# 2023 New Zealand Women's National League

The 2023 New Zealand Women's National League is the third scheduled season of the new National League since its restructuring in 2021; the 2021 National League was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in northern regions. The 2023 season will be the twenty-first season of national women's football and will again be a hybrid season. The competition will feature four teams from the NRFL Premiership representing the Northern Conference, Central Football and two Capital Football federation sides representing the Central Conference, and Canterbury United Pride and Southern United representing the Southern Conference.

## Qualifying league
### 2023 NRFL Premiership

Eight teams are competing in the league – the top seven teams from the previous season and the promoted side from the 2022 NRF Championship. The promoted team is Hibiscus Coast as winners of the NRF Championship. They replaced Tauranga City.

#### Teams

| Team | Location | Home Ground | 2022 season |
| Auckland United | Mount Roskill, Auckland | Keith Hay Park | 4th |
| Eastern Suburbs | Kohimarama, Auckland | Madills Farm | 3rd |
| Ellerslie | Ellerslie, Auckland | Michaels Avenue Reserve | 5th |
| Hamilton Wanderers | Chartwell, Hamilton | Porritt Stadium | 7th |
| Hibiscus Coast | Whangaparaoa, Auckland | Stanmore Bay Park | 1st in NRF Championship (promoted) |
| Northern Rovers | Glenfield, Auckland | McFetridge Park | 1st |
| West Coast Rangers | Whenuapai, Auckland | Fred Taylor Park | 6th |
| Western Springs | Westmere, Auckland | Seddon Fields | 2nd |

#### NRFL Premiership table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Auckland United (C) | 14 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 42 | 13 | +29 | 34 | Winner of Northern League and qualification to National League Championship |
| 2 | Eastern Suburbs | 14 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 52 | 18 | +34 | 31 | Qualification to National League Championship |
| 3 | Western Springs | 14 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 42 | 22 | +20 | 24 | Qualification to National League Championship |
| 4 | Ellerslie | 14 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 23 | 21 | +2 | 23 | Qualification to National League Championship |
| 5 | West Coast Rangers | 14 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 28 | 15 | +13 | 22 | |
| 6 | Hamilton Wanderers | 14 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 18 | 34 | −16 | 16 | |
| 7 | Hibiscus Coast | 14 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 13 | 36 | −23 | 13 | |
| 8 | Northern Rovers (R) | 14 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 3 | 62 | −59 | 0 | Relegation to NRFL Women's Championship |

#### NRFL Premiership results table

| Home \ Away | AU | ES | EL | HW | HC | NR | WC | WS |
| Auckland United | — | 1–4 | 3–0 | 4–1 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 3–0 | 5–1 |
| Eastern Suburbs | 3–1 | — | 3–2 | 3–0 | 3–4 | 19–1 | 0–1 | 3–2 |
| Ellerslie | 0–2 | 2–2 | — | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–7 |
| Hamilton Wanderers | 1–2 | 3–2 | 2–1 | — | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–8 |
| Hibiscus Coast | 0–4 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 2–1 | — | 1–0 | 1–5 | 0–3 |
| Northern Rovers | 0–7 | 0–3 | 0–3 | 0–3 | 0–1 | — | 0–4 | 1–3 |
| West Coast Rangers | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–4 | 4–0 | 5–0 | 4–0 | — | 1–2 |
| Western Springs | 1–1 | 0–3 | 0–2 | 3–3 | 5–0 | 6–0 | 1–1 | — |

#### NRFL Premiership scoring
##### NRFL Premiership top scorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Britney Cunningham-Lee | Ellerslie | 11 |
| 2 | Juliette Lucas | Eastern Suburbs | 10 |
| 3 | Zoe Benson | Eastern Suburbs | 8 |
| 3 | Sofia Garcia | Western Springs | 8 |
| 5 | Chelsea Elliott | Auckland United | 7 |
| 5 | Ayla Koopu | Hamilton Wanderers | 7 |
| 5 | Rene Wasi | Auckland United | 7 |
| 8 | Lara Colpi | Western Springs | 5 |
| 8 | Shannon Henson | Auckland United | 5 |
| 8 | Lily Taitimu | Western Springs | 5 |
| 8 | Sam Tawharu | Western Springs | 5 |
| 8 | Danica Urlich-Beech | Hibiscus Coast | 5 |

## Qualified teams

| Association | Team | Position in Regional League | App (last) | Previous best (last) |
| Northern League (4 berths) | Auckland United | 1st | 2nd (2022) | 6th (2022) |
| Northern League (4 berths) | Eastern Suburbs | 2nd | 2nd (2022) | 1st (2022) |
| Northern League (4 berths) | Western Springs | 3rd | 2nd (2022) | 2nd (2022) |
| Northern League (4 berths) | Ellerslie | 4th | 1st | Debut |
| Central League (3 berths) | Central Football | N/A | 21st (2022) | 2nd (2004) |
| Central League (3 berths) | CF Waterside Karori | N/A | 1st | Debut |
| Central League (3 berths) | CF Wellington United | N/A | 1st | Debut |
| Southern League (2 berths) | Canterbury United Pride | N/A | 21st (2022) | 1st (2020) |
| Southern League (2 berths) | Southern United | N/A | 21st (2022) | 1st (2021) |
| Wellington Phoenix (automatic berth) | Wellington Phoenix Reserves | Automatic qualification | 1st | Debut |

## Championship phase
### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Auckland United (C) | 9 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 25 | 9 | +16 | 22 | Qualification to Grand Final and Women's Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Southern United | 9 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 22 | 6 | +16 | 22 | Qualification to Grand Final |
| 3 | Eastern Suburbs | 9 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 22 | 12 | +10 | 21 | |
| 4 | Western Springs | 9 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 28 | 11 | +17 | 19 | |
| 5 | CF Waterside Karori | 9 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 18 | 16 | +2 | 13 | |
| 6 | CF Wellington United | 9 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 18 | 16 | +2 | 13 | |
| 7 | Canterbury United Pride | 9 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 17 | 22 | −5 | 7 | |
| 8 | Wellington Phoenix Reserves | 9 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 12 | 26 | −14 | 7 | |
| 9 | Central Football | 9 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 30 | −24 | 4 | |
| 10 | Ellerslie | 9 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 23 | −20 | 3 | |
* 1 2 Tied on head to head. Disciplinary record: CF Waterside Karori 2, CF Wellington United 5
* ↑ Wellington Phoenix Reserves can not qualify for the Grand Final.

### Results table

| Home \ Away | AU | CU | CEN | CWK | CWU | ES | EL | SU | WP | WS |
| Auckland United | | 4–2 | 3–0 | | | | | 1–1 | | 1–0 |
| Canterbury United Pride | | | | 1–4 | 1–2 | 2–3 | 3–0 | | 3–1 | |
| Central Football | | 2–2 | | 1–3 | | | | 1–4 | | 0–8 |
| CF Waterside Karori | 1–3 | | | | 1–1 | | 3–0 | | 4–1 | |
| CF Wellington United | 1–4 | | 3–0 | | | 2–3 | | 0–1 | | 1–2 |
| Eastern Suburbs | 3–2 | | 6–1 | 3–0 | | | 0–1 | | | |
| Ellerslie | 0–1 | | 0–1 | | 2–5 | | | | 0–4 | |
| Southern United | | 2–1 | | 3–0 | | 0–1 | 3–0 | | | 3–2 |
| Wellington Phoenix Reserves | 1–6 | | 1–0 | | 2–3 | 0–3 | | 0–5 | | |
| Western Springs | | 4–2 | | 3–2 | | 4–0 | 3–0 | | 2–2 | |

#### Positions by round

The table lists the positions of teams after each week of matches. To preserve chronological evolvements, any postponed matches are not included in the round at which they were originally scheduled, but added to the full round they were played immediately afterwards. For example, if a match is scheduled for round 3, but then postponed and played between rounds 6 and 7, it is added to the standings for round 6.
| Team ╲ Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| Auckland United | 3 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| Southern United | 7 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| Eastern Suburbs | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| Western Springs | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| CF Waterside Karori | 5 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 |
| CF Wellington United | 5 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 |
| Canterbury United Pride | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| Wellington Phoenix Reserves | 2 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Central Football | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| Ellerslie | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
* Leader and Grand Final
* Grand Final

### Grand Final
## Statistics

    As of 19 November 2023

### Top scorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Sofia Garcia | Western Springs | 9 |
| 2 | Charlotte Lancaster | Eastern Suburbs | 8 |
| 2 | Kaley Ward | CF Waterside Karori | 8 |
| 4 | Amy Hislop | Southern United | 7 |
| 4 | Pepi Olliver-Bell | CF Wellington United | 7 |
| 6 | Lara Colpi | Western Springs | 6 |
| 6 | Ella McCann | Wellington Phoenix Reserves | 6 |
| 8 | Nicole Cooper | Eastern Suburbs | 5 |
| 8 | Nicola Dominikovich | Canterbury United Pride | 5 |
| 8 | Nikki Furukawa | CF Waterside Karori | 5 |
| 8 | Bree Johnson | Auckland United | 5 |

## Awards
### Goal of the Week

The goal of the week for the 2023 season included goals from the 2023 New Zealand National League (men's).
Goal of the Week :
| Week | Player | Club |
| 1 | N/A | N/A |
| 2 | Kendrah Smith | Southern United |
| 3 | N/A | N/A |
| 4 | Marissa Porteous | Southern United |
| 5 | N/A | N/A |
| 6 | Kaley Ward | CF Waterside Karori |
| 7 | N/A | N/A |
| 8 | N/A | N/A |
| 9 | N/A | N/A |

### Annual awards

Team of the season :
| Goalkeeper | Aimee Hall (Auckland United) | Aimee Hall (Auckland United) | Aimee Hall (Auckland United) | Aimee Hall (Auckland United) | Aimee Hall (Auckland United) | Aimee Hall (Auckland United) | Aimee Hall (Auckland United) | Aimee Hall (Auckland United) | Aimee Hall (Auckland United) | Aimee Hall (Auckland United) | Aimee Hall (Auckland United) | Aimee Hall (Auckland United) |
| Defenders | Talisha Green (Auckland United) | Talisha Green (Auckland United) | Talisha Green (Auckland United) | Hannah Mackay-Wright (Southern United) | Hannah Mackay-Wright (Southern United) | Hannah Mackay-Wright (Southern United) | Chelsea Elliott (Auckland United) | Chelsea Elliott (Auckland United) | Chelsea Elliott (Auckland United) | Saskia Vosper (CF Waterside Karori) | Saskia Vosper (CF Waterside Karori) | Saskia Vosper (CF Waterside Karori) |
| Midfielders | Lara Colpi (Western Springs) | Lara Colpi (Western Springs) | Lara Colpi (Western Springs) | Lara Colpi (Western Springs) | Rose Morton (Southern United) | Rose Morton (Southern United) | Rose Morton (Southern United) | Rose Morton (Southern United) | Zoe Benson (Eastern Suburbs) | Zoe Benson (Eastern Suburbs) | Zoe Benson (Eastern Suburbs) | Zoe Benson (Eastern Suburbs) |
| Forwards | Kaley Ward (CF Waterside Karori) | Kaley Ward (CF Waterside Karori) | Kaley Ward (CF Waterside Karori) | Kaley Ward (CF Waterside Karori) | Sofia Garcia (Western Springs) | Sofia Garcia (Western Springs) | Sofia Garcia (Western Springs) | Sofia Garcia (Western Springs) | Charlotte Lancaster (Eastern Suburbs) | Charlotte Lancaster (Eastern Suburbs) | Charlotte Lancaster (Eastern Suburbs) | Charlotte Lancaster (Eastern Suburbs) |