Report by Peter Simcox

The PS4 National Premier Leagues WA introduced the ‘Rivalry Round’ in the competition’s inaugural season, but the most famous rivalry in WA football is the one between Floreat Athena and Stirling Lions.

Games across the years have always been highly charged encounters, which has drawn huge crowds to the Velodrome/E&D Litis Stadium and Macedonia Park.

There has always been a fierce and proud competitiveness between the two sides.

The match that stands out for Football West standing committee member and former Lions President Don Evans was back in 2004.

“Tom Leeman had the players locked in the rooms before the game against Floreat, and gave them a motivation speech,” he said.

“The players came out like caged animals that had just been released and we were 2-0 up in ten minutes.

“Former Floreat President Peter Koulizos came up to me said what are you feeding these lads on, but Tom’s team talk had really got to the players,”

“It came to light after the game, that Tommy (Leeman) had wrapped a flag around himself during the team talk and gave one of the most inspirational and motivation speech  the players had ever witnessed, and we went on to win 2-1.

“Special memories with a lot of special people have made this rivalry unforgettable.”

Floreat and Stirling skippers have both represented each club in their careers.

Lions Skipper Miki Vujacic knows what it means to the supporters of both.

“It's the most important game of the year, every year, for the supporters and everyone involved in both clubs. League positions mean nothing,” he said.

“Having played for both clubs, the message before each Stirling versus Floreat game was always that it's a 'must win', almost as if every other game was a 'warm-up' to the derby.

“Winning against your old rivals is something special, supporters you didn't know existed come out of the woodwork and buy you a beer after the game, and I swear it tastes so much better after beating them.

“For the supporters there is nothing more they would want then to knock Floreat out of league contention, and personally I'm looking forward to playing at Litis again, a place I had many good memories on and off the pitch.”

Floreat skipper Ludovic Boi also has seen at first-hand what this match means and knows it will be a tough test.

“Whether playing for Stirling or Floreat, this game will be tough no matter which side you are on,” he said.

“The history goes way back before I even started playing and you can see what it means when winning these games to the fans and the players.

“Rival round or not, we are going into every game like it’s a final. We need the points and Stirling won't be easy to beat, any team can beat anyone in this league, we can't underestimate them.

“We beat Stirling last time and we will be looking to do the same this week.”

Match details
Floreat Athena v Stirling Lions
Saturday, July 18
Kickoff: 3pm
E&D Litis Stadium