2017–18 A-League Explained

Competition:	A-League
Season:	2017–18
Dates:	6 October 2017 – 5 May 2018
Winners:	Melbourne Victory (4th title)
Premiers:	Sydney FC (3rd title)
Continentalcup1:	Champions League
Continentalcup1 Qualifiers:	Sydney FC Melbourne Victory Newcastle Jets
Matches:	135
Total Goals:	398
League Topscorer:	Bobô (27 goals)
Biggest Home Win:	Sydney FC 6–0 Perth Glory (30 December 2017)
Biggest Away Win:	Central Coast Mariners 2–8 Newcastle Jets (14 April 2018)
Highest Scoring:	Central Coast Mariners 2–8 Newcastle Jets (14 April 2018)
Longest Wins:	Sydney FC (7 games)
Longest Unbeaten:	Sydney FC (15 games)
Longest Winless:	Central Coast Mariners (11 games)
Longest Losses:	Central Coast Mariners (6 games)
Highest Attendance:	36,433 Western Sydney Wanderers vs. Sydney FC (9 December 2017)
Lowest Attendance:	4,312 Wellington Phoenix vs. Melbourne City (14 April 2018)
Average Attendance:	10,671 (1,623)
Prevseason:	2016–17
Nextseason:	2018–19

The 2017–18 A-League was the 41st season of top-flight soccer in Australia, and the 13th since the establishment of the A-League in 2004. The season began on 6 October 2017 and ended with the Grand Final on 5 May 2018.^[1]

Sydney FC won the A-League minor premiership, while Melbourne Victory won the Championship after defeating the Newcastle Jets 1–0 in the Grand Final on 5 May 2018; this marked the first time in A-League history in which the Championship was won by a team which finished outside the top 2.^[2]

Clubs

Team	City	Home Ground	Capacity
Adelaide United	Adelaide	Coopers Stadium Adelaide Oval	17,000 53,583
Brisbane Roar	Brisbane	Suncorp Stadium	52,500
Central Coast Mariners	Gosford	Central Coast Stadium	20,119
Melbourne City	Melbourne	AAMI Park	30,050
Melbourne Victory	Melbourne	Etihad Stadium AAMI Park	56,347 30,050
			33,000
Perth Glory	Perth	nib Stadium	20,500
Sydney FC	Sydney	Allianz Stadium	45,500
Wellington Phoenix	Wellington	Westpac Stadium	34,500
Western Sydney Wanderers	Sydney	ANZ Stadium Spotless Stadium	84,000 24,000

Personnel and kits

Team	Manager	Captain	Kit manufacturer	Kit sponsor
Adelaide United	Marco Kurz	Isaías	Macron^[3]	IGA
Brisbane Roar	John Aloisi	Matt McKay	Umbro^[4]	Central Home Loans
Central Coast Mariners	Wayne O'Sullivan	Alan Baró	Umbro^[5]	Masterfoods
Melbourne City	Warren Joyce	Michael Jakobsen	Nike	Etihad Airways
Melbourne Victory	Kevin Muscat	Carl Valeri	Adidas^[6]	Optislim & Optivite
Newcastle Jets	Ernie Merrick	Nigel Boogaard	Viva Sports^[7]	Ledman Group
Perth Glory	Kenny Lowe	Andy Keogh	Macron^[8]	QBE Insurance
Sydney FC	Graham Arnold	Alex Brosque	Puma	The Star
Wellington Phoenix	Chris Greenacre	Andrew Durante	Adidas	Huawei Century 21
Western Sydney Wanderers	Josep Gombau	Mark Bridge	Nike^[9]

Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Position on table	Incoming manager	Date of appointment
Newcastle Jets		Sacked^[10]	16 April 2017	Pre-season	^[11]	9 May 2017
Adelaide United		Resigned^[12]	10 May 2017		^[13]	16 June 2017
Melbourne City		End of contract^[14]	10 May 2017		^[15]	19 June 2017
Wellington Phoenix		End of contract^[16]	19 May 2017		^[17]	7 June 2017
Western Sydney Wanderers		Resigned^[18]	1 October 2017		(caretaker)^[19]	3 October 2017
Western Sydney Wanderers	(caretaker)	End of caretaker spell	1 November 2017	4th	^[20]	1 November 2017
Wellington Phoenix		Sacked^[21]	7 March 2018	10th	(caretaker)	7 March 2018
Central Coast Mariners		Resigned^[22]	20 March 2018	9th	(caretaker)	20 March 2018

Foreign players

Club	Visa 1	Visa 2	Visa 3	Visa 4	Visa 5	Non-Visa foreigner(s)	Former player(s)
Adelaide United	Johan Absalonsen	Daniel Adlung	Baba Diawara	Džengis Čavušević	Isaías	Ersan Gülüm^2	Karim Matmour
Brisbane Roar	Thomas Kristensen	Éric Bauthéac	Massimo Maccarone	Fahid Ben Khalfallah		Henrique^1 Jamie Young^2 Avraam Papadopoulos^2 Dane Ingham^2 Jack Hingert^2
Central Coast Mariners	Wout Brama	Tom Hiariej	Alan Baró			Storm Roux^2	Kwabena Appiah^2 Asdrúbal
Melbourne City	Michael Jakobsen	Bart Schenkeveld	Marcin Budziński	Bruno Fornaroli		Iacopo La Rocca^1 Manny Muscat^2	Fernando Brandán Marcelo Carrusca^1 Ross McCormack
Melbourne Victory	Matías Sánchez	Besart Berisha				Jai Ingham^2 Kenny Athiu^2
Newcastle Jets	Wayne Brown	Roy O'Donovan				Patito Rodríguez^3 Ivan Vujica^2 Daniel Georgievski^2 Glen Moss^2
Perth Glory	Joseph Mills	Andy Keogh	Andreu	Diego Castro	Xavi Torres
Sydney FC	Bobô	Jordy Buijs	Adrian Mierzejewski	Miloš Ninković	Fábio Ferreira
Wellington Phoenix	Goran Paracki	Roy Krishna	Marco Rossi	Andrija Kaluđerović	Matija Ljujić		Guilherme Finkler Ali Abbas^1
Western Sydney Wanderers	Roly Bonevacia	Álvaro Cejudo	Raúl Llorente	Oriol Riera		Marcelo Carrusca^1	Jumpei Kusukami

The following do not fill a Visa position:
¹Those players who were born and started their professional career abroad but have since gained Australian citizenship (and New Zealand citizenship, in the case of Wellington Phoenix);^[23]
2Australian citizens (and New Zealand citizens, in the case of Wellington Phoenix) who have chosen to represent another national team;
³Injury Replacement Players, or National Team Replacement Players;
⁴Guest Players (eligible to play a maximum of fourteen games)

Salary cap exemptions and captains

Club	First Marquee	Second Marquee	Guest Marquee-->	Mature Age Rookie	Captain	Vice-Captain
Adelaide United	Baba Diawara^[24]	None	None	Isaías^[25]	Jordan Elsey
Brisbane Roar	Brett Holman^[26]	Massimo Maccarone^[27]	Brendan White^[28]	Matt McKay^[29]	Jade North^[30]
Central Coast Mariners	Daniel De Silva^[31] ^[32]	None	None	Alan Baró^[33]	None
Melbourne City	Bruno Fornaroli^[34]	Marcin Budziński^[35]	None	Michael Jakobsen^[36]	None
Melbourne Victory	Besart Berisha^[37]	None	None	Carl Valeri^[38]	Leigh Broxham
Newcastle Jets	Ronald Vargas^[39]	None	None	Nigel Boogaard^[40]	None
Perth Glory	Diego Castro^[41]	None	None	Andy Keogh^[42]	None
Sydney FC	Bobô^[43]	Miloš Ninković^[44]	None	Alex Brosque^[45]	Alex Wilkinson^[46]
Wellington Phoenix	None	None	None	Andrew Durante^[47]	None
Western Sydney Wanderers	Oriol Riera^[48]	Álvaro Cejudo^[49]	None	Mark Bridge^[50]	None

Regular season

Results

Finals series

Grand Final

See also: 2018 A-League Grand Final.

Statistics

Attendances

By club

These are the attendance records of each of the teams at the end of the home and away season. The table does not include finals series attendances.

By round

2017–18 A-League Attendance

Round	Total	Games	Avg. Per Game
scope='row'	Round 1	66,814	5	13,363
scope='row'	Round 2	86,537	5	17,307
scope='row'	Round 3	85,558	5	17,118
scope='row'	Round 4	45,757	5	9,151
scope='row'	Round 5	61,403	5	12,281
scope='row'	Round 6	48,008	5	9,602
scope='row'	Round 7	46,569	5	9,314
scope='row'	Round 8	39,323	5	7,865
scope='row'	Round 9	37,224	5	7,445
scope='row'	Round 10	73,636	5	14,727
scope='row'	Round 11	44,008	5	8,802
scope='row'	Round 12	55,153	5	11,031
scope='row'	Round 13	59,479	5	11,896
scope='row'	Round 14	51,890	5	10,378
scope='row'	Round 15	44,845	5	8,969
scope='row'	Round 16	48,325	5	9,665
scope='row'	Round 17	50,613	5	10,123
scope='row'	Round 18	50,514	5	10,103
scope='row'	Round 19	45,865	5	9,173
scope='row'	Round 20	46,316	5	9,263
scope='row'	Round 21	59,729	5	11,946
scope='row'	Round 22	60,794	5	12,159
scope='row'	Round 23	43,918	5	8,784
scope='row'	Round 24	33,053	5	6,611
scope='row'	Round 25	58,202	5	11,640
scope='row'	Round 26	47,837	5	9,567
scope='row'	Round 27	49,184	5	9,837
scope='row'	Elimination Final	23,259	2	11,630
scope='row'	Semi Final	36,906	2	18,453
scope='row'	Grand Final	29,410	1	29,410

Club membership

2017–18 A-League membership figures

Club	Members
Adelaide United	6,906
Brisbane Roar	9,345
Central Coast Mariners	7,124
Melbourne City	11,255
Melbourne Victory	26,095
Newcastle Jets	9,195
Perth Glory	9,368
Sydney FC	14,834
Wellington Phoenix	5,289
Western Sydney Wanderers	19,007
Total	118,418
Average	11,841

Player stats

Top scorers

^[51]

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Bobô	Sydney FC	27
2	Oriol Riera	Western Sydney Wanderers	15
3	Ross McCormack	Melbourne City	14
4	Besart Berisha	Melbourne Victory	13
	Adrian Mierzejewski	Sydney FC
6	Andrew Nabbout	Newcastle Jets	10
	Dimitri Petratos	Newcastle Jets
8	Andrija Kaluđerović	Wellington Phoenix	9
	Massimo Maccarone	Brisbane Roar
	Roy O'Donovan	Newcastle Jets
	Dario Vidošić	Wellington Phoenix Melbourne City

Hat-tricks

See main article: List of A-League hat-tricks.

Player	For	Against	Result	Date	Ref
			5–1		^[52]
			1–4		^[53]
			6–0		^[54]
			5–2		^[55]
			2–8		^[56]

Own goals

Player	Club	Against	Round
	Melbourne Victory		1
	Western Sydney Wanderers		1
	Newcastle Jets		3
	Wellington Phoenix		8
	Wellington Phoenix		9
	Western Sydney Wanderers		10
	Perth Glory		10
	Melbourne Victory		15
	Perth Glory		19
	Perth Glory		20
	Adelaide United		20
	Adelaide United		21
	Melbourne Victory		26
	Brisbane Roar		27

Clean sheets

^[57]

Rank	Player	Club	Clean sheets
1	Andrew Redmayne	Sydney FC	12
2	Dean Bouzanis	Melbourne City	6
3	Ben Kennedy	Central Coast Mariners	5
	Jamie Young	Brisbane Roar
5	Jack Duncan	Newcastle Jets	4
	Vedran Janjetović	Western Sydney Wanderers
	Liam Reddy	Perth Glory
8	Eugene Galekovic	Melbourne City	3
	Paul Izzo	Adelaide United
	Glen Moss	Newcastle Jets
	Lawrence Thomas	Melbourne Victory<		--
12	Lewis Italiano	Wellington Phoenix	2
	Daniel Margush	Adelaide United
14	Matt Acton	Melbourne Victory	1-->

Discipline

During the season each club is given fair play points based on the number of cards they received in games. A yellow card is worth 1 point, a second yellow card is worth 2 points, and a red card is worth 3 points. At the annual awards night, the club with the fewest points wins the Fair Play Award.^[58]

Club
Sydney FC	38	0	1	41
Newcastle Jets	51	1	1	56
Wellington Phoenix	54	0	1	57
Melbourne City	44	2	3	57
Perth Glory	59	0	1	62
Adelaide United	51	2	3	64
Central Coast Mariners	50	3	3	65
Melbourne Victory	53	2	3	66
Brisbane Roar	62	0	2	68
Western Sydney Wanderers	61	3	2	73
League total	523	13	20

Awards

The following end of the season awards were announced at the 2017–18 Dolan Warren Awards night on 30 April 2018.^[59]

• Johnny Warren Medal – Adrian Mierzejewski, Sydney FC
• NAB Young Footballer of the Year – Daniel Arzani, Melbourne City
• Nike Golden Boot Award – Bobô, Sydney FC (27 goals)
• Goalkeeper of the Year – Jamie Young, Brisbane Roar
• Coach of the Year – Graham Arnold, Sydney FC
• Fair Play Award – Sydney FC
• Referee of the Year – Jarred Gillett
• Goal of the Year – Andrew Nabbout, Newcastle Jets (Western Sydney Wanderers v Newcastle Jets, 16 February 2018)

See also

• 2017–18 Adelaide United FC season
• 2017–18 Brisbane Roar FC season
• 2017–18 Central Coast Mariners FC season
• 2017–18 Melbourne City FC season
• 2017–18 Melbourne Victory FC season
• 2017–18 Newcastle Jets FC season
• 2017–18 Perth Glory FC season
• 2017–18 Sydney FC season
• 2017–18 Wellington Phoenix FC season
• 2017–18 Western Sydney Wanderers FC season

Notes and References

1. Web site: Hyundai A-League 2017/18 season draw released. Football Federation Australia. A-League. 28 June 2017.
2. Web site: Rosengarten. Jake. Melbourne Victory's grand final win sees Melbourne City without an Asian Champions League spot. Fox Sports Australia. 6 May 2018 . News Corp. 6 May 2018.
3. Web site: Adelaide United announces Macron partnership. Adelaide United. 2 June 2016.
4. Web site: Brisbane Roar and Umbro announce long-term partnership. Brisbane Roar. 15 August 2014. 6 February 2020. 27 March 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190327142849/https://www.brisbaneroar.com.au/news/brisbane-roar-and-umbro-announce-long-term-partnership. dead.
5. Web site: BREAKING NEWS: Mariners announce Umbro as new kit supplier. Central Coast Mariners. 20 June 2016.
6. Web site: Melbourne Victory extends partnership with adidas. Melbourne Victory. 6 February 2017.
7. Web site: Newcastle Jets agree apparel deal with Viva. George. Dudley. SportsPro. 2 June 2017.
8. Web site: Macron sign on for four more years. Perth Glory. 30 May 2017.
9. Web site: Wanderers launch jersey, announce Nike partnership extension. Western Sydney Wanderers. 11 August 2017.
10. Web site: Mark Jones dismissed by Newcastle Jets after poor end to the season. ESPN FC. 16 April 2017.
11. Web site: Merrick sees off Kean for Jets job. SBS. The World Game. 8 May 2017.
12. News: Gui Amor departs Adelaide United. https://web.archive.org/web/20181215123122/https://www.fourfourtwo.com/my/news/gui-amor-departs-adelaide-united. dead. 15 December 2018. FourFourTwo. 10 May 2017.
13. News: Adelaide United has signed German Marco Kurz as new head coach. Val. Migliaccio. The Advertiser. 16 June 2017.
14. News: Melbourne City plans to appoint overseas coach by end of May. David. Davutovic. Herald Sun. 10 May 2017.
15. News: Melbourne City signs former Manchester United Warren Joyce as head coach. Matt. Windley. David. Davutovic. Herald Sun. 19 June 2017.
16. Web site: Greenacre and Buckingham miss out on Phoenix job. Radio New Zealand. 19 May 2017.
17. News: New Wellington Phoenix coach Darije Kalezic under way with player hunt as club finally gets their man with 'new vision'. Mark. Geenty. Stuff.co.nz. 7 June 2017.
18. Web site: Tony Popovic quits Western Sydney Wanderers to take up role coaching Karabukspor. Daily Telegraph. 1 October 2017.
19. News: Western Sydney Wanderers: Hayden Foxe appointed as caretaker coach. Dominic. Bossi. The Sydney Morning Herald. 3 October 2017.
20. News: Josep Gombau becomes Wanderers coach. FourFourTwo. 1 November 2017. 1 November 2017. 7 November 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171107031729/https://www.fourfourtwo.com.au/news/josep-gombau-becomes-wanderers-coach-476605. dead.
21. News: Darije Kalezic out, Chris Greenacre in as Wellington Phoenix continue search for new head coach. Liam. Hyslop. Stuff.co.nz. 7 March 2018.
22. News: Paul Okon quits as Mariners boss after disappointing A-League campaign. Emma. Kemp. The Sydney Morning Herald. 20 March 2018.
23. Web site: A-League Collective Bargaining Agreement – 2008/9 – 2012/13 . Australian Professional Footballers' Football Association . 9 October 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140204110810/http://pfa.net.au/fileadmin/user_upload/_temp_/MINUS_LETTERS_A-League_CBA_08-13_1_.pdf . 4 February 2014 . dead .
24. Web site: FFA Cup final hit by multiple injury blows. Yahoo Sports. 29 October 2018. 5 February 2019. 14 April 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190414080725/https://sports.yahoo.com/ffa-cup-final-hit-multiple-031947596.html. dead.
25. News: Isaias is officially the heart and soul of Adelaide United. Val. Migliaccio. The Advertiser. 23 September 2017.
26. News: Former Socceroos star Brett Holman signs with Brisbane Roar on long-term deal. Marco. Monteverde. The Courier-Mail. 1 September 2016. Holman will be paid under the cap in the first year of his Roar deal, before earning more in year two when he’s expected to be paid outside the cap as a marquee player..
27. News: Brisbane Roar sign Massimo Maccarone, former Sampdoria and Middlesbrough striker, as marquee. Marco. Monteverde. The Courier-Mail. 17 July 2017.
28. Web site: Brendan White joins Roar goalkeeping ranks. Brisbane Roar. 4 November 2017.
29. News: McKay is Roar's new captain . Brisbane Roar . 22 December 2014 . 9 January 2015 . 24 July 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150724173648/http://www.brisbaneroar.com.au/article/mckay-is-roars-new-captain/10es1vfvn1rwg1razwhwfnznfp . dead .
30. News: Back-line general Jade North re-signs. Brisbane Roar. 17 May 2016.
31. News: Central Coast Mariners set to sign Daniel De Silva from Serie A giants AS Roma. Dominic. Bossi. The Sydney Morning Herald. 7 July 2017.
32. Web site: The Covert Agent: Daniel De Silva's complicated club situation explained. Goal. 25 July 2018.
33. News: Alan Baro announced new Mariners captain. Lucas. Radbourne-Pugh. FourFourTwo. 23 September 2017. 23 September 2017. 24 September 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170924002452/https://www.fourfourtwo.com.au/news/alan-baro-announced-new-mariners-captain-473976. dead.
34. News: Bruno Fornaroli A-League deal done, says Melbourne City coach John Van 't Schip. The Sydney Morning Herald. 1 August 2016.
35. News: Melbourne City sign Polish midfielder Marcin Budzinski as new marquee player. Michael. Lynch. The Sydney Morning Herald. 18 September 2017.
36. News: Scott Jamieson speaks about life at his fifth A-League club. Matt. Windley. Herald Sun. 4 October 2017.
37. Web site: Besart Berisha says money not a reason to leave Roar as Melbourne Victory double his pay. Herald Sun. 24 January 2014 . 24 January 2014.
38. Web site: Carl Valeri to lead Melbourne Victory as captain. Melbourne Victory. 15 September 2015. 11 May 2017. 17 March 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160317061337/http://www.melbournevictory.com.au/article/carl-valeri-to-lead-melbourne-victory-as-captain/1sl39ghsqhcyj1ehv3u70ylprd. dead.
39. News: Jets sign Venezuela international Vargas. SBS. The World Game. 16 September 2017.
40. News: Nigel Boogaard confirmed as Jets captain. Newcastle Jets. 5 October 2015. 11 May 2017. 5 March 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160305030749/http://www.newcastlejets.com.au/article/news-nigel-boogaard-confirmed-as-jets-captain/rz4ojg5nwr1izyrmi66npxgb. dead.
41. Web site: Castro Perth Glory's new marquee player. SBS. 6 August 2015.
42. News: Andy Keogh in line for Perth Glory captaincy. Dale. Miller. The West Australian. 11 August 2017.
43. News: Sydney FC sign Brazilian striker Bobo as new A-League marquee. The Sydney Morning Herald. Dominic. Bossi. 17 August 2016.
44. News: Milos Ninkovic signs Sydney FC marquee deal. The Sydney Morning Herald. Emma. Kemp. 9 May 2017.
45. Web site: Brosque to skipper Sydney. fourfourtwo.com. 16 October 2014.
46. Web site: Wilkinson to captain Sydney FC. SBS. The World Game. 18 July 2019. The 34-year-old joined Sydney FC in 2016 and has been vice-captain for the last three seasons..
47. Web site: Durante named Wellington Phoenix skipper . Wwos.ninemsn.com.au . 22 December 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120330072014/http://wwos.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=598972 . 30 March 2012 . dead .
48. News: Western Sydney Wanderers sign La Liga regular Oriol Riera as first marquee player. Dominic. Bossi. The Sydney Morning Herald. 5 July 2017.
49. News: Western Sydney Wanderers sign Alvaro Cejudo from Real Betis as a marquee for new A-League season. Tom. Smithies. The Daily Telegraph. 24 July 2017.
50. News: Graham Arnold says Wanderers captain Mark Bridge tried to join Sydney FC. Carly. Adno. The Daily Telegraph. 24 February 2018.
51. News: Statistics >> Player (Goals). Ultimate A-League. 15 April 2018.
52. News: Roy O'Donovan bags hat-trick as Newcastle Jets thrash Central Coast Mariners 5-1 in A-League derby. James. Gardiner. The Sydney Morning Herald. 7 October 2017.
53. News: Bobo hits hat-trick as clinical Sydney FC dispatch Wellington Phoenix 4-1. The Sydney Morning Herald. 23 December 2017.
54. News: Sydney FC thrash Perth Glory 6-0 to extend lead at the top of the A-League. Dominic. Bossi. The Sydney Morning Herald. 30 December 2017.
55. News: Berisha hat-trick lifts Victory to five-star thrashing of Mariners. Ben. McKay. The Sydney Morning Herald. 18 March 2018.
56. News: Jets belt Mariners with 8 A-League goals. Craig. Kerry. The Newcastle Herald. 14 April 2018. 14 April 2018. 17 January 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190117174153/https://www.theherald.com.au/story/5342646/jets-belt-mariners-with-8-a-league-goals/. live.
57. Web site: Statistics >> Player (Clean Sheets) >> 2017–18. Ultimate A-League. 15 April 2018.
58. Web site: A Fair Play Update. Football Central. Scott. Owen. 11 March 2016. 7 October 2017. 10 March 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160310192002/http://footballcentral.com.au/disciplinary-record-march/. dead.
59. News: Dolan Warren Awards: Mierzejewski wins Johnny Warren; Kerr, Polkinghorn split the Dolan. Tom. Smithies. The Daily Telegraph. 30 April 2018.