It's not his fault such expectations were shovelled on his slender back. After all, with the fading of the golden generation, the Socceroos lack superstars. Australia have only Mile Jedinak playing in the English Premier League, no one in Serie A or La Liga, and only bench warmer Mitch Langerak and the injured Robbie Kruse in the Bundesliga. So it's hardly surprising the football community has been searching, desperately, for someone to hang its hat on. With his silky skills, his languid movement and his size and scope, Rogic, who moved to Scottish giants Celtic just over a year ago, seemed the obvious candidate.

He had, at times, dazzled in his 24 appearances for Central Coast, and also impressed in cameo displays as a substitute for the Socceroos. But the reality is that the progress everyone expected and desired does not seem to have been made. A player of Rogic’s quality should, after nearly two months in the A-League, be making a bigger impression than he has. The 21-year-old has yet to dominate proceedings in the manner his admirers would have hoped, and he struggles to finish games. He has not scored a goal, nor contributed many assists. There is no doubt he has a terrific touch, but there has been little end product.

When he gets on the ball, he often takes too many touches. When he loses possession, he does not always track back to help the defence – a trait, it must be acknowledged, many of Victory’s other forward players have shared this season. He has also been rather injury prone and struggles for fitness, all factors which have impeded his progress and will be of concern to national team coach Ange Postecoglou. Postecoglou is a great admirer of Rogic’s ability and it is widely expected he will be in the World Cup squad, having played a role in helping Australia qualify. But on his current A-League form, it is hard to see Rogic having done enough to earn a starting spot in the Australian team. In fact, there are some Victory fans not only wondering what all the fuss is about, but whether or not the club should have signed him in the first place on a loan deal.

Not because he doesn’t have talent, but because the logic of the deal was more about Rogic than Victory. There was little likelihood he would stay beyond the period of his loan, so there would be no long-term benefit for Victory, and his presence there was chiefly for Rogic to play regular first-team football and gain fitness before the World Cup. It would seem that Victory – or any A-League club he had signed for in the January window for that matter – would have been of secondary consideration to Rogic warming up for the World Cup. You can’t blame the player for taking the opportunity, and if it works out for Victory and the Socceroos in the end, then all will be smiling. To be fair to Rogic, he doesn’t write the headlines nor has he touted himself as the answer to all of Australia’s problems.

Fans here need to get a grip and not confuse potential with achievement. When he left the Mariners last January, it didn’t stop Graham Arnold’s team from getting on with the job: three months later they had won their first A-League championship without him in the team. And far from decrying Celtic and the Scottish Premier League, perhaps there should be a pause for reflection. Rogic has been in Glasgow for a year and had not established himself as a first-team player. When Mark Viduka went to the Glasgow giants, he overcame a shaky start to quickly become a top player in the league and a prolific goalscorer. Scott McDonald, a forward who often attracts more criticism than is warranted in this country, went to Celtic and was a regular first-team player and regular scorer, netting against the likes of Manchester United in Champions League ties. Given the nature of deadlines, this column, at least for the print editions of Fairfax publications, had to be written before Tuesday night’s Asian Champions League clash with Yokohama F Marinos, so it's quite possible Rogic will hit form in the tie and show us what he is capable of.

For Victory’s sake, it is to be hoped that is the case. Postecoglou and every Australian with an eye on Brazil in three months will be hoping the talented young man can begin to fulfil the promise he has shown on a more regular basis.