2015–16 W-League

W-League
Season	2015–16
Champions	Melbourne City (1st title)
Premiers	Melbourne City (1st title)
Matches played	57
Goals scored	163 (2.86 per match)
Top goalscorer	Larissa Crummer (11 goals)
Biggest home win	Melbourne City 4–0 Brisbane Roar; (22 November 2015); Canberra United 4–0 Adelaide United; (12 December 2015); Melbourne City 4–0 Perth Glory; (20 December 2015); Melbourne City 4–0 Western Sydney Wanderers; (3 January 2016); Brisbane Roar 4–0 Melbourne Victory; (10 January 2016)
Biggest away win	Sydney FC 0–6 Melbourne City; (18 October 2015)
Highest scoring	Sydney FC 0–6 Melbourne City; (18 October 2015); Canberra United 2–4 Melbourne City; (8 November 2015); Newcastle Jets 1–5 Adelaide United; (19 December 2015)
Longest winning run	Melbourne City (12 games)
Longest unbeaten run	Melbourne City (14 games)
Longest winless run	Western Sydney Wanderers (6 games)
Longest losing run	Brisbane Roar, Melbourne Victory (5 games)
	← 2014 2016–17 → All statistics correct as of 31 January 2016.

The 2015–16 W-League season was the eighth season of the W-League, the Australian national women's association football competition. On 13 May 2015, it was confirmed that Melbourne City would join the league for the 2015–16 season.^[1]

League newcomers Melbourne City claimed both the regular season Premiership and end of season Championship, the latter awarded for their victory in the 2016 W-League Grand Final.^[2]^[3]

Clubs[]

Stadia and locations[]

Team	Location	Stadium	Capacity
Adelaide United	Adelaide	Coopers Stadium	1,000 16,500
Brisbane Roar	Brisbane	Perry Park Suncorp Stadium	5,000 52,500
Canberra United	Canberra	McKellar Park	3,500
Melbourne City	Melbourne	CB Smith Reserve AAMI Park	2,000 30,050
Melbourne Victory	Melbourne	Kingston Heath Soccer Complex John Ilhan Memorial Reserve AAMI Park	5,000 5,000 30,050
Newcastle Jets	Newcastle	Magic Park Hunter Stadium	3,500 33,000
Perth Glory	Perth	Ashfield Reserve	2,000
Sydney FC	Sydney	Lambert Park	7,000
Western Sydney Wanderers	Sydney	Marconi Stadium	11,500 2,500

Personnel and kits[]

Team	Manager	Captain	Kit manufacturer	Kit sponsor
Adelaide United	Jamie Harnwell	Marijana Rajcic
Brisbane Roar		Clare Polkinghorne	Umbro^[4]
Canberra United		Nicole Begg		University of Canberra^[5]
Melbourne City	Joe Montemurro	Lisa De Vanna
Melbourne Victory		Melissa Barbieri	Adidas^[6]
Newcastle Jets	Craig Deans	Tara Andrews
Perth Glory	Bobby Despotovski	Sam Kerr	Macron^[7]
Sydney FC	Daniel Barrett	Teresa Polias		Beechwood Holmes^[8]
Western Sydney Wanderers		Caitlin Cooper	Nike^[9]

Foreign players[]

Club	Visa 1	Visa 2	Visa 3	Visa 4	Non-Visa foreigner(s)	Former player(s)
Adelaide United	Elizabeth Milne	Abby Dahlkemper	Sarah Killion	Kaitlyn Savage
Brisbane Roar		Sofie Persson	Haley Kopmeyer
Canberra United	Verónica Pérez	Emma Kete	Kendall Fletcher			Jodie Taylor
Melbourne City	Anisa Guajardo	Jess Fishlock	Jen Beattie	Kim Little	Rebekah Stott^A
Melbourne Victory	Briar Palmer	Christine Nairn	Jamie Pollock		Gülcan Koca^A	Natasha Dowie^G Brooke Elby^G
Newcastle Jets	Hannah Bromley	Caprice Dydasco	Megan Oyster
Perth Glory	Katie Holtham	Vanessa DiBernardo	Nikki Stanton
Sydney FC	Michelle Betos	Jasmyne Spencer
Western Sydney Wanderers	Carmelina Moscato	Hannah Beard	Kendall Johnson	Keelin Winters

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 W-League 2015–16 fixture was released on 8 September 2015.^[10] The regular season commenced on 17 October 2015, and concluded on 17 January 2016.

League table[]

Pos	Team v t	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Melbourne City (C)	12	12	0	0	38	4	+34	36	Qualification to Finals series
2	Canberra United	12	8	2	2	26	8	+18	26
3	Sydney FC	12	6	1	5	15	21	−6	19
4	Brisbane Roar	12	5	1	6	16	17	−1	16
5	Adelaide United	12	3	4	5	18	19	−1	13
6	Newcastle Jets	12	3	4	5	9	12	−3	13
7	Western Sydney Wanderers	12	3	3	6	15	25	−10	12
8	Perth Glory	12	3	2	7	10	23	−13	11
9	Melbourne Victory	12	2	1	9	10	28	−18	7

Source: W-League Ladder
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champion

Positions by round[]

Team ╲ Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14
Team ╲ Round
Melbourne City	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Canberra United	7	4	6	8	8	3	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Sydney FC	9	9	7	4	6	8	4	3	3	3	3	3	3	3
Brisbane Roar	2	2	2	3	5	7	8	8	8	7	7	6	4	4
Adelaide United	4	5	3	2	2	2	5	5	5	4	4	4	5	5
Newcastle Jets	6	6	4	5	7	6	3	4	4	5	5	5	6	6
Western Sydney Wanderers	4	7	8	6	3	4	6	6	6	6	6	7	8	7
Perth Glory	2	3	5	7	4	5	7	7	7	8	8	8	7	8
Melbourne Victory	7	8	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9

	Leader and qualification to Finals series
	Qualification to Finals series

Source: w-league.com.au
Notes: Brisbane Roar were tied with Perth Glory at the end of Round 1, as were Canberra United and Melbourne Victory along with Adelaide United and Western Sydney Wanderers.

Home and away season[]

In the 2015–16 season each team played 12 games with 2 bye rounds, kicking off on 17 October 2015, and concluding on 17 January 2016.^[10]

Round 1[]

17 October 2015	Melbourne Victory	1–2	Perth Glory	Melbourne
15:00 AEDT	Spiranovic 8'	Report	Foord 45' Kerr 69'	Stadium: ABD Stadium Referee: Katie Patterson

17 October 2015	Adelaide United	2–2	Western Sydney Wanderers	Adelaide
15:00 ACDT	Killion 41' 62'	Report	Winters 3' Cooper 17'	Stadium: Attendance: 602 Referee: Casey Reibelt

18 October 2015	Brisbane Roar	2–1	Canberra United	Brisbane
13:00 AEST	Butt 8' Blackburn 11'	Report	Heyman 39'	Stadium: Suncorp Stadium Referee: Kate Jacewicz

18 October 2015	Sydney FC	0–6	Melbourne City	Sydney
17:30 AEDT		Report	Crummer 11', 45' De Vanna 39' Goad 43' Tabain 61' Ayres 89'	Stadium: Lambert Park Attendance: 960 Referee: Rebecca Durcau

Round 2[]

24 October 2015	Canberra United	3–0	Sydney FC	Canberra
16:00 AEDT	Begg 9' Pérez 58' Munoz 68'	Report		Stadium: McKellar Park Attendance: 1,009 Referee: Rachel Mitchinson

24 October 2015	Perth Glory	0–0	Newcastle Jets	Perth
16:00 AWST		Report		Stadium: Ashfield Reserve Attendance: 714 Referee: Rebecca Durcau

25 October 2015	Melbourne City	2–1	Melbourne Victory	Melbourne
14:00 AEDT	Tabain 48' Luik 72' (pen.)	Report	Knight 90+2'	Stadium: AAMI Park Attendance: 2,311 Referee: Casey Reibelt

25 October 2015	Western Sydney Wanderers	0–3	Brisbane Roar	Sydney
15:00 AEDT		Report	Gielnik 64', 76' (pen.) Marzano 90+1'	Stadium: Marconi Stadium Referee: Lara Smith

Round 3[]

31 October 2015	Melbourne Victory	0–1	Newcastle Jets	Melbourne
15:00 AEDT		Report	Logarzo 45+2'	Stadium: John Ilhan Memorial Reserve Referee: Kate Jacewicz

31 October 2015	Perth Glory	0–4	Melbourne City	Perth
16:00 AWST		Report	Tabain 12' De Vanna 21' Crummer 52', 64'	Stadium: Ashfield Reserve Attendance: 483 Referee: Kelly Jones

1 November 2015	Western Sydney Wanderers	1–2	Sydney FC	Sydney
14:00 AEDT	82'	Report	L. Khamis 3', 35'	Stadium: Pirtek Stadium Attendance: 2,448 Referee: Rebecca Durcau

1 November 2015	Brisbane Roar	1–2	Adelaide United	Redland City
15:00 AEST	Gorry 22'	Report	Sutton 9' Condon 51'	Stadium: Cleveland Showgrounds Attendance: 1,010 Referee: Rachel Mitchenson

Round 4[]

7 November 2015	Newcastle Jets	1–2	Western Sydney Wanderers	Newcastle
14:00 AEDT	Kingsley 3'	Report	O'Brien 54' Moscato 90+2'	Stadium: Magic Park Referee: Kelly Jones

8 November 2015	Canberra United	2–4	Melbourne City	Gosford
14:00 AEDT	Sykes 29' Heyman 60'	Report	Tabain 5' Crummer 11' Luik 41' Little 87'	Stadium: Central Coast Stadium Attendance: 1,233 Referee: Lara Lee

8 November 2015	Melbourne Victory	0–4	Adelaide United	Melbourne
15:00 AEDT		Report	Sutton 13', 55', 68' (pen.) 33'	Stadium: Epping Stadium Referee: Katie Patterson

8 November 2015	Sydney FC	1–0	Perth Glory	Sydney
16:00 AEDT	K. Simon 14' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: Lambert Park Referee: Kate Jacewicz

Round 5[]

14 November 2015	Newcastle Jets	0–0	Canberra United	Newcastle
14:00 AEDT		Report		Stadium: Magic Park Referee: Kate Jacewicz

14 November 2015	Melbourne City	2–0	Adelaide United	Melbourne
16:00 AEDT	Crummer 43' Fishlock 71'	Report		Stadium: CB Smith Reserve Referee: Rebecca Durcau

15 November 2015	Brisbane Roar	0–2	Perth Glory	Brisbane
13:00 AEST		Report	DiBernardo 8', 88'	Stadium: Suncorp Stadium Referee: Katie Patterson

15 November 2015	Western Sydney Wanderers	3–1	Melbourne Victory	Sydney
15:00 AEDT	Carney 24' Dimovski 56' (o.g.) Winters 70' (pen.)	Report	Spiranovic 75'	Stadium: Marconi Stadium Referee: Lara Lee

Round 6[]

22 November 2015	Adelaide United	1–1	Newcastle Jets	Adelaide
13:30 ACDT	60'	Report	Andrews 83'	Stadium: Coopers Stadium Referee: Kelly Jones

22 November 2015	Melbourne City	4–0	Brisbane Roar	Melbourne
14:00 AEDT	Little 54', 61' Crummer 79', 81'	Report		Stadium: CB Smith Reserve Referee: Kate Jacewicz

22 November 2015	Sydney FC	0–1	Canberra United	Sydney
17:30 AEDT		Report	Begg 88'	Stadium: Lambert Park (Leichhardt) Referee: Casey Reibelt

Round 7[]

27 November 2015	Adelaide United	0–1	Sydney FC	Adelaide
19:00 ACDT		Report	Spencer 68'	Stadium: Referee: Kate Jacewicz

28 November 2015	Perth Glory	1–3	Melbourne Victory	Perth
16:00 AWST	May 84'	Report	Raso 9' Nairn 51' Knight 90'	Stadium: Ashfield Reserve Referee: Casey Reibelt

29 November 2015	Western Sydney Wanderers	1–4	Canberra United	Gosford
14:00 AEDT	Halloway 77'	Report	Fletcher 4', 79' Soutar 53' (o.g.) Sykes 83'	Stadium: Central Coast Stadium Referee: Kelly Jones

29 November 2015	Brisbane Roar	0–4	Newcastle Jets	Kippa-Ring
15:00 AEST		Report	Jones 22' Dydasco 55' Kingsley 75' Oyster 83'	Stadium: A.J. Kelly Park Referee: Rachel Mitchenson

Round 8[]

5 December 2015	Canberra United	2–0	Brisbane Roar	Canberra
16:00 AEDT	Sykes 45', 60'	Report		Stadium: McKellar Park Attendance: 925 Referee: Casey Reibelt

6 December 2015	Melbourne Victory	0–4	Melbourne City	Melbourne
15:00 AEDT		Report	Beattie 35' Crummer 52', 72' Little 79'	Stadium: Referee: Lara Lee

6 December 2015	Sydney FC	2–2	Western Sydney Wanderers	Sydney
16:00 AEDT	Kennedy 9' K. Simon 74'	Report	H. Beard 19' 84'	Stadium: Lambert Park Referee: Katie Paterson

6 December 2015	Adelaide United	1–1	Perth Glory	Adelaide
19:30 ACDT	Gummer 75'	Report	7'	Stadium: Referee: Rebecca Durcau

Round 9[]

12 December 2015	Melbourne Victory	2–2	Western Sydney Wanderers	Melbourne
15:00 AEDT	M.J. Barbieri 52' Dowie 75'	Report	O'Neill 40' Moscato 46'	Stadium: Referee: Kate Jacewicz

12 December 2015	Canberra United	4–0	Adelaide United	Canberra
16:00 AEDT	Heyman 9', 84' McCormick 15' Pérez 90+3' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: McKellar Park Referee: Kelly Jones

13 December 2015	Newcastle Jets	0–1	Melbourne City	Newcastle
14:00 AEDT		Report	Goad 44'	Stadium: Hunters Stadium Attendance: 3,292 Referee: Rachel Mitchenson

13 December 2015	Perth Glory	2–4	Sydney FC	Perth
16:00 AWST	DiBernardo 5', 85' (pen.)	Report	Spencer 26' K. Simon 37', 84' Bolger 48'	Stadium: Ashfield Reserve Attendance: 458 Referee: Katie Patterson

Round 10[]

19 December 2015	Newcastle Jets	1–5	Adelaide United	Newcastle
15:00 AEDT	Andrews 18' (pen.)	Report	Dahlekemper 13', 90+5' Toby 25' Sutton 74' Condon 90'	Stadium: Magic Park Attendance: 525 Referee: Kelly Jones

19 December 2015	Canberra United	3–0	Melbourne Victory	Canberra
17:00 AEDT	McCormick 47' Sykes 56' Heyman 81'	Report		Stadium: McKellar Park Attendance: 667 Referee: Lara Lee

20 December 2015	Sydney FC	0–3	Brisbane Roar	Gosford
14:00 AEDT		Report	Butt 19' Kennedy 38' (o.g.) Polkinghorne 63'	Stadium: Central Coast Stadium Referee: Kate Jacewicz

20 December 2015	Melbourne City	4–0	Perth Glory	Melbourne
16:00 AEDT	Little 63' Tabain 69' Crummer 83' Fishlock 90+3'	Report		Stadium: CB Smith Reserve Attendance: 450 Referee: Casey Reibelt

Round 11[]

27 December 2015	Melbourne Victory	1–2	Sydney FC	Melbourne
14:00 AEDT	M.J. Barbieri 47'	Report	L. Khamis 10' Spencer 22'	Stadium: AAMI Park Referee: Rachel Mitchenson

27 December 2015	Western Sydney Wanderers	0–1	Newcastle Jets	Sydney
15:00 AEDT		Report	Andrews 40'	Stadium: Referee: Lara Lee

28 December 2015	Brisbane Roar	0–1	Melbourne City	Gold Coast
14:30 AEST		Report	Little 6'	Stadium: Pizzey Park Attendance: 1,672 Referee: Kelly Jones

Round 12[]

2 January 2016	Perth Glory	0–2	Canberra United	Perth
16:00 AWST		Report	Brush 22' Sykes 87'	Stadium: Ashfield Reserve Referee: Casey Reibelt

3 January 2016	Melbourne City	4–0	Western Sydney Wanderers	Melbourne
14:00 AEDT	Little 12', 33' (pen.) Goad 66' Tabain 70'	Report		Stadium: CB Smith Reserve Referee: Rachel Mitchenson

3 January 2016	Newcastle Jets	0–1	Melbourne Victory	Newcastle
14:00 AEDT		Report	Dowie 13'	Stadium: Hunter Stadium Referee: Rebecca Durcau

3 January 2016	Adelaide United	1–3	Brisbane Roar	Adelaide
15:00 ACDT	Dahlkemper 90+4'	Report	Gielnik 26' Yallop 40' Marzano 41'	Stadium: Referee: Kate Jacewicz

Round 13[]

9 January 2016	Sydney FC	2–0	Newcastle Jets	Sydney
14:00 AEDT	K. Simon 33' (pen.) L. Khamis 57'	Report		Stadium: ANZ Stadium Attendance: 2,650 Referee: Kate Jacewicz

10 January 2016	Brisbane Roar	4–0	Melbourne Victory	Gold Coast
15:00 AEDT	Polkinghorne 17' Gorry 22' Yallop 29' A. Beard 90+3'	Report		Stadium: Pizzey Park Attendance: 1,148 Referee: Casey Reibelt

10 January 2016	Canberra United	3–0	Western Sydney Wanderers	Canberra
16:00 AEDT	Munoz 6' Kiting 11' Sykes 58'	Report		Stadium: McKellar Park Attendance: 1,281 Referee: Rebecca Durcau

10 January 2016	Perth Glory	2–1	Adelaide United	Perth
16:00 AWST	DiBernardo 64', 78'	Report	Dahlkemper 84'	Stadium: Ashfield Reserve Referee: Lara Lee

Round 14[]

15 January 2016	Adelaide United	1–1	Canberra United	Adelaide
19:00 ACDT	Dahlkemper 43'	Report	Pérez 23' (pen.)	Stadium: Referee: Casey Reibelt

16 January 2016	Melbourne City	2–1	Sydney FC	Melbourne
14:00 AEDT	Kennedy 52' (o.g.) Tabain 85'	Report	Ibini 71'	Stadium: CB Smith Reserve Attendance: 602 Referee: Katie Patterson

17 January 2016	Newcastle Jets	0–0	Brisbane Roar	Newcastle
14:00 AEDT		Report		Stadium: Hunter Stadium Referee: Kelly Jones

17 January 2016	Western Sydney Wanderers	2–0	Perth Glory	Sydney
15:00 AEDT	Halloway 87' H. Beard 90+1'	Report		Stadium: Referee: Kate Jacewicz

Finals series[]

Semi-finals			Grand Final

1	Melbourne City (p)	0 (5)

4	Brisbane Roar	0 (4)
			1	Melbourne City	4

			3	Sydney FC	1
2	Canberra United	0

3	Sydney FC	1

Semi-finals[]

24 January 2016	Canberra United	0–1	Sydney FC	Canberra
14:00 AEDT		Report	Spencer 60'	Stadium: McKellar Park Referee: Casey Reibelt

25 January 2016	Melbourne City	0–0 (a.e.t.) (5–4 p)	Brisbane Roar	Melbourne
16:30 AEDT		Report		Stadium: AAMI Park Attendance: 4,941 Referee: Rebecca Durcau
	Penalties
	Beattie Alleway Little Catley De Vanna		Polkinghorne Butt Gielnik Chapman A. Beard

Grand Final[]

31 January 2016	Melbourne City	4–1	Sydney FC	Melbourne
14:00 AEDT	Beattie 32' Little 54' Goad 80' De Vanna 90+5'	Report	K. Simon 69' (pen.)	Stadium: AAMI Park Attendance: 4,206 Referee: Kate Jacewicz

Season statistics[]

Top scorers[]

Final at end of regular season 17 January 2016

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Larissa Crummer	Melbourne City	11
2	Kim Little	Melbourne City	8
3	Ashleigh Sykes	Canberra United	7
3	Marianna Tabain	Melbourne City	7
5	Vanessa DiBernardo	Perth Glory	6
6	Abby Dahlkemper	Adelaide United	5
	Michelle Heyman	Canberra United
	Kyah Simon	Sydney FC
	Rosie Sutton	Adelaide United
10	Leena Khamis	Sydney FC	4

Own goals[]

	Team	Against	Round
Cassandra Dimovski	Melbourne Victory	Western Sydney Wanderers	5
Rachael Soutar	Western Sydney Wanderers	Canberra United	7
Alanna Kennedy	Sydney FC	Brisbane Roar	10
Alanna Kennedy	Sydney FC	Melbourne City	14

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.^[11]

Julie Dolan Medal – Ashleigh Sykes (Canberra United)
Players’ Player of the Year – Kim Little (Melbourne City)
Young Player of the Year – Larissa Crummer (Melbourne City)
Golden Boot Award – Larissa Crummer (Melbourne City) (11 goals)
Goalkeeper of the Year – Kaitlyn Savage (Adelaide United)
Coach of the Year – Craig Deans (Newcastle Jets)
Fair Play Award – Melbourne City
Referee of the Year – Kate Jacewicz
Goal of the Year – Vanessa DiBernardo (Brisbane Roar v Perth Glory, 15 November 2015)

References[]

^ Hytner, Mike (13 May 2015). "Melbourne City FC to field a W-League side next season". The Guardian.
^ "W-League: City secures Premiers' Plate in stellar inaugural season". Melbourne City FC. 28 December 2015.
^ "Melbourne City crown perfect season with W-League grand final win over Sydney FC". The Age. 31 January 2016.
^ "Brisbane Roar and Umbro announce long-term partnership". Brisbane Roar. 15 August 2014.
^ McPherson, Ian (24 July 2014). "Canberra sign major sponsor ahead of new season". SportsPro.
^ "Melbourne Victory extends partnership with adidas". Melbourne Victory. 6 February 2017.
^ "Macron sign on for four more years". Perth Glory. 30 May 2017.
^ "Westfield W-League Squad Bolstered As New Shirt Sponsor Gained". Sydney FC. 29 August 2014.
^ "Wanderers launch jersey, announce Nike partnership extension". Western Sydney Wanderers. 11 August 2017.
^ ^a ^b "Westfield W-League 2015/16 Season Draw released". W-League.com.au. 8 September 2015.
^ "Glory star Castro wins Johnny Warren medal". Football Federation Australia. 26 April 2016.

[1] Hytner, Mike (13 May 2015). "Melbourne City FC to field a W-League side next season". The Guardian.

[2] "W-League: City secures Premiers' Plate in stellar inaugural season". Melbourne City FC. 28 December 2015.

[3] "Melbourne City crown perfect season with W-League grand final win over Sydney FC". The Age. 31 January 2016.

[4] "Brisbane Roar and Umbro announce long-term partnership". Brisbane Roar. 15 August 2014.

[5] McPherson, Ian (24 July 2014). "Canberra sign major sponsor ahead of new season". SportsPro.

[6] "Melbourne Victory extends partnership with adidas". Melbourne Victory. 6 February 2017.

[7] "Macron sign on for four more years". Perth Glory. 30 May 2017.

[8] "Westfield W-League Squad Bolstered As New Shirt Sponsor Gained". Sydney FC. 29 August 2014.

[9] "Wanderers launch jersey, announce Nike partnership extension". Western Sydney Wanderers. 11 August 2017.

[Wdraw-10] "Westfield W-League 2015/16 Season Draw released". W-League.com.au. 8 September 2015.

[11] "Glory star Castro wins Johnny Warren medal". Football Federation Australia. 26 April 2016.

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