2023 National Premier Leagues NSW

The 2023 NPL NSW Men's is the eleventh season of soccer in New South Wales under the banner of the National Premier Leagues and the first season under the revised competition format. The season began on 3 February 2023 and is scheduled to conclude on 27 August.

NPL NSW Men's
Season2023
Dates3 February 2023 – 27 August 2023
ChampionsAPIA Leichhardt
Matches played96
Goals scored304 (3.17 per match)
Top goalscorerAlec Urosevski (27 goals)
Biggest home winAPIA Leichhardt 6–0 Rockdale Ilinden
(12 February 2023)
Biggest away winWollongong Wolves 0–4 Marconi
(17 February 2023)
Western Sydney Wanderers 0–4 Marconi
(1 April 2023)
Highest scoringNWS Spirit 5–4 Wollongong Wolves
(1 April 2023)
Marconi Stallions 5–4 Central Coast Mariners
(27 August 2023)
Longest winning run8 matches
Rockdale Ilinden
Longest unbeaten run12 matches
APIA Leichhardt
Longest winless run10 matches
Northbridge Bulls
Longest losing run4 matches
Western Sydney Wanderers
Sydney Olympic
Central Coast Mariners
2022
2024
All statistics correct as of 5 May 2023.

Sydney Olympic are the defending premiers and Blacktown City are the defending champions.

Promotion and relegation

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Teams promoted from the 2022 NSW League One

Stadiums and locations

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Team Head Coach Location Stadium Capacity
APIA Leichhardt   Franco Parisi[1] Leichhardt Lambert Park 7,000
Blacktown City   Mark Crittenden[2] Blacktown Blacktown City Sports Centre 7,500
Bulls FC Academy   Zeljko Kalac[3] Northbridge Sydney United Sports Centre 12,000
Central Coast Mariners Academy   Abbas Saad[4] Gosford Pluim Park 2,000
Mt Druitt Rangers   Stewart Montgomery[5] Mount Druitt Popondetta Park 2,500
Marconi Stallions   Peter Tsekenis[6] Fairfield Marconi Stadium 9,000
Manly United   Patrick Zwaanswijk[7] Dee Why Cromer Park 5,000
NWS Spirit FC   David Perkovic[8] North Sydney Christie Park 1,000
Rockdale Ilinden   Paul Dee[9][10] Rockdale Rockdale Ilinden Sports Centre 5,000
Sydney FC Youth   Jimmy Van Weeren[11] Moore Park Valentine Sports Park 4,000
Sydney Olympic   Labinot Haliti[12][13] Belmore Belmore Sports Ground 20,000
Sutherland Sharks   Damir Prodanovic[14] Sutherland Seymour Shaw Park 5,000
St George City   Mirko Jurilj[15][16] St George Peakhurst Park 1,000
Sydney United   Miro Vlastelica[17] Edensor Park Sydney United Sports Centre 12,000
Western Sydney Wanderers Youth   Andrew Christiansen[18] Blacktown Wanderers Football Park 4,500
Wollongong Wolves   David Carney[19] Wollongong WIN Stadium 22,000

Managerial changes

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Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment
Bulls FC Academy   Mile Sterjovski Promoted to full time 23 January 2023[20] Pre-season   Zeljko Kalac 28 January 2023[21]
CCM Academy   Luke Wilkshire Signed by Socceroos 14 February 2023[22] 12th   Lucas Vilela (interim) 17 February 2023[23]
CCM Academy   Lucas Vilela (interim) End of caretaker spell 24 February 2023 13th   Abbas Saad 25 February 2023[24]

Foreign players

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Team Visa 1 Visa 2 Non-visa foreigner(s) Former players
APIA Leichhardt   Florent Indalecio   Jason Romero   Diego Celis
Blacktown City   Charles Mendy   Tatsuya Kato   Danny Choi1   Mitchell Mallia2
Bulls FC Academy
CCM Academy   Zac Zoricich2
Mt Druitt Rangers   Júnior Sena   Kotaro Katsuta
Marconi Stallions   Hiroaki Aoyama
Manly United   Seiya Kambayashi   Bruno Mendes   Marcus Lal2
NWS Spirit FC   Kôta Odakura   Luiz Lobo   Musashi Kokubo2
Rockdale Ilinden   Diego Celis   Loïc Puyo   Nicola Kuleski2
  Iain Ramsay2
Sydney FC Youth
Sydney Olympic   Ziggy Gordon   Fábio Ferreira   Roy O'Donovan1
Sutherland Sharks   Takahide Umebachi   Fumoto Kamada2
St George City   Pedro Ferrari   Franco Maya
Sydney United   Taisei Kaneko   Leroy Jennings2
Western Sydney Wanderers Youth
Wollongong Wolves   Banri Kanaizumi   Takumi Ofuka   Chris McStay1

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
2Australian citizens who have chosen to represent another national team;

Regular season

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The 2023 season is a double round-robin format, with each team playing 30 games. The season started on 3 February, and is scheduled to conclude on 27 August.[25]

Table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 APIA Leichhardt (C) 30 20 5 5 64 35 +29 65
2 Rockdale Ilinden 30 18 5 7 60 45 +15 59
3 Blacktown City 30 17 6 7 59 33 +26 57
4 Marconi Stallions 30 17 5 8 64 35 +29 56
5 St George City 30 14 9 7 62 40 +22 51
6 Sydney FC Youth 30 14 4 12 49 52 −3 46
7 Wollongong Wolves 30 11 10 9 57 43 +14 43
8 Manly United 30 12 6 12 41 43 −2 42
9 Sydney Olympic 30 10 9 11 51 53 −2 39
10 Sydney United 30 11 6 13 42 48 −6 39
11 NWS Spirit 30 11 6 13 40 53 −13 39
12 Central Coast Mariners Academy 30 9 6 15 42 57 −15 33
13 Western Sydney Wanderers Youth 30 8 7 15 52 61 −9 31
14 Sutherland Sharks 30 8 7 15 21 35 −14 31
15 Mt Druitt Town Rangers (R) 30 6 5 19 31 61 −30 23 Qualification to Relegation play-off
16 Bulls FC Academy (R) 30 3 6 21 24 65 −41 15 Relegation to 2024 NSW League One
Source: Ladder
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored; 4) Points gained in head-to-head record between teams; 5) Number of goals scored in head-to-head record between teams; 6) Play-off if teams concerned are equal on the basis of the above criteria
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated

Fixtures and results

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Home \ Away APT BCT BUL CCM MAN MAR MTR NWS ROC SOL STC SUD SUT SYD WSW WOL
APIA Leichhardt 2–2 1–0 3–1 0–0 2–0 5–0 6–0 3–0 1–2 1–0 2–1 3–0
Blacktown City 2–4 4–1 4–1 3–1 4–1 1–2 1–2 5–1 2–0 3–0 0–0
Bull FC 1–2 1–1 1–4 1–3 1–2 2–1 1–3 0–0 0–1 1–2 1–1 1–1
CCM Academy 1–2 0–1 4–2 2–0 1–4 4–2 2–2 2–1 2–2 2–1 1–3 2–2
Manly United 0–2 3–2 2–0 1–1 2–0 0–2 2–2 1–3 2–0 2–1 2–1 0–3
Marconi Stallions 1–1 2–0 3–1 3–1 2–3 2–1 0–2 5–0 3–3 1–0
Mt Druitt Town Rangers 1–2 0–2 2–1 1–2 1–2 0–0 0–3 1–1 0–3 1–0 1–2 1–2 2–1
NWS Spirit 3–2 2–0 0–1 1–3 0–2 3–1 0–1 0–0 2–2 2–2 1–0 1–0 5–4
Rockdale Ilinden 1–2 2–0 1–0 3–1 2–2 3–1 2–0 4–2 5–1 0–4
Sydney Olympic 1–3 1–0 1–3 2–2 2–4 1–1 0–2 0–0 3–0 1–2 3–1 2–2
St George City 1–2 2–2 4–1 1–1 1–1 0–2 3–0 3–4 1–0 0–1 3–4 4–2 5–3
Sydney United 1–3 1–0 0–0 2–0 3–1 2–2 3–3 0–1 2–1 0–1 3–6
Sutherland Sharks 0–1 0–1 0–0 1–0 0–0 1–0 0–1 1–0 0–2 0–0 0–0 0–3
Sydney FC Youth 4–0 1–0 4–1 3–1 2–1 1–2 4–2 2–3 2–2 1–0 0–1 2–1
WSW Youth 2–2 2–3 0–1 1–2 2–1 0–4 3–3 3–2 1–2 3–4 0–1 2–2
Wollongong Wolves 2–2 0–0 2–0 0–4 0–0 2–1 1–3 1–2 0–0 2–0
Updated to match(es) played on 3 February 2023. Source: footballnsw.com.au
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.

Festival of Football

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The third edition of the Festival of Football was played on 23 April, featuring Inner West rivals and former NSL clubs APIA Leichhardt and Sydney Olympic with their playing against each other.[26] This featured youth, women's and men's matches. Additionally, a legends match was also included, which featured former players such as Ernie Campbell, Marshall Soper, Jean-Paul de Marigny, Milan Blagojevic, John Buonavoglia, Nick Rizzo, Mark Byrnes, Robert Younis, Peter Katholos, Pablo Cardozo, Robbie Hooker, Zlatko Nastevski and Paul Henderson.[27]

The feature match was the Men's NPL match, part of Round 12 of the National Premier Leagues NSW.[28] Coming into the match APIA had won all eleven previous league matches.

APIA Leichhardt3–0Sydney Olympic
  • Armson   58'
  • S.Symons   72', 84'
Report
Attendance: 4,123
Referee: Craig Fisher

Relegation play-offs

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All times are AEST (UTC+10).

First leg

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St George FC1–1Mt Druitt Town
  • Jones   23'
Report
  • Djordjevic   34'

Second leg

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Mt Druitt Town0–1St George FC
Report
  • Spang   8'

St George FC won 2–1 on aggregate. Therefore, St George are promoted to the NSW NPL, while Mt Druitt Town are relegated to the FNSW League One.

Regular season statistics

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Top scorers

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Rank Player Club Goals[29]
1   Alec Urosevski Rockdale Ilinden 27
2   Roy O'Donovan Sydney Olympic 18
3   Jak O'Brien Blacktown City 17
4   Jordan Swibel Marconi Stallions 15
5   Jack Armson APIA Leichhardt 14
  Jack Stewart APIA Leichhardt
  Patrick Antelmi Sydney United
8   Lachlan Scott Wollongong Wolves 13
9   Christopher Payne Sydney United 11
  Presley Ortiz St George City
  Travis Major Blacktown City

Hat-tricks

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Player For Against Result Date Ref.
  Jason Romero4 APIA Leichhardt FC Rockdale Ilinden FC 6–0 (H) 12 February 2023 [30]
  Jak O'Brien Blacktown City FC Mt Druitt Town Rangers FC 4–1 (H) 5 March 2023 [31]
  Sean Symons APIA Leichhardt FC NWS Spirit FC 5–0 (H) 6 May 2023 [32]
  Harry McCarthy Manly United FC APIA Leichhardt FC 4–0 (H) 22 July 2023 [33]
Notes
  • 4 Player scored 4 goals
  • (H) – Home team
  • (A) – Away team

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "APIA hoping to turn heads in 2023". Football NSW. 14 December 2022. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  2. ^ "Familiar faces ready to go as Blacktown City hunt for more success". Football NSW. 13 December 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  3. ^ "Bulls FC Academy prepare for busy 2023 season". Football NSW. 12 December 2022. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  4. ^ "Youthful Central Coast Mariners keen to make their mark in 2023". Football NSW. 18 December 2022. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  5. ^ "The only way is up for the Mt Druitt Town Rangers". Football NSW. 17 December 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  6. ^ "Stallions set to unleash fury in 2023". Football NSW. 13 December 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  7. ^ "Manly United set to promote local talent once more in 2023". Football NSW. 9 December 2022. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  8. ^ "New boys on the block NWS Spirit ready for big league in 2023". Football NSW. 14 December 2022. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  9. ^ "Full steam ahead for hungry Ilinden". Football NSW. 16 December 2022. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  10. ^ "Rockdale Ilinden appoint Paul Dee as new Head Coach". Football NSW. 1 August 2022. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  11. ^ "Sydney FC ready to unearth more young guns in 2023". Football NSW. 12 December 2022. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  12. ^ "Haliti prepping his Sydney Olympic troops for a huge year". Football NSW. 16 December 2022. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  13. ^ "Sydney Olympic FC appoint A-League alum Labinot Haliti as new head coach". The Greek Herald. 19 October 2022. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
  14. ^ "Sutherland Sharks prepare for new era". Football NSW. 18 December 2022. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  15. ^ "St George City building for a big 2023 season". Football NSW. 16 December 2022. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  16. ^ "1st grade coach announcement St George City FA". St George City FA. 20 March 2019. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
  17. ^ "Sydney United 58 focused on premiership push in 2023". Football NSW. 17 December 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  18. ^ "Western Sydney Wanderers ready for the big league". Football NSW. 17 December 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  19. ^ "Wolves ready for the David Carney era". Football NSW. 11 December 2022. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  20. ^ Chadwick, Justin (23 January 2023). "Sterjovski unveiled as Macarthur ALM coach". The West Australian.
  21. ^ Stavroulakis, Mark (28 January 2023). "Zeljko Kalac appointed Bulls FC Academy Head Coach". Football NSW.
  22. ^ Bartlett, Joshua (14 February 2023). "Luke Wilkshire departs Mariners joins Socceroos coaching staff". Illawarra Mercury.
  23. ^ Stavroulakis, Mark (17 February 2023). "Central Coast Mariners appoint interim coaches". Football NSW.
  24. ^ "Mariners appoint former NPL1 champion and ex-Socceroo Abbas Saad". Central Coast Mariners. 25 February 2023. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  25. ^ Stavroulakis, Mark (20 December 2022). "OFFICIAL: FOOTBALL NSW 2023 MATCH SCHEDULES ANNOUNCED". Football NSW.
  26. ^ "Festival of Football an example to follow according to Raciti". NPL NSW Men's. Football NSW. 16 April 2023.
  27. ^ Stavroulakis, Mark (20 April 2023). "Legends game set to ignite Festival of Football this Sunday". NPL NSW Men's.
  28. ^ "APIA Leichhardt regain top spot after solid win over Olympic". NPL NSW Men's. Football NSW. 23 April 2023.
  29. ^ "NPL Mens 1st Grade - Top Goal Scorers". Football NSW. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  30. ^ "Ilinden smashed by ruthless APIA". Football NSW. 12 February 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  31. ^ "O'Brien hat-trick sinks Rangers". NPL NSW Men's. Football NSW. 5 March 2023.
  32. ^ "NWS Spirit FC spanked by ruthless APIA". NPL NSW Men's. Football NSW. 6 May 2023.
  33. ^ "Manly United thump League Leaders APIA". NPL NSW Men's. Football NSW. 22 July 2023.