Rogic return heralds golden future with Socceroos

Australia playmaker Tom Rogic cast aside the frustration of 18 months of international isolation to remind fans what they had been missing - and what they might expect in the future - with a command performance in the 5-0 stroll against Bangladesh.

Australia Tom Rogic Bangladesh

Tom Rogic in action against Bangladesh (AAP) Source: AAP

Two first-half goals told only a fraction of the tale as Rogic, haunted by groin injuries last season, re-appeared on centre stage in Perth on Thursday night to turn a one-sided FIFA World Cup qualifier into a personal triumph.

Whether gliding and sliding past hapless opponents, measuring perfect passes or pulling the trigger himself, the 22-year-old Celtic midfielder's 60-minute show simply whetted the appetite for more.

Not least for Rogic himself, who can't wait to step out in four days' time on a plastic pitch in Tajikistan to do it all again as he begins the quest to make up for lost time.

"I haven't felt this good physically for a long time and it's been a lot of hard work getting back to this level, representing my country," said Rogic, both relieved and delighted to have returned to the inner sanctum of the Socceroos.

"To play and not have any worries was a great feeling. It's a good start and hopefully I can kick on from here.

"It's not for me to say how I went, I just really enjoyed it and was really excited."



Others will do that for him, as he fired in two goals inside the first 20 minutes as Australia raced to a 4-0 lead before the half-hour mark.

The first was a crisp clean finish inside the area, the second came off a wicked defection which left him almost apologetic as he proved there is plenty of end product to the flourish that flows so effortlessly through his game.

While naive novice Bangladesh offered only token resistance, facing a side as compliant gave Rogic the perfect route back, though Tajistiskan is likely to provide far more meaningful opposition.

"It was nice to score ... they were the first for my country and to do it at home was quite special, even though the second was a bit on the lucky side," he added.

"We just had to focus on ourselves. It didn't matter who the opponents were today.

"We just hard to work on what we'd been doing in training. Move the ball quickly and the opportunities and goals would come.

"I think we did that ... clean sheet, a good result and on to the next game.

"There are no easy ones and away games are a bit more tricky. But we will be well prepared."

Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou was delighted with Rogic's impact as he made a long-awaited 10th appearance for his country.

"It was great for Tommy, I am sure he was a little bit nervous today playing again for his country and there's always huge expectations on him ... I thought he handled himself really well," he said.

Playing the role of both provider and finisher, Rogic enjoyed his interactions with Australia's other creative outlet, Massimo Luongo, who was thrust into a more forward role by Postecoglou in a formation which saw both Mathew Leckie and Nathan Burns combine with the Queens Park Rangers man at the pointy end.

"I enjoyed playing in same team as Mass ... he's a really intelligent player and our whole front line was really exciting. Aaron Mooy scored a good goal also," said Rogic.

"It's easy to complement each other when you play with good players."


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4 min read
Published 4 September 2015 1:21am
Updated 4 September 2015 7:56am
By David Lewis
Source: SBS

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