# 2017–18 Melbourne Victory FC season

The 2017–18 Melbourne Victory FC season was the club's 13th season since its establishment in 2004. The club participated in the A-League for the 13th time, the FFA Cup for the fourth time, as well as the AFC Champions League for the sixth time.

## Players
### Squad information

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | AUS | Matt Acton |
| 4 | DF | AUS | Rhys Williams |
| 6 | MF | AUS | Leigh Broxham (vice-captain) |
| 7 | FW | AUS | Kenny Athiu (on loan from Heidelberg United) |
| 8 | FW | KOS | Besart Berisha |
| 9 | FW | NZL | Kosta Barbarouses |
| 10 | FW | AUS | James Troisi |
| 11 | FW | AUS | Mitch Austin |
| 14 | DF | AUS | Thomas Deng |
| 15 | MF | AUS | Cameron McGilp |
| 16 | MF | AUS | Josh Hope |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 17 | DF | AUS | James Donachie |
| 18 | MF | ARG | Matías Sánchez |
| 19 | FW | AUS | Pierce Waring |
| 20 | GK | AUS | Lawrence Thomas |
| 21 | MF | AUS | Carl Valeri (Captain) |
| 22 | MF | AUS | Stefan Nigro |
| 23 | FW | NZL | Jai Ingham |
| 24 | MF | AUS | Terry Antonis |
| 31 | FW | AUS | Christian Theoharous (Youth) |
| 40 | GK | AUS | Matt Sutton (Scholarship) |
| 41 | FW | NED | Leroy George |

### From youth squad

| N | Pos. | Name | Age | Notes |
| 15 | MF | Cameron McGilp | 19 | |
| 16 | MF | Josh Hope | 19 | |
| 19 | FW | Pierce Waring | 18 | |
| 40 | GK | Matt Sutton | 17 | 2.5 year scholarship contract |

### Transfers in

| No. | Position | Player | Transferred from | Type/fee | Contract length | Date |
| 4 | DF | Rhys Williams | Perth Glory | Free transfer | 2 years | 15 May 2017 |
| 14 | DF | Thomas Deng | Jong PSV | Loan return | | 15 May 2017 |
| 9 | FW | Kosta Barbarouses | | Free transfer | 2 years | 13 June 2017 |
| 5 | MF | Mark Milligan | | Free transfer | 1 year | 31 July 2017 |
| 18 | MF | Matías Sánchez | Temperley | Free transfer | 1 year | 16 August 2017 |
| 41 | MF | Leroy George | | Free transfer | 1 year | 16 September 2017 |
| 7 | FW | Kenny Athiu | Heidelberg United | Loan | 1 year | 13 October 2017 |
| 24 | MF | Terry Antonis | | Free transfer | 2.5 years | 3 January 2018 |
| 3 | DF | Dino Djulbic | | Injury replacement contract | 2 weeks | 3 January 2018 |

### Transfers out

| No. | Position | Player | Transferred to | Type/fee | Date |
| 5 | DF | Daniel Georgievski | Newcastle Jets | Free transfer | 30 March 2017 |
| 14 | FW | Fahid Ben Khalfallah | | End of contract | 26 April 2017 |
| 16 | MF | Rashid Mahazi | | Retired | 10 May 2017 |
| 4 | DF | Nick Ansell | | End of contract | 12 May 2017 |
| 15 | DF | Alan Baró | | End of contract | 12 May 2017 |
| 19 | FW | George Howard | | End of contract | 12 May 2017 |
| 27 | GK | Alastair Bray | | End of contract | 12 May 2017 |
| 30 | GK | Lucas Spinella | | End of contract | 12 May 2017 |
| 7 | MF | Marco Rojas | Heerenveen | Undisclosed | 26 July 2017 |
| 3 | DF | Dino Djulbic | | End of contract | 18 January 2018 |
| 5 | MF | Mark Milligan | Al-Ahli | $1,000,000 | 28 January 2018 |
| 2 | DF | Jason Geria | JEF United Chiba | $800,000 | 3 March 2018 |

### Contract extensions

| No. | Name | Position | Duration | Date |
| 40 | Matt Acton | Goalkeeper | 1 year | 16 May 2017 |
| 10 | James Troisi | Winger | 2 years | 26 July 2017 |
| 8 | Besart Berisha | Striker | 1 year | 21 December 2017 |
| 1 | Matt Acton | Goalkeeper | 2 years | 16 February 2018 |

## Technical staff

| Position | Name |
| Manager | Kevin Muscat |
| Assistant manager | Jean-Paul de Marigny |
| Goalkeeping coach | Dean Anastasiadis |
| Youth Team Manager | Gareth Naven |
| Youth Team Assistant Manager | Vaughan Coveny |
| Youth Team Developmental Manager | Grant Brebner |
| Youth goalkeeping coach | Vacant |
| Strength & Conditioning Coach | Anthony Crea |
| Physiotherapist | Travis Maude |

## Statistics
### Squad statistics

| N | Pos. | Nat. | Name | Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | A-League | A-League | A-League | A-League | A-League | A-League Finals Series | A-League Finals Series | A-League Finals Series | A-League Finals Series | A-League Finals Series | FFA Cup | FFA Cup | FFA Cup | FFA Cup | FFA Cup | AFC Champions League | AFC Champions League | AFC Champions League | AFC Champions League | AFC Champions League |
| N | Pos. | Nat. | Name | Apps | Goals | | | | Apps | Goals | | | | Apps | Goals | | | | Apps | Goals | | | | Apps | Goals | | | |
| 1 | GK | | Matt Acton | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | | Rhys Williams | 32 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 24+0 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1+0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5+0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | | Leigh Broxham | 35 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 20+4 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | | Kenny Athiu | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | FW | | Besart Berisha | 35 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 25+0 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3+0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2+0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5+0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | | Kosta Barbarouses | 32 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 22+0 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3+0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5+0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | | James Troisi | 32 | 5 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 21+1 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 3+0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2+0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | FW | | Mitch Austin | 7 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3+2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2+0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | DF | | Thomas Deng | 29 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 20+1 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | MF | | Cameron McGilp | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | | Josh Hope | 12 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0+5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2+3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | DF | | James Donachie | 23 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 10+2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | | Matías Sánchez | 25 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 14+8 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0+3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | FW | | Pierce Waring | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | GK | | Lawrence Thomas | 35 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 25+0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | | Carl Valeri | 33 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 23+2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4+0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | | Stefan Nigro | 23 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 10+6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | FW | | Jai Ingham | 25 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6+14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | MF | | Terry Antonis | 22 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 10+4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3+0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5+0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | MF | | Birkan Kirdar | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | MF | | Nicholas Sette | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | DF | | Callum Goulding | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | GK | | Stephen Hatzikourtis | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | FW | | Christian Theoharous | 24 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2+14 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | GK | | Matt Sutton | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 41 | MF | | Leroy George | 34 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 24+2 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3+0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5+0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Players no longer at the club: ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | DF | | Jason Geria | 25 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 20+1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | | Dino Djulbic | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | MF | | Mark Milligan | 15 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 12+1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2+0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
* Last updated: 5 May 2018
* Source: au.soccerway.com
* = Number of bookings; = Number of sending offs after a second yellow card; = Number of sending offs by a direct red card.

## Competitions
### Overall

| Competition | Started round | Final position / round | First match | Last match |
| A-League | — | 4th | 7 October 2017 | 14 April 2018 |
| A-League Finals | Elimination-finals | Champions | 22 April 2018 | 5 May 2018 |
| FFA Cup | Round of 32 | Round of 16 | 9 August 2017 | 23 August 2017 |
| AFC Champions League | Group stage | Group stage | 13 February 2018 | 18 April 2018 |

### A-League
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Sydney FC | 27 | 20 | 4 | 3 | 64 | 22 | +42 | 64 | Qualification for 2019 AFC Champions League group stage and Finals series |
| 2 | Newcastle Jets | 27 | 15 | 5 | 7 | 57 | 37 | +20 | 50 | Qualification for 2019 AFC Champions League second preliminary round and Finals series |
| 3 | Melbourne City | 27 | 13 | 4 | 10 | 41 | 33 | +8 | 43 | Qualification for Finals series |
| 4 | Melbourne Victory (C) | 27 | 12 | 5 | 10 | 43 | 37 | +6 | 41 | Qualification for 2019 AFC Champions League group stage and Finals series |
| 5 | Adelaide United | 27 | 11 | 6 | 10 | 36 | 38 | −2 | 39 | Qualification for Finals series |
| 6 | Brisbane Roar | 27 | 10 | 5 | 12 | 33 | 40 | −7 | 35 | Qualification for Finals series |
| 7 | Western Sydney Wanderers | 27 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 38 | 47 | −9 | 33 | |
| 8 | Perth Glory | 27 | 10 | 2 | 15 | 37 | 50 | −13 | 32 | |
| 9 | Wellington Phoenix | 27 | 5 | 6 | 16 | 31 | 55 | −24 | 21 | |
| 10 | Central Coast Mariners | 27 | 4 | 8 | 15 | 28 | 49 | −21 | 20 | |
* ↑ Wellington Phoenix cannot qualify for the AFC Champions League as they are not recognised as an AFC club.

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 13 April 2018. Source: ultimatealeague.com

#### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 |
| Ground | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | H | A |
| Result | L | L | D | D | D | D | W | L | W | L | W | W | W | D | L | W | W | L | L | L | W | W | W | L | W | W | W |
| Position | 8 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |

#### Finals series
### FFA Cup
### AFC Champions League
#### Group stage

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Shanghai SIPG | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 6 | +4 | 11 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Ulsan Hyundai | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 15 | 11 | +4 | 9 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 3 | Melbourne Victory | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 16 | −5 | 8 | |
| 4 | Kawasaki Frontale | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 9 | −3 | 3 | |