1983 Wollongong City FC season

Wollongong City
1983 season
Manager	Willie Wallace
Stadium	Ziems Park ; St George Stadium ; Wollongong Showground
National Soccer League	15th
NSL Cup	First round
Top goalscorer	League: Roy Cotton ; Phil O'Connor (12); All: Roy Cotton (13)
Highest home attendance	3,482 vs. Sydney City ; (24 April 1984); National Soccer League
Lowest home attendance	1,000
Average home league attendance	1,871
Biggest win	3–1; vs. Adelaide City (H); (18 September 1983); National Soccer League; 2–0; vs. Brisbane City (A); (9 October 1983); National Soccer League
Biggest defeat	0–4; vs. St George-Budapest (A); (10 September 1983); National Soccer League
	← 1982 1984 →

Last updated March 19, 2025

The 1983 season was the third in the history of Wollongong City (now Wollongong Wolves). It was also the third season in the National Soccer League. In addition to the domestic league, they also participated in the NSL Cup. Wollongong City finished 15th in their National Soccer League season, and were eliminated in the NSL Cup first round by Canberra City.

Players

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	SCO	Jim Preston
2	MF	AUS	Peter Willis
3	DF	AUS	Steve Pollard
4	DF	ENG	Chris Dunleavy
5	DF	AUS	Ray Vliestra
6	DF	ENG	Jeff Ainsworth
7	DF	ENG	Alan Waldron
8	MF	ENG	John Fleming
9	MF	ENG	Roy Cotton
10	MF	AUS	Larry Gaffney


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
11	FW	AUS	Phil O'Connor
12		ENG	Jim McBreen
13	DF	AUS	Phil Kerr
14	FW	AUS	Glen Fontana
15	DF	AUS	David Green
20	GK	AUS	Natch Vardareff
—		AUS	Phil Muhlbauer
—	DF	AUS	Jamie Dummett
—	DF	AUS	Scott Dickson
—	MF	AUS	Warren Baker

Overview

Competition	First match	Last match	Starting round	Final position	Record
Competition	First match	Last match	Starting round	Final position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
National Soccer League	13 March 1983	9 October 1983	Matchday 1	15th	30	4	15	11	41	55	−14	013.33
NSL Cup	6 March 1983		First round	First round	1	0	0	1	1	2	−1	000.00
Total					31	4	15	12	42	57	−15	012.90

Last updated: complete
Source: Competitions

National Soccer League

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	St George-Budapest (C)	30	15	10	5	47	27	+20	55
2	Sydney City	30	15	9	6	48	30	+18	54
3	Preston Makedonia	30	15	7	8	47	32	+15	52
4	South Melbourne	30	15	7	8	44	36	+8	52
5	Newcastle KB United	30	14	7	9	45	26	+19	49
6	Heidelberg United	30	11	10	9	39	38	+1	43
7	Sydney Olympic	30	12	5	13	38	36	+2	41
8	APIA Leichhardt	30	11	6	13	43	36	+7	39
9	Marconi Fairfield	30	9	11	10	43	41	+2	38
10	Canberra City	30	11	5	14	47	53	−6	38
11	Adelaide City	30	10	6	14	37	38	−1	36
12	Footscray JUST	30	9	9	12	25	42	−17	36
13	West Adelaide	30	7	12	11	25	37	−12	33
14	Brisbane City	30	8	9	13	33	50	−17	33
15	Wollongong City	30	4	15	11	41	55	−14	27
16	Brisbane Lions	30	6	8	16	36	61	−25	26

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

Results by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30
Ground	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A
Result	D	D	D	L	D	W	L	L	D	L	L	L	D	D	D	D	D	L	D	L	L	W	D	L	D	L	W	D	D	W
Position	8	10	14	14	12	12	13	14	16	16	16	16	16	15	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	15	16	15	15	15

Source: worldfootball.net
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

13 March 19831	Wollongong City	1–1	Brisbane City	Wollongong
	O'Connor 8'	Report	Willis 35' (o.g.)	Stadium: Ziems Park Attendance: 1,624^[1] Referee: Tim Davies

19 March 19832	Newcastle KB United	1–1	Wollongong City	Newcastle
	Lowe 85'	Report	Cotton 62'	Stadium: Newcastle International Sports Centre Attendance: 2,024 Referee: Arthur Owens

27 March 19833	Wollongong City	1–1	APIA Leichhardt	Wollongong
	Fleming 19'	Report	Giampaolo 53'	Stadium: Ziems Park Attendance: 2,114 Referee: Richard Lorenc

3 April 19834	Preston Makedonia	3–2	Wollongong City	Melbourne
	Campbell 28' Lucchesi 44', 56'	Report	Cotton 65' Fleming 82'	Stadium: B.T. Connor Reserve Attendance: 4,500 Referee: Even Venios

10 April 19835	Wollongong City	1–1	West Adelaide	Wollongong
	Ainsworth 86'	Report	Atsalas 69'	Stadium: Ziems Park Attendance: 2,374 Referee: Peter Rampley

17 April 19836	South Melbourne	0–1	Wollongong City	Melbourne
		Report	O'Connor 80'	Stadium: Middle Park Attendance: 4,500 Referee: Even Venios

24 April 19837	Wollongong City	2–3	Sydney City	Wollongong
15:00 AEST	O'Connor 1', 78'	Report	Kosmina 33', 83' (pen.) Kay 48'	Stadium: Ziems Park Attendance: 3,482 Referee: Ken Small

30 April 19838	Canberra City	3–1	Wollongong City	Canberra
15:00 AEST	Bryant 20' G. Byrne 47' (pen.) Gibson 55'	Report	O'Connor 30'	Stadium: Bruce Stadium Attendance: 1,313 Referee: Bob Mee

15 May 198310	Marconi Fairfield	5–4	Wollongong City	Sydney
	Winn 40', 43', 61' Jankovics 56' Carbone 90'	Report	Willis 49' (pen.) Cotton 74' Hunter 80' (o.g.) Fleming 82'	Stadium: Marconi Stadium Attendance: 2,160 Referee: Barry Wilkinson

29 May 198312	Heidelberg United	2–0	Wollongong City	Melbourne
	Lea 9', 83'	Report		Stadium: Olympic Village Attendance: 2,000 Referee: Jim Fearn

5 June 198313	Wollongong City	1–1	Footscray JUST	Wollongong
	O'Connor 25'	Report	Carroll 1'	Stadium: Ziems Park Attendance: 2,103 Referee: Richard Lorenc

12 June 198314	Adelaide City	2–2	Wollongong City	Adelaide
	Banfield 11' (pen.) Dods 43'	Report	McBreen 78', 83'	Stadium: Olympic Sports Field Attendance: 1,965 Referee: Don Campbell

26 June 198315	Wollongong City	0–0	St George-Budapest	Wollongong
15:00 AEST		Report		Stadium: Ziems Park Attendance: 1,423 Referee: Ken Small

3 July 198316	West Adelaide	1–1	Wollongong City	Adelaide
	Atsalas 27'	Report	Cotton 9'	Stadium: Hindmarsh Stadium Attendance: 950 Referee: Don Campbell

6 July 198311	Wollongong City	1–2	Sydney Olympic	Sydney
	Cotton 27'	Report	Paterson 15' Patalis 66'	Stadium: St George Stadium Attendance: 3,095 Referee: Tim Davies

10 July 198317	Wollongong City	1–1	Preston Makedonia	Wollongong
15:00 AEST	Willis 44' (pen.)	Report	Odzakov 60'	Stadium: Ziems Park Attendance: 3,014 Referee: Barry Wilkinson

17 July 198318	APIA Leichhardt	4–1	Wollongong City	Sydney
	Bradley 35', 76' DeCeglie ?' Valeri 89'	Report	O'Connor 70'	Stadium: Lambert Park Attendance: 2,674 Referee: Arthur Owens

24 July 198319	Wollongong City	2–2	South Melbourne	Wollongong
	Dickson ?' Gaffney 51'	Report	Brown 52' Egan ?'	Stadium: Ziems Park Attendance: 1,565 Referee: Gary Power

31 July 198320	Sydney City	3–1	Wollongong City	Sydney
	Gomez 58' Souness 68', 76' (pen.)	Report	Cotton 4'	Stadium: ES Marks Athletics Field Attendance: 768 Referee: Arthur Owens

7 August 198321	Wollongong City	2–3	Canberra City	Wollongong
	Ainsworth 79' Cotton 81'	Report	Brennan 2' Farina 28' Gibson 90+3'	Stadium: Ziems Park Attendance: 1,173 Referee: Ken Small

14 August 198322	Brisbane Lions	1–2	Wollongong City	Brisbane
	Stewart 14'	Report	Cotton 34' O'Connor 90'	Stadium: Richlands Stadium Attendance: 2,500 Referee: Bill Monteverde

21 August 198323	Wollongong City	1–1	Marconi Fairfield	Wollongong
	Dickson 79'	Report	Vardareff 80' (o.g.)	Stadium: Ziems Park Attendance: 2,000 Referee: Richard Lorenc

28 August 198324	Footscray JUST	3–1	Wollongong City	Melbourne
	Paton 44', 65', 85'	Report	Cotton 10'	Stadium: Schintler Reserve Attendance: 1,500 Referee: Evan Venios

4 September 198325	Wollongong City	0–0	Heidelberg United	Wollongong
		Report		Stadium: Ziems Park Attendance: 1,000

10 September 198326	St George-Budapest	4–0	Wollongong City	Sydney
	Slater 48' Wilkinson 65' Marton 71', 84'	Report		Stadium: St George Stadium Attendance: 1,720 Referee: Ken Small

18 September 198327	Wollongong City	3–1	Adelaide City	Wollongong
	O'Connor 43', 88' Cotton 59'	Report	Mullen 75'	Stadium: Wollongong Showground Attendance: 1,100 Referee: Barry Wilkinson

25 September 198328	Sydney Olympic	3–3	Wollongong City	Sydney
	Patikas 2', 69' Patalis 17'	Report	O'Connor 24' Willis 60', 90+2'	Stadium: St George Stadium Attendance: 3,100 Referee: Tony Boskovic

2 October 198329	Wollongong City	2–2	Newcastle KB United	Wollongong
	Cotton 6' Dunleavy 28'	Report	Lowe 70', 89'	Stadium: Wollongong Showground Attendance: 1,000

9 October 198330	Brisbane City	0–2	Wollongong City	Brisbane
		Report	Dunleavy 9' O'Connor 13'	Stadium: Spencer Park Attendance: 800 Referee: Dave Nugent

16 October 19839	Wollongong City	1–1	Brisbane Lions	Wollongong
	Cotton 42'	Report	Wright 26'	Stadium: Wollongong Showground Attendance: 1,000 Referee: Gary Power

NSL Cup

6 March 1983 First round	Canberra City	2–1	Wollongong City	Queanbeyan
	Redmond 5' Gibson 34'	Report	Cotton 43'	Stadium: Seiffert Oval Attendance: 1,200 Referee: Bob Mee

Statistics

Appearances and goals

Players with no appearances not included in the list.^[2]^[3]

No.	Pos.	Nat.	Name	National Soccer League		NSL Cup		Total
No.	Pos.	Nat.	Name	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK		Jim Preston	17	0	1	0	18	0
2	MF		Peter Willis	30	4	1	0	31	4
3	DF		Steve Pollard	22	0	1	0	23	0
4	DF		Chris Dunleavy	22	2	1	0	23	2
5	DF		Ray Vliestra	23	0	1	0	24	0
6	DF		Jeff Ainsworth	30	2	1	0	31	2
7	DF		Alan Waldron	2(1)	0	0	0	3	0
8	MF		John Fleming	23(1)	3	1	0	25	3
9	MF		Roy Cotton	29	12	1	1	30	13
10	MF		Larry Gaffney	24(2)	1	1	0	27	1
11	FW		Phil O'Connor	28	12	1	0	29	12
12			Jim McBreen	22(1)	2	1	0	24	2
13	DF		Phil Kerr	20(1)	0	0	0	21	0
14	FW		Glen Fontana	0(1)	0	0	0	1	0
15	DF		David Green	1(4)	0	0	0	5	0
20	GK		Natch Vardareff	13	0	0	0	13	0
—	DF		Warren Baker	2	0	0	0	2	0
—	DF		Scott Dickson	11(3)	2	0	0	14	2
—	DF		Jamie Dummett	6	0	0	0	6	0
—	DF		Phil Muhlbauer	5	0	0	0	5	0

Clean sheets

Rank	No.	Pos	Name	National Soccer League	Total
1	1	GK	Jim Preston	2	2
1	20	GK	Natch Vardareff	2	2
Total				4	4

References

↑ "1983 National Soccer League Results". ozfootball.net. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
↑ "Australia's Premier Football Player Archive". ozfootball.net. Aussie Footballers. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
↑ "1983 National Soccer League Cup Results". ozfootball.net. Retrieved 27 June 2022.

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[1] "1983 National Soccer League Results". ozfootball.net. Retrieved 27 June 2022.

[2] "Australia's Premier Football Player Archive". ozfootball.net. Aussie Footballers. Retrieved 27 June 2022.

[3] "1983 National Soccer League Cup Results". ozfootball.net. Retrieved 27 June 2022.

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[2]

[3]

v t e Wollongong Wolves FC seasons
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