# 1996–97 NSL Cup

The 1996–97 NSL Cup was the 21st and final edition of the NSL Cup, which was the main national association football knockout cup competition in Australia. The NSL Cup was sponsored by Johnnie Walker and known as the Johnnie Walker Cup for sponsorship purposes.
South Melbourne were the defending champions, having defeated Newcastle Breakers to win their second title in the previous season's final, but they were eliminated in the semi-finals by eventual winners Collingwood Warriors.
Collingwood Warriors defeated Marconi Fairfield 1–0 in the final to win their first NSL Cup title.

## Teams

The NSL Cup was a knockout competition with 16 teams taking part all trying to reach the Final in October 1996. The competition consisted of 13 out of 14 teams from the National Soccer League (with the exclusion of Perth Glory) plus Brisbane Lions and two state representative sides of Northern NSW Soccer Federation and South Australian Soccer Federation.
| Round | Main date | Number of fixtures | Clubs remaining |
| First round | Wednesday 18 September 1996 | 8 | 16 → 8 |
| Quarter-finals | Saturday 21 September 1996 | 4 | 8 → 4 |
| Semi-finals | Saturday 28 September 1996 | 2 | 4 → 2 |
| Final | Sunday 6 October 1996 | 1 | 2 → 1 |

## Bracket

| Round of 16 | Round of 16 | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final |
| Adelaide City | 1 | | | | |
| West Adelaide | 0 | | | | |
| West Adelaide | 0 | Adelaide City | 0 (1) | | |
| | | Collingwood Warriors (p) | 0 (3) | | |
| South Australian Select XI | 1 | Collingwood Warriors (p) | 0 (3) | | |
| Collingwood Warriors (a.e.t.) | 2 | | | | |
| Collingwood Warriors (a.e.t.) | 2 | | | Collingwood Warriors | 3 |
| | | | | South Melbourne | 1 |
| South Melbourne | 4 | | | South Melbourne | 1 |
| Gippsland Falcons | 2 | | | | |
| Gippsland Falcons | 2 | South Melbourne | 1 | | |
| | | Melbourne Knights | 0 | | |
| Canberra Cosmos | 2 | Melbourne Knights | 0 | | |
| Melbourne Knights | 4 | | | | | | |
| Melbourne Knights | 4 | | | | | Collingwood Warriors | 1 |
| | | | | | | Marconi-Fairfield | 0 |
| Wollongong City | 1 | | | | | Marconi-Fairfield | 0 |
| Marconi-Fairfield | 4 | | | | | | |
| Marconi-Fairfield | 4 | Marconi-Fairfield | 3 | | | | |
| | | Newcastle Breakers | 1 | | | | |
| Northern NSW Select XI | 2 | Newcastle Breakers | 1 | | | | |
| Newcastle Breakers | 12 | | | | | | |
| Newcastle Breakers | 12 | | | Marconi-Fairfield | 5 | | |
| | | | | Brisbane Strikers | 0 |
| Sydney United | 0 | | | Brisbane Strikers | 0 |
| Sydney Olympic | 2 | | | | |
| Sydney Olympic | 2 | Sydney Olympic | 1 | | |
| | | Brisbane Strikers | 3 | | |
| Brisbane Strikers (a.e.t.) | 2 | Brisbane Strikers | 3 | | |
| Brisbane Lions | 1 | | | | |

## First round

| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Adelaide City | 1–0 | West Adelaide | 0–0 | 1–0 |
| South Australian Select XI | 1–2 | Collingwood Warriors | 1–0 | 0–2 (a.e.t.) |
| South Melbourne | 4–2 | Gippsland Falcons | 1–2 | 3–0 |
| Canberra Cosmos | 2–4 | Melbourne Knights | 1–2 | 1–2 |
| Wollongong City | 1–4 | Marconi-Fairfield | 1–0 | 1–3 |
| Northern NSW Select XI | 2–12 | Newcastle Breakers | 1–7 | 1–5 |
| Sydney United | 0–2 | Sydney Olympic | 0–1 | 0–1 |
| Brisbane Strikers | 2–1 | Brisbane Lions | 0–1 | 2–0 (a.e.t.) |
Marconi Fairfield won 4–1 on aggregate
UTS Olympic won 2–0 on aggregate
South Melbourne won 4–2 on aggregate
Brisbane Strikers won 2–1 on aggregate
Melbourne Knights won 4–2 on aggregate
Newcastle Breakers won 12–2 on aggregate
Adelaide City won 1–0 on aggregate
Collingwood Warriors won 2–1 on aggregate