1984 National Soccer League

Last updated

National Soccer League
Season 1984
Dates4 March – 28 October 1984
Champions South Melbourne
1st title
Premiers Sydney City (Northern)
South Melbourne (Southern)
Relegated Melita Eagles
Matches played350
Goals scored969 (2.77 per match)
Top goalscorer Duggie Brown (22)
Biggest home win West Adelaide 7–0 Sunshine George Cross
(29 April 1984)
Sydney City 8–1 Newcastle Rosebud United
(9 May 1984)
South Melbourne 7–0 Newcastle Rosebud United
(22 July 1984)
Biggest away win Penrith City 1–7 Marconi Fairfield
(22 April 1984)
Highest scoringSydney City 8–1 Newcastle Rosebud United
(9 May 1984)
Highest attendance12,000
Brunswick Zebras 2–1 South Melbourne
(8 April 1984)
Lowest attendance250
Penrith City 2–0 Brisbane City
(15 April 1984)
Total attendance885,776
Average attendance2,788
← 1983
1985 →

The 1984 National Soccer League season was the eighth season of the National Soccer League in Australia. This season saw a restructure of the league, introducing a split into two geographical divisions, and an expansion from 16 to 24 teams. A Northern Conference comprised 12 clubs from New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory, and a Southern Conference consisted of 12 Victorian, South Australian, and Queensland clubs.

Contents

This season also saw the introduction of the two well-supported Croatian clubs, Melbourne Croatia and Sydney Croatia, both of which had had recent success in the state-leagues.

For the first time in the competition, a finals system was introduced, whereby the five highest finishing teams in each conference had a playoff to determine a conference winner. The two conference winners then played each other in a two-legged Grand Final to be declared champions. The Grand Final was won by South Melbourne over Sydney Olympic.

Teams

Twenty-four teams competed in the league (twelve in the Northern Conference and twelve in the Southern Conference) – the sixteen teams from the previous season and eight teams accepted from their respective state leagues.

Stadiums and locations

Note: Table lists in alphabetical order by conference.
TeamLocationStadiumCapacity
Northern Conference
APIA Leichhardt Sydney (Leichhardt) Lambert Park 7,000
Blacktown City Sydney (Seven Hills) Gabbie Stadium 5,000
Canberra Arrows Canberra Canberra Stadium 25,011
Marconi Fairfield Sydney (Bossley Park) Marconi Stadium 9,000
Melita Eagles Sydney (Parramatta) Melita Stadium 10,000
Newcastle Rosebud United Newcastle Adamstown Oval 2,000
Penrith City Penrith Cook Park 1,000
St George-Budapest Sydney (Mortdale) St George Stadium 12,000
Sydney City Sydney (Bondi) ES Marks Athletics Field 8,000
Sydney Croatia Sydney (Edensor Park) King Tomislav Park 10,000
Sydney Olympic Sydney (Waterloo) Pratten Park 15,000
Wollongong City Wollongong Wollongong Showground 22,000
Southern Conference
Adelaide City Adelaide (Kensington) Olympic Sports Field 8,000
Brisbane City Brisbane (Newmarket) Spencer Park 5,000
Brisbane Lions Brisbane (Inala) Lions Stadium 5,000
Brunswick Juventus Melbourne (Footscray) Olympic Park 18,500
Footscray JUST Melbourne (Footscray)Schintler Reserve?
Green Gully Melbourne (St Albans) Green Gully Reserve 10,000
Heidelberg United Melbourne (Brunswick) Olympic Village 12,000
Melbourne Croatia Melbourne (Elsternwick)Olympic Park18,500
Preston Makedonia Melbourne (Fitzroy) B.T. Connor Reserve 5,000
South Melbourne Melbourne (Middle Park) Middle Park 18,000
Sunshine George Cross Melbourne (City of Melbourne) Chaplin Reserve 5,000
West Adelaide Adelaide (City of Adelaide) Hindmarsh Stadium 16,500

Managerial changes

The Australian Soccer Annual 1984 reported 11 managerial changes. [1]

TeamOutgoing managerDate of vacancyPosition in the tableIncoming managerDate of appointment
Adelaide City Flag of Scotland.svg Bobby Ferguson 1984Pre-season Flag of Australia (converted).svg Edmund Kreft 1984
Brisbane City Flag of Scotland.svg Jim Hermiston Flag of Scotland.svg Joe Gilroy
Canberra Arrows Flag of Australia (converted).svg Attila Abonyi Flag of England.svg Doug Collins
Heidelberg United Flag of Australia (converted).svg Jim Tansey Flag of England.svg Brian Garvey
Marconi Fairfield Flag of Australia (converted).svg Tony Henderson (caretaker) Flag of Australia (converted).svg Les Scheinflug
West Adelaide Flag of Australia (converted).svg Peter Koulizos Flag of Australia (converted).svg Sam Salabasidis
Wollongong City Flag of Scotland.svg Willie Wallace Flag of Australia (converted).svg Adrian Alston
Green Gully Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg David Smallman Flag of Australia (converted).svg Jimmy Rooney
Melbourne Croatia Flag of Australia (converted).svg Tommy Cumming Flag of Australia (converted).svg Terry Hennessy
Sydney Croatia Flag of Croatia.svg Josip Kuže Flag of Australia (converted).svg Attila Abonyi
Penrith City Inaugural Flag of Scotland.svg Willie Wallace

League tables

Northern Conference

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification or relegation
1 Sydney City 2817836721+4642Qualification to Finals series
2 Sydney Olympic 2816846127+3440
3 Marconi Fairfield 2812885839+1932
4 APIA Leichhardt 2812884335+832
5 Blacktown City 28126104348−530
6 Sydney Croatia 2881193238−627
7 Penrith City 28810102941−1226
8 Newcastle Rosebud United 28114133552−1726
9 Canberra Arrows 28121154739+825
10 St George-Budapest 2889113841−325
11 Melita Eagles (R)2888122338−1524Relegation to the 1985 NSW State League
12 Wollongong City 2855182259−3715
Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(R) Relegated

Southern Conference

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1 South Melbourne (C)2818464820+2840Qualification to Finals series
2 Heidelberg United 2814773727+1035
3 Melbourne Croatia 2813783831+733
4 Brisbane Lions 28126103836+230
5 Brunswick Juventus 28134113642−630
6 Preston Makedonia 28116114233+928
7 Adelaide City 28105133334−125
8 Footscray JUST 28105132933−425
9 Green Gully 2896133436−224
10 West Adelaide 2885154052−1221
11 Brisbane City 2885152139−1821
12 Sunshine George Cross 2856172457−3316
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

Home \ Away ADE API BLA BRC BRL BRU CAN FOO GRE HEI MAR MCR MEA NRU PEN PRE SOU STG SGC SCI SCR SOL WES WOL ADE API BLA BRC BRL BRU CAN FOO GRE HEI MAR MCR MEA NRU PEN PRE SOU STG SGC SCI SCR SOL WES WOL
Adelaide City 1–22–01–22–03–11–12–30–02–30–11–11–02–13–2
APIA Leichhardt 2–10–12–01–01–21–03–22–10–10–24–11–13–3
Blacktown City 2–22–03–44–32–20–04–14–11–01–12–20–22–01–4
Brisbane City 0–00–10–10–22–20–10–11–01–11–10–22–1
Brisbane Lions 2–22–02–10–12–10–31–03–24–20–22–21–12–13–0
Brunswick Juventus 1–02–31–00–21–45–12–12–02–42–14–20–10–31–1
Canberra Arrows 0–11–20–11–00–23–01–22–13–10–11–25–24–0
Footscray JUST 0–00–03–10–10–30–04–01–21–00–11–00–3
Green Gully 2–12–02–33–02–31–10–10–00–22–32–11–12–0
Heidelberg United 1–01–03–12–32–11–00–05–22–12–10–21–11–13–0
Marconi Fairfield 1–31–21–00–11–12–12–14–16–11–12–00–14–04–11–1
Melbourne Croatia 2–02–20–13–11–00–01–11–00–22–02–11–10–23–1
Melita Eagles 1–21–02–02–12–21–31–11–00–21–20–00–10–20–20–1
Newcastle Rosebud United 2–01–12–10–41–03–01–01–03–13–01–52–11–21–2
Penrith City 0–32–02–02–11–71–10–21–10–00–13–20–0
Preston Makedonia 1–21–20–03–01–21–11–11–02–26–00–15–23–35–12–01–21–0
South Melbourne 1–01–02–22–12–01–07–01–20–10–04–00–03–00–0
St George-Budapest 2–21–21–22–12–01–13–01–41–10–03–24–02–2
Sunshine George Cross 0–10–13–01–40–20–01–10–00–21–22–01–11–01–2
Sydney City 1–24–03–13–12–08–11–10–11–14–35–02–16–01–1
Sydney Croatia 3–31–21–22–11–11–20–11–10–12–00–51–32–03–1
Sydney Olympic 1–14–26–14–02–21–32–02–01–22–03–04–23–0
West Adelaide 0–12–21–23–10–10–44–10–11–22–27–02–13–12–0
Wollongong City 0–31–23–20–11–31–11–00–21–21–21–32–10–30–1
Source: OzFootball
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Five matches occurred where the fixture was played a third time in the 1984 season.

Finals series

Northern Conference

Elimination and qualifying FinalsSemi-finalsPreliminary FinalNorthern Final
1 Sydney City 1 (4)1 Sydney City 1
2 Sydney Olympic 1 (2)2 Sydney Olympic 2
2 Sydney Olympic 22 Sydney Olympic 3
3 Marconi Fairfield 14 APIA Leichhardt Tigers 0
3 Marconi Fairfield 3 (3)
4 APIA Leichhardt Tigers 3 (4)
4 APIA Leichhardt Tigers 3
5 Blacktown City 1

Southern Conference

Elimination and qualifying FinalsSemi-finalsPreliminary FinalSouthern Final
1 South Melbourne 31 South Melbourne 4
3 Melbourne Croatia 22 Heidelberg United 2
2 Heidelberg United 12 Heidelberg United 3
3 Melbourne Croatia 23 Melbourne Croatia 1
2 Heidelberg United 0 (3)
4 Brisbane Lions 0 (2)
4 Brisbane Lions 4
5 Brunswick Juventus 2

Grand Final

South Melbourne 2–1 Sydney Olympic
Egan Soccerball shade.svg43, 64'Koussas Soccerball shade.svg5'
Olympic Park Stadium, Melbourne
Attendance: 10,000
Referee: Doug Rennie
Sydney Olympic 1–2 South Melbourne
Theodorakopoulos Soccerball shade.svg34'Crino Soccerball shade.svg10'
Yzendoorn Soccerball shade.svg18'
St George Stadium, Sydney
Attendance: 11,221
Referee: Chris Bambridge

Individual awards

AwardWinnerClub
National Soccer League Player of the Year Flag of Australia (converted).svg Sergio Melta Adelaide City
National Soccer League Under 21 Player of the Year Flag of Australia (converted).svg Tony Franken Canberra City
National Soccer League Coach of the Year Flag of Australia (converted).svg Eddie Thomson Sydney City

References

  1. ↑ Australian Soccer Annual 1984: Eleven coaching changes for '84. Soccer Action. p. 11.
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