# 2015–16 W-League

The 2015–16 W-League season was the eighth season of the W-League, the Australian national women's association football competition. On 13 May 2015, it was confirmed that Melbourne City would join the league for the 2015–16 season.
League newcomers Melbourne City claimed both the regular season Premiership and end of season Championship, the latter awarded for their victory in the 2016 W-League grand final.

## Clubs
### Stadia and locations

| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
| Adelaide United | Adelaide | Adelaide Shores Football Centre Coopers Stadium | 1,000 16,500 |
| Brisbane Roar | Brisbane | Perry Park Suncorp Stadium | 5,000 52,500 |
| Canberra United | Canberra | McKellar Park | 3,500 |
| Melbourne City | Melbourne | CB Smith Reserve AAMI Park | 2,000 30,050 |
| Melbourne Victory | Melbourne | Epping Stadium John Ilhan Memorial Reserve AAMI Park David Barro Stadium | 10,000 5,000 30,050 3,000 |
| Newcastle Jets | Newcastle | Magic Park Hunter Stadium | 3,500 33,000 |
| Perth Glory | Perth | Ashfield Reserve | 2,000 |
| Sydney FC | Sydney | Lambert Park | 7,000 |
| Western Sydney Wanderers | Sydney | Marconi Stadium Popondetta Park | 11,500 2,500 |

### Personnel and kits

| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Kit sponsor |
| Adelaide United | Jamie Harnwell | Marijana Rajcic | | |
| Brisbane Roar | Belinda Wilson | Clare Polkinghorne | Umbro | |
| Canberra United | Rae Dower | Nicole Begg | | University of Canberra |
| Melbourne City | Joe Montemurro | Lisa De Vanna | | |
| Melbourne Victory | Dave Edmondson | Melissa Barbieri | Adidas | |
| Newcastle Jets | Craig Deans | Tara Andrews | | |
| Perth Glory | Bobby Despotovski | Sam Kerr | Macron | |
| Sydney FC | Daniel Barrett | Teresa Polias | | Beechwood Holmes |
| Western Sydney Wanderers | Norm Boardman | Caitlin Cooper | Nike | |

### Foreign players

| Club | Visa 1 | Visa 2 | Visa 3 | Visa 4 | Non-Visa foreigner(s) | Former player(s) |
| Adelaide United | Elizabeth Milne | Abby Dahlkemper | Sarah Killion | Kaitlyn Savage | | |
| Brisbane Roar | Carrie Simpson | Sofie Persson | Haley Kopmeyer | | | |
| Canberra United | Verónica Pérez | Emma Kete | Kendall Fletcher | | | Jodie Taylor |
| Melbourne City | Anisa Guajardo | Jess Fishlock | Jen Beattie | Kim Little | Rebekah Stott$^A$ | |
| Melbourne Victory | Briar Palmer | Christine Nairn | Jamie Pollock | | Gülcan Koca$^A$ | Natasha Dowie$^G$ Georgia Cloepfil Brooke Elby$^G$ |
| Newcastle Jets | Hannah Bromley | Caprice Dydasco | Megan Oyster | | | |
| Perth Glory | Katie Holtham | Vanessa DiBernardo | Nikki Stanton | | | |
| Sydney FC | Michelle Betos | Jasmyne Spencer | | | | |
| Western Sydney Wanderers | Carmelina Moscato | Hannah Beard | Kendall Johnson | Keelin Winters | | |
The following do not fill a Visa position: $^A$ Australian citizens who have chosen to represent another national team; $^G$ Guest Players

## Regular season

The W-League 2015–16 fixture was released on 8 September 2015. The regular season commenced on 17 October 2015, and concluded on 17 January 2016.

### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Melbourne City (C) | 12 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 4 | +34 | 36 | Qualification to Finals series |
| 2 | Canberra United | 12 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 26 | 8 | +18 | 26 | Qualification to Finals series |
| 3 | Sydney FC | 12 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 15 | 21 | −6 | 19 | Qualification to Finals series |
| 4 | Brisbane Roar | 12 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 16 | 17 | −1 | 16 | Qualification to Finals series |
| 5 | Adelaide United | 12 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 18 | 19 | −1 | 13 | |
| 6 | Newcastle Jets | 12 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 12 | −3 | 13 | |
| 7 | Western Sydney Wanderers | 12 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 15 | 25 | −10 | 12 | |
| 8 | Perth Glory | 12 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 10 | 23 | −13 | 11 | |
| 9 | Melbourne Victory | 12 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 28 | −18 | 7 | |

### Home and away season

In the 2015–16 season each team played 12 games with 2 bye rounds, kicking off on 17 October 2015, and concluding on 17 January 2016.

#### Round 14
## Finals series

| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Grand Final | Grand Final | Grand Final |
| 1 | Melbourne City (p) | 0 (5) | | | |
| 4 | Brisbane Roar | 0 (4) | | | |
| 4 | Brisbane Roar | 0 (4) | 1 | Melbourne City | 4 |
| | | | 3 | Sydney FC | 1 |
| 2 | Canberra United | 0 | 3 | Sydney FC | 1 |
| 3 | Sydney FC | 1 | | | |

### Grand final
## Season statistics
### Top scorers

    Final at end of regular season 17 January 2016
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Larissa Crummer | Melbourne City | 11 |
| 2 | Kim Little | Melbourne City | 8 |
| 3 | Ashleigh Sykes | Canberra United | 7 |
| 3 | Marianna Tabain | Melbourne City | 7 |
| 5 | Vanessa DiBernardo | Perth Glory | 6 |
| 6 | Abby Dahlkemper | Adelaide United | 5 |
| 6 | Michelle Heyman | Canberra United | 5 |
| 6 | Kyah Simon | Sydney FC | 5 |
| 6 | Rosie Sutton | Adelaide United | 5 |
| 10 | Leena Khamis | Sydney FC | 4 |

### Own goals

| Player | Team | Against | Round |
| Cassandra Dimovski | Melbourne Victory | Western Sydney Wanderers | 5 |
| Rachael Soutar | Western Sydney Wanderers | Canberra United | 7 |
| Alanna Kennedy | Sydney FC | Brisbane Roar | 10 |
| Alanna Kennedy | Sydney FC | Melbourne City | 14 |

## End-of-season awards

The following end of the season awards were announced at the 2015–16 Dolan Warren Awards night held at the Carriageworks in Sydney on 26 April 2016.
* Julie Dolan Medal – Ashleigh Sykes (Canberra United)
* Players’ Player of the Year – Kim Little (Melbourne City)
* Young Player of the Year – Larissa Crummer (Melbourne City)
* Golden Boot Award – Larissa Crummer (Melbourne City) (11 goals)
* Goalkeeper of the Year – Kaitlyn Savage (Adelaide United)
* Coach of the Year – Craig Deans (Newcastle Jets)
* Fair Play Award – Melbourne City
* Referee of the Year – Kate Jacewicz
* Goal of the Year – Vanessa DiBernardo (Brisbane Roar v Perth Glory, 15 November 2015)