FORMER leading man Lucas Neill had his second audition for a part in the upcoming World Cup on the weekend. It’s a long shot but he might yet get a supporting role.

Neill, who went without a game of football for over four months, guest-starred for Championship side Doncaster Rovers on Saturday and was the side’s best player in a 3-1 home loss to Birmingham.

In fact, so confident did he look at the back for the Rovers that he should be sending a DVD of his performance to Socceroos manager Ange Postecoglou by express post.

After trialling without success at his former club Blackburn and sitting on the bench for four weeks at Watford, Neill moved to South Yorkshire two weeks ago on a month-long loan to help Doncaster avoid relegation. His first game was in the win against Leeds, earning him a spot in the Championship League’s Team of the Week.

CURTIS GOOD STILL HAMPERED BY HIP

ROGIC MAY HAVE PLAYED LAST VICTORY GAME

News_Image_File: Lucas Neill in action for Doncaster Rovers.

Saturday’s 3-1 loss to Birmingham, after leading 1-0 for nearly an hour, was a blow to Doncaster’s plans, but would not have hurt Neill’s chances of making it to Brazil. He played strongly for the entire 90 minutes. His defence was assured, passing spot on and, for a man who has not played regularly all year, he looked fit and energetic.

It is true that at 36 years of age he does not possess the speed he once had, but it was his organisational skills that would have impressed Postecoglou had he been sitting in one of the 6000 empty seats at Doncaster’s 15,200-capacity Keepmoat Stadium.

News_Rich_Media: Socceroos stars Mark Milligan and Tom Rogic were on hand in Melbourne to unveil their new navy blue away strip for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Neill might not have been wearing the captain’s armband, as he did on 61 occasions for the Socceroos, but it was obvious he has taken a leadership role during his short time at the club. He rarely stopped talking; pointed and waved his arms about like a Suva traffic cop, whistled when he wanted his teammates’ attention and was quick to take a free kick that might have led to something had his fellow Rovers been as alert as him.

When Doncaster players celebrated wildly after hitting the front at 36 minutes, Neill ran 40 metres, not to join in, but to calm them down. He was unlucky not to score himself soon after when a well-struck header required a brilliant save from the Birmingham keeper.

That the Rovers relinquished their hold on the match in such emphatic style over the last half-hour of play was due to individual errors rather than any shortcoming of Neill’s marshalling at the back.

News_Image_File: Lucas Neill commands the Socceroos defence during their friendly against Costa Rica.

With just under three weeks left of guaranteed football at Doncaster, he will need to make the most of his limited opportunities, but prior to the Socceroos’ match against Ecuador in London last month, Postecoglou was emphatic that the door had not yet closed.

“I’m not going to put a line through anyone’s career, especially to one of the champions of our game,” he said. “If Lucas is working really hard and believes he can be there, I’m not going to discourage that because I want players who are hungry to be at the World Cup. We need people fighting and scraping to get into the squad.”

News_Rich_Media: Asian Cup ticket details have been announced with families set to benefit from wallet-friendly prices; adult tickets for the Socceroos’ first match start at $69 while their remaining group matches start at $49.

The fact that Postecoglou’s young side gave up a 3-0 half-time lead to go down 4-3 in that match, might just have opened the door a mite wider for Australia’s most experienced defender who while running on old legs is still, as former rugby league coach Jack Gibson would say, “quick between the ears”.

As Neill said this week, all he can do is keep playing.

“The mandate from the manager is that he wants players playing consistently for their clubs and obviously that wasn’t happening at Watford,” he said. “I have to make opportunities for myself at Doncaster. There are no free rides. For all sorts of reasons I want to be playing and playing well.”

News_Image_File: Lucas Neill was picked up by Doncaster on a one-month loan from Watford.

In recent years Neill’s detractors have labelled him arrogant. Given his latest dealings with the local media it would seem his long and dispiriting quest to find a playing home over the past six months has given him a dose of humility.

By training at Bradford, sitting on the bench at Watford and now playing in front of empty stands at Keepmoat Stadium, he has shown just how far he is willing to go to get on the plane for his third FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

Not that Doncaster is the end of the world by any means, but in football terms Lucas Neill can almost see it from there.

Originally published as Neill staking Cup claim at Doncaster