APIA Leichhardt Tigers

Yes, it definitely, it definitely has.

So this is the, say, Italian group with Broadmeadow Magic, um, playing spoilers as there.

So you've got three Italian clubs of West Apiac, Avondale FC, Adelaide City, and then the Northern New South Wales premiers, Broadmeadow Magic.

What stands out in this group from the immediate reaction?

reaction?Well, first of all, I can't believe this wasn't Group A.

Our guest today enjoyed a fantastic career that took him from the National Soccer League with St. George, Sydney Olympic and RPO Leichhardt and the Wollongong City Wolves to representing the Socceroos in Australia at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

He then became one of the most successful foreign players in Malaysian football history, scoring over 100 goals for Sabah and winning multiple Golden Boots and League titles.

Mr. Scott Ollarshaw, welcome to Beyond the Game Australia.

So, you know, I'm proud of the amount of – I'm proud of the caps that I've got.

But I just look back and think that maybe I was – possibly happened too young for me and I didn't appreciate it but now I certainly do but yeah you know I'm proud of my career but I'm disappointed with myself that it didn't go further and last a bit a bit longer but that's that's on me it's on no one else at the end of the day you know it's how you perform on the pitch and for a few years there I didn't perform like I should have performed

So after St. George, you said you had spells at Sydney Olympic, Arpia, Leichhardt and Wollongong City.

What did that period become? Why did that period become more difficult for you?

Well, I also went to Warsaw in between that.

So boys, we're gonna talk about, uh, a lot of things today.

We're gonna start with the Farewell to Leichhardt tomorrow.

Kentie, I know it's-

Yeah

... a place close to your heart.

Well, I'll be able to open the windows tomorrow and just listen to the concert.

They've got a concert there tomorrow called Farewell to Leichhardt.

Uh, as we know, Leichhardt Oval, as it currently stands, is going to be torn down.

I really hope that the experience of the last week, I'm one of the lucky few, might have been the only person to have gone to both the NPL New South Wales grand final and seen 5,000 plus.

There hasn't been a published crowd that I've seen, but I would have to be at least 5,000 for Sydney United against Apia Leichhardt, which was just an amazing atmosphere and occasion.

And you were there, Lockie, watching it with me.

Yeah.

City United 58, what a performance that was.

Three-one grand final victory over Apia Leichhardt.

Um, now it was two-one up until the ninth minute when they scored a breakaway goal and, you know, capped it off.

But fantastic performance from Miro Vladilichka's men.

Mm

... dur- during the game, like I noticed obviously Rose was, was going higher, but I didn't understand that it was to push Apia back further and, and step up higher on the press, and it worked perfectly.

Exactly the game plan he came into the match with worked absolutely perfectly.

It's, this is what football brings.

You know, I hate to use the authenticity line because, you know, you feel what you feel, but there was a purity of that feeling yesterday, Nick.

I don't know if you sort of have reflected on that at all.

I've been thinking about this for the last day and a bit, about the whole thing about United and Apia.

Let, let's put Apia in this as well because it was a massive crowd yesterday.

Wow.

You just don't know with these two teams between Apia and Sydney United.

I had said in the past that, "Hey, we'll be seeing these teams again," and here we are now at the grand final.

And I've also said in previous episodes that, hey, this weekend, let's say Apia wins.

The next weekend if they played, Sydney United would win.

If they played the weekend following, it could end up being a draw, and it just could go either way any particular week.

Two of the best teams in the NPL for the season 2026, and we got a cracker of a game I thought.

Now, I had thought to myself that, you know, this, this will probably go into extra time and into penalties.