Jamie Maclaren: What Brisbane Roar fans say about the new Hibs striker

Jamie Maclaren is yet to kick a competitive ball for Hibs but the striker is targeting a place in Australia's 2018 World Cup squad. Patrick McPartlin spoke to fans of Brisbane Roar to get their take on the loan signing from SV Darmstadt.
Jamie Maclaren is aiming to recapture his Brisbane Roar form for Hibs, as he eyes a place in Australia's 2018 World Cup squad. Picture: Getty ImagesJamie Maclaren is aiming to recapture his Brisbane Roar form for Hibs, as he eyes a place in Australia's 2018 World Cup squad. Picture: Getty Images
Jamie Maclaren is aiming to recapture his Brisbane Roar form for Hibs, as he eyes a place in Australia's 2018 World Cup squad. Picture: Getty Images

Former team-mate Steven McGarry described him as ‘quick, dynamic and [with] a real eye for goal... a penalty-box player’ while fellow Australia international Ryan McGowan added: “He runs in behind well, clever link-up play... given service would imagine he will score goals.’

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Hibs fans are understandably excited about the arrival of Maclaren, especially with his first match for the Easter Road side likely to be a Scottish Cup derby against Hearts - who were also keen on the forward.

The Melbourne native scored 43 goals in 61 appearances for the Roar and picked up the Young Footballer of the Year award - for the second consecutive year - before agreeing a three-year deal with SV Darmstadt 98 in Germany’s second tier. However, Maclaren struggled for game time at the Merck-Stadion am Böllenfalltor and said following his arrival at Hibs that he was targeting a place in Australia’s 2018 World Cup squad.

Despite his struggles in Germany, Maclaren was nevertheless ranked at number 31 in Goal.com’s Top 50 Australian players of 2017. At the tail end of 2016 his form saw him linked with English Premier League side Stoke City, even if Roar boss John Aloisi played down the speculation.

It would be all too easy to brand Maclaren a ‘replacement for Jason Cummings’, but despite the strikers at Hibs’ disposal - the mercurial Anthony Stokes, leading scorer Simon Murray and the emerging talent of Oli Shaw - even the most ardent of fans would agree that the side has been missing a good old fashioned poacher up top.

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Roar fan Scott Owen, of the Brisbane Football Review, reckons Maclaren is exactly the sort of player Hibs need in attack.

“The majority of Jamie’s goals for Brisbane came from close range. In the 18-yard box he’s got the positional sense to get himself into good goalscoring positions.

“As a finisher, he’s equally adept with both feet and scored an equal number of goals from either side, making him an unpredictable quantity for oppoisition teams in the A-League.”

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Hibs have, at times, struggled to put teams away this season but the arrival of Maclaren should give them an extra dimension up front. The 24-year-old was viewed as the leading Australian goalscorer in the country’s top flight prior to joining Darmstadt, after the striker shared the Golden Boot with Kosovan forward Besart Berisha. The pair scored 19 goals apiece.

A confident penalty-taker, Maclaren’s movement off the ball contributed greatly to Brisbane’s third-place finish, qualification to the AFC Champions League second preliminary round and their run to the A-League semi-finals, where they were edged out by Melbourne Victory.

Owen continues: “Jamie offers great movement and makes intelligent runs in behind the opposition defences, making him an effective weapon for Brisbane to hit teams on the counter attack or quickly in transition.

“During his time at Brisbane, the team was usually set up to enable him to make the most of this skill and a lot of goals scored by The Roar were as a result of Maclaren’s ability to stretch teams.”

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Are there any areas of Maclaren’s game that he needs to work on?

“The biggest weakness in Jamie’s game during his time at Brisbane was his ability to score goals with his head,” says Owen.

“He scored just one headed goal in his two seasons with the Roar and it’s probably the part of his game which can be improved the most.”

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