A red-hot Mitch Duke at the World Cup? It's a no-brainer for former Socceroos winger Mile Sterjovski.
Duke stole the show at Campbelltown Stadium - scoring the opening goal, notching an assist and then firing off the match-winner in Macarthur FC's 3-2 win over A-League Men leaders Newcastle on Thursday.
The 50-cap Socceroo was easily the most dangerous player on the pitch as he carved through Mark Milligan's young Jets outfit and proved unbeatable in the air.
Duke, 35, hasn't made his desire to feature in a second World Cup secret, having returned to the domestic league in January.
While Duke missed out on a spot in national team boss Tony Popovic's 26-strong squad for friendlies against Cameroon and Curacao last month, injuries to youngsters Mohamed Toure (groin) and Nicholas D'Agostino (knee) have kept the door wide open for a possible recall.
Popovic has proved willing to experiment as the June tournament looms, having tossed a lifeline to Awer Mabil, while calling up untried trio Lucas Herrington, Deni Juric and Ante Suto in the last window.
Duke will have one more chance to crack the Socceroos squad before the World Cup, with Australia to take on Mexico in Los Angeles on May 30.
Bulls coach Sterjovski - a 43-cap Socceroo who was part of Australia's historic 2006 World Cup run - believes it would be unwise to rule out Duke completely.
"He's put in some great performances since he's joined us," Sterjovski said.
"I feel like the intensity that he's playing at, the aggression, the way he closes down, he wins a lot of headers, headers in the box as well.
"The way he's performing, if he finishes off the season like this, if I was a Socceroos coach, I would be choosing him."
Duke appeared to injure his hamstring and came off in the 74th minute for Harry Sawyer, but Sterjovski said the 35-year-old had simply given his all.
"There are no concerns with his hamstring. He was just fatigued in the end," Sterjovski said.
"He came to a point where he put his hand up and said, 'I'm almost done'."
Newcastle coach Milligan, who played for Australia on 80 occasions, was also optimistic for the veteran striker.
"Mitchell Duke has a fantastic attitude, and you see how hard he works," Milligan said.
"There's a big prize, not just for Dukey, for a lot of players in the A-League, if they're able to put their best foot forward over this next six, seven weeks."
Duke's starring performance helped sixth-placed Macarthur keep their finals hopes alive, notching back-to-back wins after going winless in their previous six fixtures.
