1986 National Soccer League

The National Soccer League 1986 season was the tenth season of the National Soccer League in Australia. The season was again played with two Conferences as separate leagues, followed by a conference playoff final. The Grand Final was won by Adelaide City over Sydney Olympic.

National Soccer League

Season	1986
Dates	1986
Champions	Adelaide City 1st title
Premiers	Sydney Croatia (Northern) Brunswick Juventus (Southern)
Top goalscorer	Graham Arnold (15)
← 1985 1987 →

League tables

Northern Conference

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Sydney Croatia	22	14	4	4	43	18	+25	32	Qualification for the Finals series
2	Sydney Olympic	22	9	9	4	33	22	+11	27
3	St George-Budapest	22	11	5	6	33	29	+4	27
4	Marconi Fairfield	22	9	7	6	35	22	+13	25
5	Sydney City	22	8	8	6	36	27	+9	24	Qualification for the Finals series and Oceania Cup Winners' Cup[a]
6	Newcastle Rosebud United (R)	22	9	6	7	36	33	+3	24	Relegation to the 1987 NSW State League
7	APIA Leichhardt	22	9	6	7	25	23	+2	24
8	Wollongong City (R)	22	9	5	8	26	25	+1	23	Relegation to the 1987 NSW State League
9	Blacktown City (R)	22	8	4	10	24	36	−12	20
10	Canberra City (R)	22	5	6	11	21	27	−6	16
11	Canterbury Marrickville (R)	22	2	7	13	17	41	−24	11
12	Inter Monaro (R)	22	3	5	14	17	43	−26	11

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
Notes:

1. Sydney City qualified for the 1987 Oceania Cup Winners' Cup as the 1986 NSL Cup winners.

Southern Conference

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Brunswick Juventus	22	11	6	5	37	21	+16	28	Qualification for the Finals series
2	Footscray JUST	22	10	8	4	29	27	+2	28
3	Adelaide City (C)	22	10	7	5	32	19	+13	27	Qualification for the Finals series and Oceania Club Championship
4	Sunshine George Cross	22	8	11	3	26	17	+9	27	Qualification for the Finals series
5	Heidelberg United	22	9	8	5	35	25	+10	26
6	Preston Makedonia	22	8	9	5	30	20	+10	25
7	South Melbourne	22	10	5	7	27	20	+7	25
8	Brisbane Lions (R)	22	7	5	10	27	28	−1	19	Relegation to the 1987 Brisbane Premier League
9	West Adelaide (R)	22	7	4	11	26	34	−8	18	Relegation to the 1987 South Australian Division One
10	Melbourne Croatia	22	6	6	10	25	33	−8	18
11	Brisbane City (R)	22	3	7	12	18	46	−28	13	Relegation to the 1987 Brisbane Premier League
12	Green Gully (R)	22	2	6	14	16	38	−22	10	Relegation to the 1987 Victorian State League

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; (R) Relegated

Finals series

Northern Conference

	Elimination and qualifying Finals					Semi-finals					Preliminary Final					Northern Final
						1	Sydney Croatia	0								2	Sydney Olympic	3
						3	St George-Budapest	3								3	St George-Budapest	2
	2	Sydney Olympic	0								1	Sydney Croatia	3
	3	St George-Budapest	1								2	Sydney Olympic	4
						2	Sydney Olympic	2
						4	Marconi Fairfield	0
	4	Marconi Fairfield	3 (4)
	5	Sydney City	3 (3)

Southern Conference

	Elimination and qualifying Finals					Semi-finals					Preliminary Final					Southern Final
						1	Brunswick Juventus	0								2	Footscray JUST	1
						3	Adelaide City	2								3	Adelaide City	2
	2	Footscray JUST	2								1	Brunswick Juventus	1
	3	Adelaide City	3								2	Footscray JUST	2
						2	Footscray JUST	2
						4	Sunshine George Cross	0
	4	Sunshine George Cross	2
	5	Heidelberg United	1

Grand Final

First Leg
12 October 1986

Adelaide City	0–1	Sydney Olympic

Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide

Attendance: 12,232

---

Second Leg
19 October 1986

Sydney Olympic	1–3	Adelaide City

Parramatta Stadium, Sydney

Attendance: 14,032

• Adelaide City win 3–2 on aggregate

Individual awards

• Referee's Player of the Year: Bobby Russell (South Melbourne)
• Player's Player of the Year: Graham Arnold (Sydney Croatia)
• U-21 Player of the Year: Ernie Tapai (Melbourne Croatia)
• Top Scorer(s): Graham Arnold (Sydney Croatia) 15 goals
• Coach of the Year: Drago Sekularic (Melbourne Croatia)

References

• OzFootball Archives - 1986 NSL Season