2017–18 W-League

The 2017–18 W-League season was the tenth season of the W-League, the Australian national women's association football competition.

W-League

Season	2017–18
Champions	Melbourne City (3rd title)
Premiers	Brisbane Roar (3rd title)
Matches played	54
Goals scored	185 (3.43 per match)
Top goalscorer	Sam Kerr (13 goals)
Biggest home win	Canberra United 6–1 Adelaide United (7 January 2018)
Biggest away win	Canberra United 1–5 Newcastle Jets (28 January 2018)
Highest scoring	Perth Glory 4–4 Canberra United (20 January 2018)
Longest winning run	Sydney FC (5 games)
Longest unbeaten run	Sydney FC (9 games)
Longest winless run	Adelaide United (7 games)
Longest losing run	Adelaide United (4 games)
Highest attendance	8,449 Western Sydney Wanderers vs. Sydney FC (9 December 2017)
Lowest attendance	215 Western Sydney Wanderers vs. Perth Glory (1 December 2017)
Average attendance	2,122
← 2016–17 2018–19 → All statistics correct as of 4 February 2018.

Clubs

Stadia and locations

Team	Location	Stadium	Capacity
Adelaide United	Adelaide	Marden Sports Complex	6,000
Brisbane Roar	Brisbane	Suncorp Stadium A.J. Kelly Park	52,500 1,500
Canberra United	Canberra	McKellar Park	3,500
Melbourne City	Melbourne	Lakeside Stadium CB Smith Reserve AAMI Park	12,000 2,000 30,050
Melbourne Victory	Melbourne	Lakeside Stadium Epping Stadium AAMI Park	12,000 10,000 30,050
Newcastle Jets	Newcastle	No.2 Sportsground McDonald Jones Stadium	5,000 33,000
Perth Glory	Perth	Dorrien Gardens nib Stadium	4,000 20,500
Sydney FC	Sydney	Allianz Stadium	45,500
Western Sydney Wanderers	Sydney	Marconi Stadium ANZ Stadium	9,000 83,500

Personnel and kits

Team	Manager	Captain	Kit sponsors
Adelaide United	Ivan Karlović	Emma Checker[1]	Macron[2]
Brisbane Roar	Melissa Andreatta	Clare Polkinghorne[3]	Umbro[4]
Canberra United	Heather Garriock	Michelle Heyman Ashleigh Sykes[5]	Nike University of Canberra[6]
Melbourne City	Patrick Kisnorbo	Steph Catley[7]	Nike
Melbourne Victory	Jeff Hopkins	Natasha Dowie[8]	Adidas[9]
Newcastle Jets	Craig Deans	Emily van Egmond[10]	Viva Teamwear[11] Greater Bank[12]
Perth Glory	Bobby Despotovski	Sam Kerr[5]	Healthway, National Storage, Goodlife, Macron[13]
Sydney FC	Ante Juric	Teresa Polias[14]	Puma
Western Sydney Wanderers	Richard Byrne	Ellie Brush Erica Halloway[15]	Nike[16]

Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Position on table	Incoming manager	Date of appointment
Canberra United	Raeanne Dower	Resigned[17]	5 February 2017	Pre-season	Heather Garriock[18]	22 May 2017
Sydney FC	Dan Barrett	Resigned[19]	15 May 2017		Ante Juric[20]	7 June 2017
Melbourne City	Jess Fishlock	End of contract[21]	6 July 2017		Patrick Kisnorbo[21]	6 July 2017
Adelaide United	Huss Skenderovic	End of contract[22]	9 July 2017		Ivan Karlović[22]	9 July 2017

Transfers

Further information: W-League transfers for 2017–18 season

Foreign players

Club	Visa 1	Visa 2	Visa 3	Visa 4	Non-Visa foreigner(s)	Former player(s)
Adelaide United	Danielle Colaprico	Makenzy Doniak	Alyssa Mautz	Katie Naughton
Brisbane Roar	Cheung Wai Ki	Celeste Boureille	Carson Pickett
Canberra United	Laura Bassett	Elise Thorsnes	Haley Kopmeyer	Toni Pressley		Kendall FletcherG
Melbourne City	Yukari Kinga	Lauren Barnes	Ashley Hatch	Jess Fishlock	Jodie TaylorG Rebekah StottA
Melbourne Victory	Natasha Dowie	Jeon Ga-eul	Christina Gibbons	Kristen McNabb	Gülcan KocaA
Newcastle Jets	Britt Eckerstrom	Arin Gilliland	Tori Huster	Katie Stengel
Perth Glory	Raquel Rodríguez	Amanda Frisbie	Rachel Hill	Nikki Stanton
Sydney FC	Emma Rolston	Aubrey Bledsoe	Emily Sonnett
Western Sydney Wanderers	Lee Falkon	Marlous Pieëte	Maruschka Waldus	Lo'eau LaBonta

The following do not fill a Visa position:
^A Australian citizens who have chosen to represent another national team;
^G Guest Players

Regular season

The regular season was played between 27 October 2017 and 4 February 2018, over 14 rounds, with each team playing twelve matches.^[23]

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Brisbane Roar	12	9	1	2	21	12	+9	28	Qualification to Finals series
2	Sydney FC	12	8	1	3	26	16	+10	25
3	Newcastle Jets	12	6	2	4	26	21	+5	20
4	Melbourne City (C)	12	6	2	4	20	15	+5	20
5	Canberra United	12	5	1	6	24	27	−3	16
6	Perth Glory	12	4	2	6	25	27	−2	14
7	Melbourne Victory	12	3	2	7	15	19	−4	11
8	Western Sydney Wanderers	12	3	2	7	13	21	−8	11
9	Adelaide United	12	3	1	8	15	27	−12	10

Source: A-Leagues
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions

Fixtures

Individual matches are collated at each club's season article.

Finals series

	Semi-finals					Grand Final
	2	Sydney FC (a.e.t.)	3
	3	Newcastle Jets	2
						Sydney FC		0
						Melbourne City		2
	1	Brisbane Roar	0
	4	Melbourne City	2

Semi-finals

Sydney FC v Newcastle Jets

10 February 2018	Sydney FC	3–2 (a.e.t.)	Newcastle Jets	Sydney
16:45 AEDT	Foord 9' Ledbrook 35' De Vanna 98'	Report	Gilliland 53' Andrews 90+2'	Stadium: Leichhardt Oval Attendance: 2,512 Referee: Lara Lee

Brisbane Roar v Melbourne City

11 February 2018	Brisbane Roar	0–2	Melbourne City	Brisbane
15:00 AEST		Report	Luik 66' Fishlock 72'	Stadium: Perry Park Attendance: 3,870 Referee: Rebecca Durcau

Grand final

Main article: 2018 W-League grand final

Sydney FC v Melbourne City

18 February 2018	Sydney FC	0–2	Melbourne City	Sydney
17:00 AEDT		Report	Fishlock 35' Taylor 75'	Stadium: Allianz Stadium Attendance: 6,025 Referee: Rebecca Durcau

Regular-season statistics

Top scorers

As of 4 February 2018; end of regular season

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Sam Kerr	Perth Glory	13
2	Katie Stengel	Newcastle Jets	10
3	Rachel Hill	Perth Glory	9
4	Makenzy Doniak	Adelaide United	7
5	Natasha Dowie	Melbourne Victory	6
	Elise Thorsnes	Canberra United
7	Lisa De Vanna	Sydney FC	5
	Jess Fishlock	Melbourne City
	Arin Gilliland	Newcastle Jets
	Michelle Heyman	Canberra United
	Kylie Ledbrook	Sydney FC
	Allira Toby	Brisbane Roar

Own goals

Player		Team	Against	Round
	Emma Checker	Adelaide United	Perth Glory	3
	Elizabeth Ralston	Sydney FC	Melbourne City	4
	Toni Pressley	Canberra United	Sydney FC	8
	Sarah Carroll	Perth Glory	Newcastle Jets	8
	Jenna McCormick	Adelaide United	Brisbane Roar	13

Hat-tricks

Main article: List of W-League (Australia) hat-tricks

Player	For	Against	Result	Date	Ref
Rachel Hill	Perth Glory	Brisbane Roar	4–1	5 November 2017	[24]
Makenzy Doniak	Adelaide United	Perth Glory	3–1	10 November 2017	[25]
Arin Gilliland	Newcastle Jets FC	Brisbane Roar	0–3	10 December 2017	[26]
Sam Kerr	Perth Glory	Newcastle Jets	3–3	16 December 2017	[27]
Elise Thorsnes	Canberra United	Adelaide United	6–1	7 January 2018	[28]
Sam Kerr	Perth Glory	Canberra United	4–4	20 January 2018	[29]
Katie Stengel	Newcastle Jets	Canberra United	1–5	28 January 2018	[30]

End-of-season awards

The following end of the season awards were announced at the 2017–18 Dolan Warren Awards night on 30 April 2018.^[31]

• Julie Dolan Medal – Sam Kerr (Perth Glory) and Clare Polkinghorne (Brisbane Roar)
• NAB Young Footballer of the Year – Ellie Carpenter (Canberra United)
• Golden Boot Award – Sam Kerr (Perth Glory) (13 goals)
• Goalkeeper of the Year – Mackenzie Arnold (Brisbane Roar)
• Coach of the Year – Melissa Andreatta (Brisbane Roar)
• Fair Play Award – Melbourne Victory
• Referee of the Year – Casey Reibelt
• Goal of the Year – Lisa De Vanna (Sydney FC v Canberra United, 15 December 2017)

See also

• 2017–18 Adelaide United W-League season
• 2017–18 Brisbane Roar W-League season
• 2017–18 Canberra United W-League season
• 2017–18 Melbourne City W-League season
• 2017–18 Melbourne Victory W-League season
• 2017–18 Newcastle Jets W-League season
• 2017–18 Perth Glory W-League season
• 2017–18 Sydney FC W-League season
• 2017–18 Western Sydney Wanderers W-League season

References

1. Migliaccio, Val (27 October 2017). "The grass will certainly be greener for Adelaide United's W-League side Reds at their Marden Stadium home". The Advertiser.
2. "Adelaide United announces Macron partnership". Adelaide United. 2 June 2016.
3. "Matildas teammates up in arms as 'freak' Sam Kerr misses cut for FIFA best women's player". The West Australian. 23 September 2017.
4. "Brisbane Roar and Umbro announce long-term partnership". Brisbane Roar. 15 August 2014. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
5. Carter, Brittany (27 October 2017). "W-League preview: Season 10 ready for take-off with big stars and a sport on the rise". ABC News.
6. "University of Canberra Sign New Shirt Sponsorship Deal". Canberra United. 26 July 2016.
7. Colangelo, Anthony (26 October 2017). "Melbourne City captain Steph Catley is part of champion Matildas crop". The Sydney Morning Herald.
8. "W-League preview: Victory v Canberra". Melbourne Victory. 27 October 2017.
9. "Melbourne Victory extends partnership with adidas". Melbourne Victory. 6 February 2017.
10. Radbourne-Pugh, Lucas (29 October 2017). "Newcastle flatten Western Sydney in sweltering conditions". FourFourTwo.
11. Dudley, George (2 June 2017). "Newcastle Jets agree apparel deal with Viva". SportsPro.
12. "Greater Bank confirms Major Sponsorship of Newcastle Jets W League squad". Greater Bank. 9 October 2018.
13. "Macron sign on for four more years". Perth Glory. 30 May 2017.
14. Parkinson, Andrew (13 February 2017). "Sydney FC W-League captain Teresa Polias encourages junior St George Football Association players". St George and Sutherland Shire Leader.
15. "Halloway and Brush announced as Wanderers co-captains". Western Sydney Wanderers. 29 October 2017.
16. "Wanderers launch jersey, announce Nike partnership extension". Western Sydney Wanderers. 11 August 2017.
17. Helmers, Caden (5 February 2017). "W-League: Canberra United coach Rae Dower to depart after shattering semi-final loss to Melbourne City". The Canberra Times.
18. Helmers, Caden (22 May 2017). "Former Australian Matildas player Heather Garriock appointed Canberra United head coach". The Canberra Times.
19. "Westfield W-League Head Coach Dan Barrett To Leave". Sydney FC. 15 May 2017.
20. Kemp, Emma (7 June 2017). "Ante Juric is new Sydney FC W-League coach". The West Australian.
21. Windley, Matt (6 July 2017). "W-League: Patrick Kisnorbo steps up to take the reins at Melbourne City". Herald Sun.
22. Migliaccio, Val (9 July 2017). "Ivan Karlovic is the Adelaide United women's team's new boss". The Advertiser.
23. "W·LEAGUE 2017/18 Season Draw" (PDF). Football Federation Australia. 10 September 2017. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
24. "Hill hat-trick puts Perth on top". The World Game. SBS. 5 November 2017.
25. Greenwood, Rob (10 November 2017). "Adelaide United downs Perth Glory 3–1 in W-League clash at Marden". The Advertiser.
26. "Jets fly high with W-League victory against Roar". The World Game. SBS. 10 December 2017.
27. "Unstoppable Sam Kerr unleashes 10-minute W-League hat-trick for Perth Glory". The Sunday Times. 17 December 2017.
28. Polkinghorne, David (7 January 2018). "Elise Thorsnes hat-trick helps Canberra United thump Adelaide United in W-League". The Sydney Morning Herald.
29. "Kerr heroics can't fire Perth to glory". The World Game. SBS. 21 January 2018.
30. Kerry, Craig (28 January 2018). "Newcastle Jets book finals place with 5–1 win over Canberra United". The Newcastle Herald.
31. Smithies, Tom (30 April 2018). "Dolan Warren Awards: Mierzejewski wins Johnny Warren; Kerr, Polkinghorn split the Dolan". The Daily Telegraph.