From Blackburn Rovers to Melbourne City: Jamie Maclaren’s journey to A-League history

• Maclaren surpassed Besart Berisha’s feat of 142 goals in A-League

• Jamie Maclaren has won the A-League Golden Boot four times

• Maclaren won three A-League Premiership titles with Melbourne City

Shilarze Saha Roy

On April 22, 2023, Jamie Maclaren made history when he became the highest-scorer in A-League history. The Melbourne City striker scored his 143rd Isuzu UTE A-League goal, overtaking Besart Berisha as the league’s all-time top goalscorer. The significance of the moment was not lost on Maclaren, who was overcome with emotion as he walked off the pitch to rapturous applause. Jamie Maclaren’s journey to this moment began in the north-western suburbs of Melbourne, where he played for the junior team Sunbury United and then for Green Gully. At the age of 15, he was invited to trial for Blackburn Rovers’ under-16 squad. He impressed with his skills, scoring two goals in his first trial match against Derby County’s under-16 squad, followed by a hat-trick against Manchester United. Although he progressed to be a regular under-21 squad player and trained with the senior team, he was eventually released by the club at the end of the 2012-13 season.

Maclaren returned to Australia seeking first-team game time and signed a three-year contract with A-League club Perth Glory at the beginning of the 2013-14 season. He made his debut in a 3-1 loss against Adelaide United before scoring his first goal for Perth Glory a few days later in a 1-0 win over Melbourne City. This kicked off his wonderful goalscoring journey in A-League. Maclaren went on to score a total of 11 goals in 38 matches for Perth Glory before he signed up for Brisbane Roar in 2015. At the Brisbane club, he hit 40 goals in 53 matches over a period of two seasons. Incidentally, Maclaren had scored 19 goals for Roar in the 2016-17 A-League regular season, tying with Besart Berisha for the Golden Boot. His form, though, declined a bit when Jamie Maclaren joined the German 2 Bundesliga club Darmstadt in 2017. He was ultimately loaned out to Scottish club Hibernian in 2018 before returning to A-League in 2019 when he signed for Melbourne City. His job description was to score goals and win trophies. And he quickly made an impact, winning three A-League Premiership titles with the club in 2020–21, 2021–22, and 2022-23, and plenty of individual honours. Maclaren has also won the A-League Golden Boot four times as A-League top-scorer in the 2016–17, 2019–20, 2020–21, and 2021–22 seasons.

And it was on the fateful day of April 22, 2023, that Maclaren etched his name in Australia football’s history. He began the game against Western United trailing Berisha by two goals on the all-time leaderboard. He scored his first goal by bundling a cross from Andrew Nabbout to the back post over the line. After Western United responded to make it 1-1 before the break through Dylan Pierias, Maclaren took over the game. He secured his brace in the 66th minute and less than 10 minutes later scored his third, which clinched the scoring record. The feat made Jamie Maclaren emotional and he found himself completely swept up in the significance of the moment. Soon after he was substituted by head coach Rado Vidosic, and as he walked off the field to rapturous applause, his eyes welled with tears. Maclaren revealed that the achievement had hit him like a tonne of bricks. He said that his grandfather had told him to “go and be the greatest” before he passed away, and those words had always stuck with him. To fulfill his grandfather’s wish must have given Maclaren some satisfaction.

Maclaren has come a long way from playing for the junior team Sunbury United to becoming the highest-scorer in A-League history. He has also shown that persistence pays off. After being released by Blackburn Rovers, Jamie Maclaren returned to Australia and worked hard to establish himself as a top striker in the A-League. And his journey isn’t over yet.