winning the championship in the J League for four years and now back here being a captain and a leader and an experienced player has all just made me become better and better and I've still got a long way to go to learn and keep improving. Hey guys, it's Mitchell Duke here. I've just signed for Western Sydney Wonders and I've just got off the plane from England and my parents have no idea. I'm going to surprise them. They've been trying to get me back from Japan every year for the last four years I've been there so I can't wait to see what their reaction is. Time for the Wonders! How do you go when you've got to get tickets to the game for your family? Yeah, if you also think about it, now we're all older so there's grandchildren involved now, nephews and nieces so it's absolute chaos. I think with the immediate family you're looking at almost 30 people so there's no way I can get that many tickets. I've got to prioritise them all, mum and dad first and then everyone else can be like I'll go to this game, you go to the next game kind of thing but I think I'm very lucky in that aspect as well. I've got such a good support base and everyone ready to either support me at the game or on the TV. I just enjoy having that support and I'm so lucky in that respect. And it is a family club isn't it? That's the thing, you come from a large family. This is a club made up of families, members from all through Western Sydney who absolutely love this team. Yeah, absolutely. I'll hand on heart say that we've got probably the most passionate support base in the league and I think you can see that in the opening season of the league when they first came into it. Filling out stadiums, setting the standard with the atmosphere that they created. You can see the passion, the support and the love of the game and that's credit to Western Sydney and what we bring and it's definitely what the club thrives off for sure and that's what we kind of want to enable within our team as well which is a family mindset and we all just look after each other, have each other's backs and we're all a community together. So it's a great atmosphere here and you see what they've kind of built here now in the last eight months or so. It's been amazing and hopefully we can keep building on that now with the Bank West as well. You think about the atmosphere that we created in the Derby matches, those kinds of atmospheres and support help you through getting that game. We beat Sydney FC in that round three and that's credit to their support and their loyal fan base. There must be some sort of feeling of serendipity for you that here you are you grew up in Western Sydney, one of nine children. Went to Japan, Central Coast, knocked back by so many people. Here you are, you're the on-field boss, captain, leader of the Western Sydney Wanderers. Yeah definitely and I think that's one of the proudest moments of my career was being named captain because I always said I wanted to join Western Sydney Wanderers when they first came out. I was at the Mariners at the time, actually played Wanderers on their first game at Parramatta Stadium and honestly they just wowed me with the atmosphere they created and knowing that I'm from Western Sydney originally I was like I need to play for them one day and when that opportunity came on the back end of my Japan time I was grabbing that with both hands and I never would have thought after only five or six months being with the club I would be named captain and leading the boys out for the next season and it's one of the proudest moments of my career and I look back and be very happy about it. And Mitchell Duke, a Western Sydney boy leading his hometown club. What about playing for Australia? Huge honour. What about when you became a soccerer? Yeah I think another probably equally or if not the best moment of my career was putting on that Australian jersey for the first time and I think there's no greater honour as a professional footballer than representing your country. I feel like I'm an Aussie through and through so to play for Australia with the sport that I love and the job that I love is amazing and I'm happy enough to look back and I've had six caps and hopefully I can get a few more but yeah and then scoring in that East Asian Cup two goals out of the three games that I played with and that was only on the back end of my first professional season with the Mariners so thinking how raw I was and how much I still had to learn and still get those opportunities. Not represent Australia at the joeys level or under 23s was amazing and I'm so proud of myself and I thank my parents for giving me that opportunity because otherwise I'd be nowhere without them. Do you ever get the time to get a bit nostalgic, reflective of the blood that worked at Bankstown Airport through the night or Super Cheap Auto to think that you're here at 29? Yeah definitely and I joined the club at the period of when they were transitioning here so I'd seen what they were working with and now what they have now is just an unbelievable upgrade and every player here should feel privileged to have these facilities to work with especially the young boys to have these facilities to develop like a lot of us boys that are at this age now when I was at the Mariners our gym was out of a container you know what I mean and to think that we've got our own fully functioning gym endless pitches and just top class facilities we're very very lucky and you've got to use this to your advantage to make sure you get as much out of it as you can as a young player to develop and you know the world you're always to have in these at your hands because now there's no excuses and you could really take yourself as far as only you want to go so I think it's amazing what they've done here the whole squad needs to be used so we're really going to have to show our depth young boys are going to get their opportunities and like I said earlier this game is all about opportunities if you get that one chance to start to play on the pitch for 20 minutes, 30 minutes if you're starting 60 minutes, whatever it may be you give your heart and soul and you keep your spot you know you go out there and bang the goal you try and be man of the match and you just take that opportunity because this next period can be a massive platform for you just projecting further into your career and getting those opportunities thanks bitch, have a good rest of the season cheers mate