One of the competition's most in-demand free agents after a prtoracted departure from Perth Glory, Maclaren ignored interest from several other clubs to pledge his future to Roar.
The 21 year-old touched down in Brisbane on Sunday and trained with his new teammates for the first time on Monday morning.
Maclaren's signing comes after a tumultuous week for the club, in which players were delivered their wages three weeks late, some staff were not paid at all and major sponsor The Coffee Club decided not to renew its lucrative front-of-shirt deal.
But Maclaren said he had been assured by coach John Aloisi that Roar's problems are only temporary.
"I'm not bothered about the stuff that goes on behind the scenes that I can't control," he said "I'm here to play football.
"I believe if I can bring my attributes in terms of putting the ball in the back of the net, this team will be very successful in the future."