Wollongong Wolves have ambitions to join the topflight, but Ollerenshaw – who made two appearances for the NPL side in 1993/94 – has urged Illawarra fans to get behind Southern.

The 14-capped Socceroo described Wolves as a “great little club” but said the future of the A-League was in the broader St George, Sutherland and South Coast region.

“If the FFA and people in Wollongong want really big, sustainable crowds, and a strong sustainable club in the area, Wollongong has to be part of Southern,” Ollerenshaw said. 

Two expansion clubs for 2019/20 will be named by Football Federation Australia in October. And, as the date approaches, the rival bids have become more vocal.

Last week Southern was involved in a stoush with bid team Campbelltown-based Macarthur United, and A-League powerhouse Sydney FC has slammed Southern’s plans for cannibalising the Sky Blues' fanbase.

Self-described “St George boy,” Ollerenshaw, disagrees saying the Southern Region should finally get its own club.

“I grew up here, I built my international football career at the great St George Football Club, my family and friends are in St George – the region wants its own Football team,” he said.

“I know this region. I speak to people in the region all the time about the game, and about their kids’ involvement in the game. They’re not connected.

"When the region gets its own club, they’ll be reading blanket coverage in their local Leader and Mercury papers every week, like the Dragons now get, and they’ll support their club, and they’ll come to its games across the region.

“I don’t want to talk up other codes, but the Dragons and the crowds they’re now getting at Jubilee and WIN because they’re playing locally, are the very clear example.

“Sydney FC’s local fans will no doubt stay loyal, but there are tens of thousands of football fans and players who won’t connect to the A-League until they get their own club – that’s the reality. And the club in this area would be a success immediately because of that untapped market.”

Southern Expansion Chairman, Morris Iemma, welcomed Ollerenshaw’s endorsement.

“The Southern Region is a football community that wants and can sustain its own club,” Iemma said.

“St George Illawarra Dragons see it as a single region, fan and player base, and market and have certainly never seen themselves as part of Sydney. Wollongong University see the area from Wollongong to the airport as a region and have sponsored Jubilee Oval as part of their regional strategy as a practical example."