1996–97 National Soccer League

The 1996–97 National Soccer League season, was the 21st season of the National Soccer League in Australia.

NSL 1996-97
League	National Soccer League
Sport	Association football
Duration	1996–97
Number of teams	14
NSL season
Champions	Brisbane Strikers
Minor premiers	Sydney United
Top scorer	David Zdrilic (21)

Teams

Adelaide City

Brisbane Strikers

Canberra Cosmos

Gippsland Falcons

Newcastle Breakers

Perth Glory

West Adelaide

Wollongong City

Melbourne

Sydney

Melbourne teams:
Collingwood Warriors
Melbourne Knights
South Melbourne
Sydney teams:
Marconi-Fairfield
UTS Olympic
Sydney United

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Location of teams in 1996–97 National Soccer League

Team	Home city	Home ground
Adelaide City	Adelaide	Hindmarsh Stadium
Brisbane Strikers	Brisbane	Lang Park
Canberra Cosmos	Canberra	Bruce Stadium
Collingwood Warriors	Melbourne	Victoria Park Olympic Park
Gippsland Falcons	Morwell	Falcons Park
Marconi-Stallions	Sydney	Marconi Stadium
Melbourne Knights	Melbourne	Knights Stadium
Newcastle Breakers	Newcastle	Breakers Stadium
Perth Glory	Perth	Perth Oval
South Melbourne	Melbourne	Lakeside Stadium
Sydney United	Sydney	Edensor Park
UTS Olympic	Sydney	Belmore Oval
West Adelaide	Adelaide	Hindmarsh Stadium
Wollongong City	Wollongong	Brandon Park

Season overview

It was contested by 14 teams, and Brisbane Strikers won the championship. Perth Glory and Collingwood Warriors entered the competition.

Regular season

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Sydney United	26	17	5	4	67	33	+34	56	Qualification for the Finals series
2	Brisbane Strikers (C)	26	15	2	9	55	40	+15	47
3	South Melbourne	26	14	4	8	39	25	+14	46
4	Adelaide City	26	11	10	5	32	22	+10	43
5	Marconi Fairfield	26	12	4	10	41	37	+4	40
6	Melbourne Knights	26	11	6	9	36	32	+4	39
7	Perth Glory	26	11	5	10	48	41	+7	38
8	West Adelaide	26	10	3	13	39	51	−12	33
9	UTS Olympic	26	8	8	10	41	46	−5	32
10	Wollongong Wolves	26	8	8	10	42	48	−6	32
11	Newcastle Breakers	26	7	9	10	40	46	−6	30
12	Gippsland Falcons	26	8	6	12	33	41	−8	30
13	Collingwood Warriors	26	6	9	11	32	44	−12	27
14	Canberra Cosmos	26	2	5	19	30	69	−39	11

Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions

Finals series

	Elimination finals							Semifinals							Preliminary final					Grand final
								1	Sydney United	0	2	(2)									Sydney United	0
								2	Brisbane Strikers (a)	1	1	(2)									Brisbane Strikers	2
																Sydney United	1
	3	South Melbourne	4	3	(7)
																South Melbourne	0
	6	Melbourne Knights	1	0	(1)
									South Melbourne			1
									Adelaide City			0
	4	Adelaide City	0	4	(4)
	5	Marconi Fairfield	3	0	(3)

Grand Final

Main article: 1997 National Soccer League Grand Final

25 May 1997
15:00 AEST

Brisbane Strikers	2 – 0	Sydney United
Farina 47' Brown 69'	(report)

Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane

Attendance: 40,446

Referee: Simon Micallef

Individual awards

• Player of the Year: Kresimir Marusic (Sydney United)
• U-21 Player of the Year: Kasey Wehrman (Brisbane Strikers)
• Top Scorer: David Zdrilic (Sydney United) – 21 goals
• Coach of the Year: Branko Culina (Sydney United)

References

• - NSL Awards
• Australia - List of final tables (RSSSF)