# 1978 National Soccer League

The 1978 National Soccer League was the second season of the National Soccer League, the former top-tier Australian soccer league, since its establishment in 1977. The premiers were West Adelaide.

## Teams
### Stadiums and locations

Note: Table lists in alphabetical order.
| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
| Adelaide City | Adelaide | Olympic Sports Field | 5,000 |
| Brisbane City | Brisbane | Perry Park | 5,000 |
| Brisbane Lions | Brisbane | Perry Park | 5,000 |
| Canberra City | Canberra Queanbeyan | Manuka Oval Seiffert Oval | 16,000 15,000 |
| Eastern Suburbs | Sydney | Sydney Sports Ground | 35,000 |
| Fitzroy United | Melbourne | Olympic Park Stadium | 18,500 |
| Footscray | Melbourne | Middle Park | 18,000 |
| Marconi-Fairfield | Sydney | Marconi Stadium | 9,000 |
| Newcastle KB United | Newcastle | Newcastle International Sports Centre | 30,000 |
| South Melbourne | Melbourne | Middle Park | 18,000 |
| St George | Sydney | Sydney Sports Ground Marconi Stadium | 35,000 9,000 |
| Sydney Olympic | Sydney | Sydney Sports Ground Wentworth Park | 35,000 10,000 |
| Western Suburbs | Sydney | Sydney Sports Ground Englefield Stadium | 35,000 ? |
| West Adelaide | Adelaide | Hindmarsh Stadium | 16,500 |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | West Adelaide (C) | 26 | 16 | 4 | 6 | 42 | 27 | +15 | 36 | Qualification to Finals series |
| 2 | Eastern Suburbs | 26 | 15 | 5 | 6 | 49 | 27 | +22 | 35 | Qualification to Finals series |
| 3 | South Melbourne | 26 | 12 | 8 | 6 | 45 | 30 | +15 | 32 | Qualification to Finals series |
| 4 | Marconi Fairfield | 26 | 12 | 6 | 8 | 46 | 31 | +15 | 30 | Qualification to Finals series |
| 5 | Fitzroy United | 26 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 39 | 39 | 0 | 26 | |
| 6 | Brisbane Lions | 26 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 37 | 39 | −2 | 26 | |
| 7 | St George-Budapest | 26 | 11 | 3 | 12 | 41 | 40 | +1 | 25 | |
| 8 | Sydney Olympic | 26 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 35 | 43 | −8 | 25 | |
| 9 | Western Suburbs | 26 | 9 | 6 | 11 | 41 | 45 | −4 | 24 | |
| 10 | Adelaide City | 26 | 9 | 6 | 11 | 38 | 44 | −6 | 24 | |
| 11 | Newcastle KB United | 26 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 33 | 40 | −7 | 22 | |
| 12 | Footscray JUST | 26 | 7 | 8 | 11 | 29 | 37 | −8 | 22 | |
| 13 | Canberra City | 26 | 5 | 10 | 11 | 28 | 41 | −13 | 20 | |
| 14 | Brisbane City | 26 | 7 | 3 | 16 | 29 | 49 | −20 | 17 | |
* ↑ The Finals series was not considered the championship for the 1978 National Soccer League.

## Results

| Home \ Away | ADC | BRC | BRL | CAN | ESU | FIT | FOO | MAR | NUN | SME | STG | SYO | WSA | WSU |
| Adelaide City | — | 3–2 | 1–4 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 4–2 |
| Brisbane City | 2–1 | — | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 3–4 | 1–4 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 |
| Brisbane Lions | 3–1 | 1–2 | — | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 3–1 |
| Canberra City | 2–2 | 4–0 | 2–1 | — | 1–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 2–2 |
| Eastern Suburbs | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 3–0 | — | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 4–2 | 5–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 |
| Fitzroy United | 3–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | — | 0–1 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 1–4 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 0–3 |
| Footscray | 0–1 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | — | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 2–3 |
| Marconi Fairfield | 1–1 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 4–0 | 1–2 | — | 4–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 6–2 |
| Newcastle KB United | 2–2 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 1–4 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | — | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 |
| South Melbourne | 5–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 0–3 | 3–0 | — | 5–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 |
| St George-Budapest | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 0–2 | — | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 |
| Sydney Olympic | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–4 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | — | 2–4 | 0–1 |
| West Adelaide | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–4 | 0–1 | — | 2–0 |
| Western Suburbs | 2–3 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 2–3 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | — |

## Finals series

The top four teams in the league entered a playoff series, however the winner of the grand final match was not considered the overall winner of the NSL season, unlike other NSL grand finals.

## Individual awards

* Player of the Year: Ken Boden (Newcastle KB United)
* U-21 Player of the Year: Ian Souness (Eastern Suburbs)
* Top Scorer(s): Ken Boden (Newcastle KB United – 14 goals) Clive Eaton (Western Suburbs – 14 goals)
* Coach of the Year: Gary Chaldi (Eastern Suburbs)