Western Sydney Wanderers striker Mitchell Duke has revealed the details of his 'three week battle' with Saudi Professional League club Al-Taawoun to negotiate his return to Wanderland on loan for the remainder of the 2020/21 A-League season.
Speaking on the ABC Grandstand Football Podcast to Daniel Garb and Robbie Cornthwaite, the Socceroos striker admitted he developed a 'ball of negativity' while playing out of position for the Saudi Arabian side, away from his wife and children in the UK.
The talismanic striker says he's buzzing as he quarantines ahead of a return to his beloved Wanderers, to reconnect with his network of family and friends he yearned for throughout his stint overseas.
Read on for all the biggest topics dissected by Garb and Cornthwaite throughout this week's episode of the ABC Grandstand Football Podcast.
READ: Team of the Week, presented by Bunnings Warehouse - Matchweek 7
MORE: A-League Goal of Matchweek 7 - Scott McDonald
Duke returns to Wanderland after three-week battle with parent club
"It was a genuine conversation. I assumed they were going to take my word seriously and give me a chance as a striker, but instead they turned it against me."
12 games into his stint at Saudi Professional League side Al-Taawoun, Duke knew he was in need of a change of scenery.
Living away from family and friends and playing on the wing for the Saudi side - as opposed to his preferred position as a number nine - Duke approached the club to ask for his chance spearheading the attack.
The 30-year-old expected to have a constructive conversation with the club. Instead, he was given an unexpected ultimatum - and in the fallout he found his way home.
"I felt myself getting away from the football side of things, and getting a bit negative," Duke told Garb and Cornthwaite on the ABC Grandstand podcast.
"I was approaching training and approaching games with that negative mindset… almost like ‘poor me, this is rough, what am I doing?’
"I was also not enjoying the football side of things very much because I wasn’t playing striker. That kind of played into this position I ended up being in in January.
"I approached the club early January and said ‘I’m not happy because you guys are playing me winger, I’ve played 12 games to start the season and not played striker once’.
Our top goalscorer by round 12 was our centre back - that’s not acceptable on any level.
The fact I wasn’t given a chance as a striker just kind of felt like I was devalued, I wasn’t respected enough to be given that chance as a striker.
READ: A-League Save of Matchweek 7 - Adam Federici
"I’m old enough now to step up and actually use my voice and be like ‘you know what, give me a chance and if you don’t give me a chance you need to let me look at other possibilities for my career', because stats-wise it was killing me.
"They didn’t take it very well. Once they realised I wasn’t completely committed to the club, they kind of turned on me a bit… (they) were like ‘okay, cancel your contract then’.
"It was rough, I was surprised because it was a genuine conversation that I assumed they were going to take my word seriously and give me a chance as a striker, but instead they turned it against me.
"It was a three-week battle after that to work out a solution. I did have quite a few other clubs that were willing to take me out on loan, but they were so adamant on me cancelling my contract they just killed so many deals.
"They even originally rejected the Wanderers early January as well, so I was thinking ‘I’m going to be stuck here and they’re going to keep trying to make me cancel my contract’.
"Come the last day of the transfer window - for most of Europe anyway - they finally agreed to let me go to the Wanderers, which was a nice big relief.
"I wasn’t going to see my wife and kids until June, anyway. So I was either going to be stuck in Saudi (Arabia) not happy, or come back home where I know I’m going to be happy, I’ve got my own family and friends network here and I love the club that I was coming back to, so it was a win-win.
"It’s rough knowing I’m not going to see my baby girl until she’s about five months old, but my wife was very supportive and understanding (saying) ‘you know what, at least you’re going to be happier within yourself going back to Australia’, so I was buzzing with how it’s worked out."
Cornthwaite: A-League dishes up weekend for the ages in Matchweek 7
“The positivity around the game at the moment is through the roof - and I’m absolutely loving it.”
Headaches ensued for Garb and Cornthwaite when selecting the running order for their latest instalment of the ABC Podcast, after a blockbuster weekend of Matchweek 7 action which produced confrontations between ex-teammates, stunning solo goals, scorpion kicks, dramatic draws and a match-winning performance of epic proportions from Central Coast Mariners starlet Alou Kuol.
Garb admitted the difficulty in picking a story to lead the podcast with from the handful of talking points which were all notable for very different reasons, across a weekend of action Cornthwaite assessed as one of the best he's ever seen.
“One of the best weekends of A-League football I think we’ve ever had," Cornthwaite said.
“To have it across all of the matches, different storylines, young kids, drama, coaches under pressure, goals and action galore.
“The positivity around the game at the moment is through the roof - and I’m absolutely loving it.”
Cornthwaite: battle-hardened Mariners look determined to end six-year Finals Series hiatus
“I reckon if they get through the next two or three games, with maybe four or five points, I reckon they are a lock for finals already.”
Not since the 2013/14 A-League campaign have we seen a Mariners outfit seal a pathway into post-season football, but there's plenty of buzz around Gosford in the 2020/21 campaign who sit on top of the A-League table heading into Matchweek 8.
Cornthwaite believes the hype surrounding the Mariners continues to legitimise after every positive result notched by Alen Stajcic's side - and a Finals Series berth could be beckoning should the rich vein of form continue.
“They are up for the battle every single game," he said.
"They are not going in dirty, they are not going in starting fights, but they are putting their foot in. They are putting tackles in, they are letting people know.
“Matty Simon is obviously leading from the front. You’ve got, Ruon Tongyik at the back doing the same thing. In the air, they are strong. They are winning and challenging for every header.
“There’s tussles in the midfield of the park. (Josh) Nisbet is buzzing around, you’ve got (Oli) Bozanic doing the same.
"I think the physicality of the team, you know you’re up for a game. You know you’re going to walk off and you’re going to be sore.”
"And they're relentless," Garb replied.
"That spine is strong: there's Kye Rowles as well who is a tough player, Gianni Stensness is a big boy - he's only young but he's got a presence about him... Oli Bozanic, you know what he can do of course and he's leading from the front.
Then you've got (Daniel) De Silva playing off Matty Simon and Alou Kuol coming off the bench - you've got seasoned players and fighters in those positions right now."
