The 2015–16 A-League was the 39th season of top-flight soccer in Australia, and the 11th since the establishment of the A-League in 2004. Melbourne Victory were both the defending A-League Premiers and Champions. The regular season schedule was released on 29 June 2015. The season commenced on 8 October 2015 and concluded on 10 April 2016. The finals series commenced on 15 April 2016 and concluded with the 2016 Grand Final, held on 1 May 2016.

Quick Facts Season, Dates ...
A-League
Thumb
Season2015–16
Dates8 October 2015 – 1 May 2016
ChampionsAdelaide United (1st title)
PremiersAdelaide United (2nd title)
Champions LeagueAdelaide United
Western Sydney Wanderers
Brisbane Roar
Matches played135
Goals scored421 (3.12 per match)
Top goalscorerBruno Fornaroli
(25 goals)
Best goalkeeperThomas Sørensen
Biggest home winBrisbane Roar 50 Melbourne Victory
(12 March 2016)
Biggest away winNewcastle Jets 16 Perth Glory
(24 January 2016)
Highest scoringPerth Glory 63 Brisbane Roar
(20 February 2016)
Longest winning runWestern Sydney Wanderers (7 games)
Longest unbeaten runAdelaide United (14 games)
Longest winless runCentral Coast Mariners
Sydney FC (11 games)
Longest losing runCentral Coast Mariners (6 games)
Highest attendance40,539
Sydney FC vs. Western Sydney Wanderers
(24 October 2015)
Lowest attendance4,514
Central Coast Mariners vs. Melbourne City
(3 December 2015)
Average attendance12,309 ( 205)
Close

The 2016 Grand Final took place on 1 May 2016, with Adelaide United claiming their first Championship with a 3–1 win against Western Sydney Wanderers.

Clubs

Personnel and kits

  • Additionally, referee kits are made by Umbro.

Transfers

Managerial changes

More information Team, Outgoing manager ...
Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Table Incoming manager Date of appointment
Brisbane Roar Netherlands Frans Thijssen Resigned[5] 26 May 2015 Pre-season Australia John Aloisi 26 May 2015[6][7]
Newcastle Jets Australia Phil Stubbins Sacked[8][9] 26 May 2015 Australia Scott Miller 18 June 2015[10][11]
Adelaide United Spain Josep Gombau Resigned[12] 24 July 2015 Spain Guillermo Amor 24 July 2015[13]
Close

Foreign players

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);[14]
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

The following concessions to the salary cap were introduced for this season:[48]

  • A Loyalty allowance on a sliding scale for players who have played 5 years at the same club. Maximum $200,000 for 10 years.
  • A Mature Aged Rookie over the age of 21 who has not played in a fully professional league for the last 18 months and last played football in Australia.
  • Each Club can pay three players who started their careers with the club outside the Salary Cap. This season the total has been lifted from $150,000 to $200,000.
  • The two Marquee Players (which sit outside the Salary Cap) can be two foreigners.
  • Salary Cap Banking will allow clubs to carry over money not spent inside the Salary Cap in the previous two seasons to the following season, up to 105% of the Salary Cap in the relevant contract year.

Regular season

League table

More information Pos, Pld ...
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Adelaide United (C) 27 14 7 6 45 28 +17 49 Qualification for 2017 AFC Champions League group stage and Finals series
2 Western Sydney Wanderers 27 14 6 7 44 33 +11 48
3 Brisbane Roar 27 14 6 7 49 40 +9 48 Qualification for 2017 AFC Champions League second preliminary round and Finals series
4 Melbourne City 27 13 5 9 63 44 +19 44 Qualification for Finals series
5 Perth Glory 27 13 4 10 49 42 +7 43
6 Melbourne Victory 27 11 8 8 40 33 +7 41
7 Sydney FC 27 8 10 9 36 36 0 34
8 Newcastle Jets 27 8 6 13 28 41 13 30
9 Wellington Phoenix[lower-alpha 1] 27 7 4 16 34 54 20 25
10 Central Coast Mariners 27 3 4 20 33 70 37 13
Close
Source: A-Leagues
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions
Notes:
  1. Wellington Phoenix cannot qualify for the AFC Champions League as they are not recognised as an AFC club.

Results

More information Home \ Away, ADE ...
Home \ Away ADE BRI CCM MBC MVC NEW PER SYD WEL WSW ADE BRI CCM MBC MVC NEW PER SYD WEL WSW
Adelaide United 3–0 3–1 2–4 0–0 0–0 1–0 2–1 3–0 1–1 4–2 0–1 1–0 2–2
Brisbane Roar 3–0 2–1 1–1 5–0 2–2 1–0 3–2 2–1 3–2 1–4 4–0 3–1 2–1 2–1
Central Coast Mariners 2–3 0–1 1–5 3–3 0–1 3–2 1–3 1–1 0–2 0–2 2–4 2–2 3–1 1–2
Melbourne City 0–2 3–1 3–1 2–1 2–3 5–1 2–2 3–1 0–3 4–1 2–2 3–0 3–0 3–2
Melbourne Victory 2–1 4–0 2–1 3–2 1–1 1–1 1–0 3–0 1–1 0–1 0–0 1–1 2–0
Newcastle Jets 0–0 1–1 1–1 0–4 1–0 1–6 0–1 3–1 1–2 2–1 0–1 1–2 3–2 0–1
Perth Glory 3–1 6–3 2–1 2–2 1–0 2–0 0–0 1–2 2–2 1–3 4–0 3–2 3–2
Sydney FC 0–2 0–0 4–1 1–1 2–4 1–0 1–2 0–0 1–0 1–3 2–0 4–0 1–3 1–1
Wellington Phoenix 4–2 3–2 1–3 2–1 2–0 1–2 0–1 1–1 0–2 0–4 0–0 1–4 1–2
Western Sydney Wanderers 0–0 1–3 4–1 4–3 2–0 2–0 1–0 1–2 2–1 0–0 2–1 2–1 2–5
Close
Updated to match(es) played on 10 April 2016. Source: aleague.com.au
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Finals series

The Grand Final winner (Champion) qualified for the 2017 AFC Champions League group stage

Elimination-finals Semi-finals Grand Final
Adelaide United 4
Melbourne City 2 Melbourne City 1
Perth Glory 0 Adelaide United 3
Western Sydney Wanderers 1
Western Sydney Wanderers (a.e.t.) 5
Brisbane Roar 2 Brisbane Roar 4
Melbourne Victory 1

Elimination-finals

15 April 2016 Brisbane Roar 2–1Melbourne VictoryBrisbane
19:30 AEST
  • McKay 88'
  • Broich 90+3'
Report Berisha 86' Stadium: Suncorp Stadium
Attendance: 20,157
Referee: Jarred Gillett
17 April 2016 Melbourne City 2–0Perth GloryMelbourne
17:00 AEST
Report Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 11,273
Referee: Chris Beath

Semi-finals

22 April 2016 Adelaide United 4–1Melbourne CityAdelaide
19:00 ACST Djite 48', 60' (pen.)
McGowan 88'
Sánchez 90+4'
Report Fitzgerald 72' Stadium: Coopers Stadium
Attendance: 15,489
Referee: Strebre Delovski
24 April 2016 Western Sydney Wanderers 5–4 (a.e.t.)Brisbane RoarParramatta
16:30 AEST Castelen 26', 53', 59'
Šantalab 39'
Vidošić 102'
Report D. Petratos 16' (pen.)
Andreu 20' (o.g.)
Maclaren 23', 81'
Stadium: Pirtek Stadium
Attendance: 20,084
Referee: Peter Green

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.

As of matches played on 10 April 2016.
More information Team, Hosted ...
Team Hosted Average High Low Total
Melbourne Victory1323,11240,21714,383300,452
Sydney FC1416,07140,5398,717224,999
Western Sydney Wanderers1314,29719,6279,860185,866
Brisbane Roar1412,85017,6965,162179,895
Adelaide United1311,28719,0796,205146,736
Melbourne City1411,04725,7385,953154,657
Newcastle Jets149,58614,8867,210134,202
Perth Glory138,98614,5045,398116,824
Central Coast Mariners148,11114,2684,514113,560
Wellington Phoenix138,04213,6545,103104,551
{{{T11}}}00000
{{{T12}}}00000
League total 135 12,309 40,539 4,514 1,661,742
Close

By round

More information Round, Total ...
2015–16 A-League Attendance
Round Total Games Avg. Per Game
Round 1 64,580512,916
Round 2 84,448516,890
Round 3 72,865514,573
Round 4 67,074513,415
Round 5 48,23359,647
Round 6 58,681511,736
Round 7 58,931511,786
Round 8 59,295511,859
Round 9 40,58658,117
Round 10 46,98859,398
Round 11 53,104510,621
Round 12 73,423514,685
Round 13 63,085512,617
Round 14 55,954511,191
Round 15 68,565513,713
Round 16 76,749515,350
Round 17 58,838511,768
Round 18 63,419512,684
Round 19 64,364512,873
Round 20 86,207517,241
Round 21 59,582511,916
Round 22 44,62858,926
Round 23 63,679512,736
Round 24 49,47659,895
Round 25 62,727512,545
Round 26 58,268511,654
Round 27 57,681511,536
Elimination Final 31,430215,715
Semi Final 35,573217,787
Grand Final 50,119150,119
Close

Source:[49]

Club membership

More information Club, Members ...
2015–16 A-League membership figures
Club Members
Adelaide United 8,750
Brisbane Roar 5,347
Central Coast Mariners 6,059
Melbourne City 9,548
Melbourne Victory 27,054
Newcastle Jets 9,266
Perth Glory 7,109
Sydney FC 13,154
Wellington Phoenix 5,062
Western Sydney Wanderers 18,361
Total 109,710
Average 10,971
Close

Last updated: 10 April 2016.
Source: aleague.com.au

Player stats

Top scorers

As of matches played on 10 April 2016[50]

Hat-tricks

More information Player, For ...
Close
Note

4 Player scored 4 goals

Own goals

As of matches played on 10 April 2016

Clean sheets

As of matches played on 10 April 2016[50]

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.[55]

More information Club, FP Pts ...
Club Yellow card Second yellow card Red card FP Pts
Brisbane Roar 45 1 0 47
Perth Glory 56 4 1 67
Adelaide United 70 0 0 70
Newcastle Jets 57 5 1 70
Sydney FC 64 1 2 72
Wellington Phoenix 68 3 0 74
Western Sydney Wanderers 69 0 2 75
Melbourne City 72 2 1 79
Central Coast Mariners 58 6 3 80
Melbourne Victory 73 1 2 81
League total 632 23 12
Close

Last updated: 9 April 2016.
Source: ultimatealeague.com

End-of-season awards

The following end of the season awards were announced at the 2015–16 Dolan Warren Awards night held at the Carriageworks in Sydney on 26 April 2016.[56]

See also

References

Wikiwand in your browser!

Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.

Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.

Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.