Mitchell Thomas Duke (born 18 January 1991) is an Australian professional soccer player who plays as a striker for Macarthur FC in the A-League Men and the Australia national team.

Duke was born in Liverpool, New South Wales and played youth soccer with Parramatta Eagles before starting his professional career with Central Coast Mariners. He joined J-League side Shimizu S-Pulse and Fagiano Okayama in 2015 and 2021 respectively.

He represented Australia at the 2023 AFC Asian Cup, 2022 FIFA World Cup, and Australia Olympic at the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Early life

Duke was born in Liverpool, in Sydney's south-west. He attended All Saints Catholic College, Liverpool and All Saints Catholic Senior College Casula.

Club career

Duke began his career with Parramatta Eagles before moving into the Central Coast Mariners' youth team. On 9 February 2011, Duke made his senior debut for the Mariners and also scored his first goal in a 3–1 win over Gold Coast United.

Duke playing for Central Coast Mariners in 2010

On 24 January 2012, it was announced he had signed his first senior contract signing a two-year contract with Central Coast Mariners.

In August 2013, Duke had a two-week trial with English Premier League side West Ham United.

In the 2012–13 season, Duke scored 6 goals from 21 games. In the 2013–14 season, he was not as prolific, scoring 3 goals in 29 games. In the 2014–15 season, he had 3 goals from 15 games. The decrease in goals can be attributed to Duke being played increasingly on the right wing by coach Phil Moss rather than the centre forward position he began his career playing.

On 9 February 2015, Duke announced that he was flying to Japan to complete a move to Shimizu S-Pulse. In April 2016, Duke suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury, ruling him out of football for at least six months.

Duke left Shimizu in December 2018, after four seasons with the club.

On 25 January 2019, Duke announced that he had moved back home and signed with Western Sydney Wanderers FC and captained the club.

On 22 August 2020, Duke signed a two-year deal with Al-Taawoun. He scored the winning goal against Al-Duhail in a AFC Champions League group stage fixture on 25 September 2020 but fell out of favour with the club leadership shortly after, having moved from his forward position to the wing. On 1 February 2021, Duke returned to Australia and signed for his former club Western Sydney Wanderers on loan for the remainder of the 2020–21 A-League season.

On 5 August 2021, Duke joined Fagiano Okayama.

On 30 December 2022, it was announced that Duke had officially transferred to Machida Zelvia for the upcoming 2023 J2 League season. He scored 10 goals in the J2 League and helped Zelvia to promotion from the J2 League to the J1 League.

On 22 November 2025, he assisted Yūki Sōma's match winning goal in a 3–1 victory against Vissel Kobe in the final of the 2025 Emperor's Cup.

On 27 December 2025, Macarthur FC announced that Duke would join the club until the end of the 2025–26 season.

International career

Duke was included in the Australian national team in July 2013, for the 2013 EAFF East Asian Cup. Duke made his international tournament debut against South Korea in the first match of the tournament, in a draw. He scored his first international goal in the next match, a 3–2 loss to Japan. Duke scored again in the following match which Australia lost 4–3 to China.

7 September 2013, Duke next played for the Socceroos in a 0–6 friendly loss to Brazil, at Estadio Nacional Mane Garrincha in Brasília. Mitch came on as a second half substitute for Josh Kennedy in the 78th minute.

Duke qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. He was included in the Olyroos Olympic squad. They defeated Argentina in their first group match but, unable to win another match, they never were in contention for a medal.

He featured in Australia's team in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. In the team's second match against Tunisia on 26 November 2022, he scored the only goal in a 1–0 win, Australia's first World Cup win since 2010.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 8 December 2024

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague CupContinentalTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Central Coast Mariners2010–11A-League110011
2011–12001010
2012–1321672288
2013–1429360353
2014–1515330183
Total6613301428315
Blacktown City Demons (loan)2011NSW PL2140021235
Shimizu S-Pulse2015J1 League2910030321
2016J2 League710071
2017J1 League3111160382
20182201041271
Total893211311045
Western Sydney Wanderers2018–19A-League11400114
2019–202614002614
Total3718003718
Al Taawoun2020–21Saudi Professional League1201051181
Western Sydney Wanderers (loan)2020–21A-League17600176
Fagiano Okayama2021J2 League14300143
202236800368
Total4911004911
Machida Zelvia2023J2 League3410213611
2024J1 League3341032376
Total671431327317
Total3035719218419335966

International

As of match played 10 June 2024

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Australia201342
201920
202195
202282
202392
2024131
202531
Total4813

As of 10 June 2024

Scores and results list Australia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Duke goal.

List of international goals scored by Mitchell Duke
No.DateVenueCapOpponentScoreResultCompetition
125 July 2013Hwaseong Stadium, Hwaseong, South Korea2Japan1–22–32013 EAFF East Asian Cup
228 July 2013Olympic Stadium, Seoul, South Korea3China3–43–4
37 June 2021Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium, Kuwait City, Kuwait8Chinese Taipei4–05–12022 FIFA World Cup qualification
45–1
52 September 2021Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar10China3–03–02022 FIFA World Cup qualification
67 October 202112Oman3–13–1
716 November 2021Sharjah Stadium, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates15China1–01–1
825 September 2022Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand21New Zealand1–02–0Friendly
926 November 2022Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah, Qatar23Tunisia1–01–02022 FIFA World Cup
1016 November 2023Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, Melbourne, Australia31Bangladesh3–07–02026 FIFA World Cup qualification
114–0
126 January 2024Baniyas Stadium, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates33Bahrain2–02–0Friendly
1310 June 2025King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia48Saudi Arabia2–12–12026 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Central Coast Mariners

Machida Zelvia

See also

putting his wood in a minor

External links