# 2015–16 A-League

The 2015–16 A-League was the 39th season of top-flight soccer in Australia, and the 11th since the establishment of the A-League in 2004. Melbourne Victory were both the defending A-League Premiers and Champions. The regular season schedule was released on 29 June 2015. The season commenced on 8 October 2015 and concluded on 10 April 2016. The finals series commenced on 15 April 2016 and concluded with the 2016 Grand Final, held on 1 May 2016.
The 2016 Grand Final took place on 1 May 2016, with Adelaide United claiming their first Championship with a 3–1 win against Western Sydney Wanderers.

## Clubs

| Team | City | Home Ground | Capacity |
| Adelaide United | Adelaide | Coopers Stadium | 17,000 |
| Brisbane Roar | Brisbane | Suncorp Stadium | 52,500 |
| Central Coast Mariners | Gosford | Central Coast Stadium | 20,119 |
| Melbourne City | Melbourne | AAMI Park | 30,050 |
| Melbourne Victory | Melbourne | Etihad Stadium AAMI Park | 56,347 30,050 |
| Newcastle Jets | Newcastle | Hunter Stadium | 33,000 |
| Perth Glory | Perth | nib Stadium | 20,500 |
| Sydney FC | Sydney | Allianz Stadium | 45,500 |
| Wellington Phoenix | Wellington | Westpac Stadium | 34,500 |
| Western Sydney Wanderers | Sydney | Pirtek Stadium | 21,487 |

### Personnel and kits

| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Kit partner |
| Adelaide United | Guillermo Amor | Eugene Galekovic | Kappa | Veolia |
| Brisbane Roar | John Aloisi | Matt McKay | Umbro | Steadfast |
| Central Coast Mariners | Tony Walmsley | Nick Montgomery | Kappa | Masterfoods |
| Melbourne City | John van 't Schip | Patrick Kisnorbo | Nike | Etihad |
| Melbourne Victory | Kevin Muscat | Carl Valeri | Adidas | Community Training Initiatives (h) Oliana Foods (a) |
| Newcastle Jets | Scott Miller | Nigel Boogaard | BLK | Beechwood Homes (h) Inspirations Paints (a) |
| Perth Glory | Kenny Lowe | Richard Garcia | Macron | QBE Insurance |
| Sydney FC | Graham Arnold | Alex Brosque | Puma | The Star |
| Wellington Phoenix | Ernie Merrick | Andrew Durante | Adidas | Huawei |
| Western Sydney Wanderers | Tony Popovic | Nikolai Topor-Stanley | Nike | NRMA Insurance |
* Additionally, referee kits are made by Umbro.

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| Brisbane Roar | Frans Thijssen | Resigned | 26 May 2015 | Pre-season | John Aloisi | 26 May 2015 |
| Newcastle Jets | Phil Stubbins | Sacked | 26 May 2015 | Pre-season | Scott Miller | 18 June 2015 |
| Adelaide United | Josep Gombau | Resigned | 24 July 2015 | Pre-season | Guillermo Amor | 24 July 2015 |

### Foreign players

| Club | Visa 1 | Visa 2 | Visa 3 | Visa 4 | Visa 5 | Non-Visa foreigner(s) | Former player(s) |
| Adelaide United | Marcelo Carrusca | Iacopo La Rocca | Sergio Cirio | Isaías | Pablo Sánchez | | |
| Brisbane Roar | Jean Carlos Solórzano | Thomas Broich | Jérome Polenz | Corona | Javier Hervás | Henrique$^1$ Jamie Young$^2$ Jack Hingert$^2$ | |
| Central Coast Mariners | Daniel Heffernan | Roy O'Donovan | Fábio Ferreira | Nick Montgomery | Luis García | Mitch Austin$^1$ Storm Roux$^2$ Brad McDonald$^2$ | |
| Melbourne City | Thomas Sørensen | Harry Novillo | Aaron Hughes | Bruno Fornaroli | | Wade Dekker$^2$ | Robert Koren |
| Melbourne Victory | Besart Berisha | Guilherme Finkler | Matthieu Delpierre | Kosta Barbarouses | Fahid Ben Khalfallah | Daniel Georgievski$^2$ | |
| Newcastle Jets | Leonardo | Mateo Poljak | Morten Nordstrand | Enver Alivodić | | | Miloš Trifunović Lee Ki-je |
| Perth Glory | György Sándor | Andy Keogh | Nebojša Marinković | Diego Castro | | Krisztián Vadócz$^3$ | Sidnei Guyon Fernandez |
| Sydney FC | Jacques Faty | Mickaël Tavares | Miloš Dimitrijević | Miloš Ninković | Filip Hološko | Vedran Janjetović$^1$ Ali Abbas$^1$ Shane Smeltz$^2$ | |
| Wellington Phoenix | Roly Bonevacia | Roy Krishna | Albert Riera | Alex Rodriguez | | Manny Muscat$^2$ | Jeffrey Sarpong |
| Western Sydney Wanderers | Federico Piovaccari | Romeo Castelen | Alberto | Andreu | Dimas | | |
The following do not fill a Visa position: $^1$Those players who were born and started their professional career abroad but have since gained Australian citizenship (and New Zealand citizenship, in the case of Wellington Phoenix); $^2$Australian citizens (and New Zealand citizens, in the case of Wellington Phoenix) who have chosen to represent another national team; $^3$Injury Replacement Players, or National Team Replacement Players; $^4$Guest Players (eligible to play a maximum of fourteen games)

### Salary cap exemptions and captains

| Club | First Marquee | Second Marquee | Mature Age Rookie | Loyalty Players | Captain | Vice-Captain |
| Adelaide United | Eugene Galekovic | Marcelo Carrusca | None | None | Eugene Galekovic | Bruce Djite |
| Brisbane Roar | Matt McKay | Thomas Broich | None | None | Matt McKay | Shane Stefanutto |
| Central Coast Mariners | Luis García | None | None | None | Nick Montgomery | None |
| Melbourne City | Aaron Mooy | None | Wade Dekker | None | Patrick Kisnorbo | None |
| Melbourne Victory | Oliver Bozanic | Besart Berisha | Jai Ingham | Archie Thompson | Carl Valeri | Leigh Broxham |
| Newcastle Jets | None | None | None | None | Nigel Boogaard | Mateo Poljak |
| Perth Glory | Diego Castro | Michael Thwaite | None | None | Richard Garcia | None |
| Sydney FC | Alex Brosque | Filip Hološko | Alex Mullen | None | Alex Brosque | Shane Smeltz Jacques Faty |
| Wellington Phoenix | None | None | Troy Danaskos | None | Andrew Durante | Ben Sigmund |
| Western Sydney Wanderers | Dario Vidošić | Federico Piovaccari | None | None | Nikolai Topor-Stanley | Mark Bridge |
The following concessions to the salary cap were introduced for this season:
* A Loyalty allowance on a sliding scale for players who have played 5 years at the same club. Maximum $200,000 for 10 years.
* A Mature Aged Rookie over the age of 21 who has not played in a fully professional league for the last 18 months and last played football in Australia.
* Each Club can pay three players who started their careers with the club outside the Salary Cap. This season the total has been lifted from $150,000 to $200,000.
* The two Marquee Players (which sit outside the Salary Cap) can be two foreigners.
* Salary Cap Banking will allow clubs to carry over money not spent inside the Salary Cap in the previous two seasons to the following season, up to 105% of the Salary Cap in the relevant contract year.

## Regular season
### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Adelaide United (C) | 27 | 14 | 7 | 6 | 45 | 28 | +17 | 49 | Qualification for 2017 AFC Champions League group stage and Finals series |
| 2 | Western Sydney Wanderers | 27 | 14 | 6 | 7 | 44 | 33 | +11 | 48 | Qualification for 2017 AFC Champions League group stage and Finals series |
| 3 | Brisbane Roar | 27 | 14 | 6 | 7 | 49 | 40 | +9 | 48 | Qualification for 2017 AFC Champions League second preliminary round and Finals series |
| 4 | Melbourne City | 27 | 13 | 5 | 9 | 63 | 44 | +19 | 44 | Qualification for Finals series |
| 5 | Perth Glory | 27 | 13 | 4 | 10 | 49 | 42 | +7 | 43 | Qualification for Finals series |
| 6 | Melbourne Victory | 27 | 11 | 8 | 8 | 40 | 33 | +7 | 41 | Qualification for Finals series |
| 7 | Sydney FC | 27 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 36 | 36 | 0 | 34 | |
| 8 | Newcastle Jets | 27 | 8 | 6 | 13 | 28 | 41 | −13 | 30 | |
| 9 | Wellington Phoenix | 27 | 7 | 4 | 16 | 34 | 54 | −20 | 25 | |
| 10 | Central Coast Mariners | 27 | 3 | 4 | 20 | 33 | 70 | −37 | 13 | |
* ↑ Wellington Phoenix cannot qualify for the AFC Champions League as they are not recognised as an AFC club.

### Results

| Home \ Away | ADE | BRI | CCM | MBC | MVC | NEW | PER | SYD | WEL | WSW | ADE | BRI | CCM | MBC | MVC | NEW | PER | SYD | WEL | WSW |
| Adelaide United | | 3–0 | 3–1 | 2–4 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | | | 4–2 | 0–1 | | 1–0 | | 2–2 | | |
| Brisbane Roar | 3–0 | | 2–1 | 1–1 | 5–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 1–4 | | 4–0 | 3–1 | | 2–1 | 2–1 | | | |
| Central Coast Mariners | 2–3 | 0–1 | | 1–5 | 3–3 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 0–2 | | | | | 0–2 | 2–4 | | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–2 |
| Melbourne City | 0–2 | 3–1 | 3–1 | | 2–1 | 2–3 | 5–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 0–3 | | | 4–1 | | 2–2 | | | 3–0 | 3–0 | 3–2 |
| Melbourne Victory | 2–1 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 3–2 | | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | | | | | | 1–1 | | 2–0 |
| Newcastle Jets | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 1–0 | | 1–6 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 1–2 | | | | 2–1 | 0–1 | | 1–2 | | 3–2 | 0–1 |
| Perth Glory | 3–1 | 6–3 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 1–3 | | 4–0 | 3–2 | 3–2 | | | | | |
| Sydney FC | 0–2 | 0–0 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 2–4 | 1–0 | 1–2 | | 0–0 | 1–0 | | 1–3 | | | | 2–0 | 4–0 | | 1–3 | 1–1 |
| Wellington Phoenix | 4–2 | 3–2 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | | 0–2 | 0–4 | 0–0 | | | 1–4 | | 1–2 | | | |
| Western Sydney Wanderers | 0–0 | 1–3 | 4–1 | 4–3 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | | 0–0 | 2–1 | | | | | 2–1 | | 2–5 | |

## Finals series

The Grand Final winner (Champion) qualified for the 2017 AFC Champions League group stage
| Elimination-finals | Elimination-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Grand Final | Grand Final |
| | | Adelaide United | 4 | | |
| Melbourne City | 2 | Melbourne City | 1 | | |
| Perth Glory | 0 | | | Adelaide United | 3 |
| | | | | Western Sydney Wanderers | 1 |
| | | Western Sydney Wanderers (a.e.t.) | 5 | | |
| Brisbane Roar | 2 | Brisbane Roar | 4 | | |
| Melbourne Victory | 1 | | | | |

### Grand Final
## Statistics
### Attendances
#### By club

These are the attendance records of each of the teams at the end of the home and away season. The table does not include finals series attendances.
    As of matches played on 10 April 2016.
| Team | Hosted | Average | High | Low | Total |
| Melbourne Victory | 13 | 23,112 | 40,217 | 14,383 | 300,452 |
| Sydney FC | 14 | 16,071 | 40,539 | 8,717 | 224,999 |
| Western Sydney Wanderers | 13 | 14,297 | 19,627 | 9,860 | 185,866 |
| Brisbane Roar | 14 | 12,850 | 17,696 | 5,162 | 179,895 |
| Adelaide United | 13 | 11,287 | 19,079 | 6,205 | 146,736 |
| Melbourne City | 14 | 11,047 | 25,738 | 5,953 | 154,657 |
| Newcastle Jets | 14 | 9,586 | 14,886 | 7,210 | 134,202 |
| Perth Glory | 13 | 8,986 | 14,504 | 5,398 | 116,824 |
| Central Coast Mariners | 14 | 8,111 | 14,268 | 4,514 | 113,560 |
| Wellington Phoenix | 13 | 8,042 | 13,654 | 5,103 | 104,551 |
| {{{T11}}} | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| {{{T12}}} | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| League total | 135 | 12,309 | 40,539 | 4,514 | 1,661,742 |

#### By round

2015–16 A-League Attendance :
| Round | Total | Games | Avg. Per Game |
| Round 1 | 64,580 | 5 | 12,916 |
| Round 2 | 84,448 | 5 | 16,890 |
| Round 3 | 72,865 | 5 | 14,573 |
| Round 4 | 67,074 | 5 | 13,415 |
| Round 5 | 48,233 | 5 | 9,647 |
| Round 6 | 58,681 | 5 | 11,736 |
| Round 7 | 58,931 | 5 | 11,786 |
| Round 8 | 59,295 | 5 | 11,859 |
| Round 9 | 40,586 | 5 | 8,117 |
| Round 10 | 46,988 | 5 | 9,398 |
| Round 11 | 53,104 | 5 | 10,621 |
| Round 12 | 73,423 | 5 | 14,685 |
| Round 13 | 63,085 | 5 | 12,617 |
| Round 14 | 55,954 | 5 | 11,191 |
| Round 15 | 68,565 | 5 | 13,713 |
| Round 16 | 76,749 | 5 | 15,350 |
| Round 17 | 58,838 | 5 | 11,768 |
| Round 18 | 63,419 | 5 | 12,684 |
| Round 19 | 64,364 | 5 | 12,873 |
| Round 20 | 86,207 | 5 | 17,241 |
| Round 21 | 59,582 | 5 | 11,916 |
| Round 22 | 44,628 | 5 | 8,926 |
| Round 23 | 63,679 | 5 | 12,736 |
| Round 24 | 49,476 | 5 | 9,895 |
| Round 25 | 62,727 | 5 | 12,545 |
| Round 26 | 58,268 | 5 | 11,654 |
| Round 27 | 57,681 | 5 | 11,536 |
| Elimination Final | 31,430 | 2 | 15,715 |
| Semi Final | 35,573 | 2 | 17,787 |
| Grand Final | 50,119 | 1 | 50,119 |
Source:

### Club membership

2015–16 A-League membership figures :
| Club | Members |
| Adelaide United | 8,750 |
| Brisbane Roar | 5,347 |
| Central Coast Mariners | 6,059 |
| Melbourne City | 9,548 |
| Melbourne Victory | 27,054 |
| Newcastle Jets | 9,266 |
| Perth Glory | 7,109 |
| Sydney FC | 13,154 |
| Wellington Phoenix | 5,062 |
| Western Sydney Wanderers | 18,361 |
| Total | 109,710 |
| Average | 10,971 |
Last updated: 10 April 2016. Source: aleague.com.au

### Player stats
#### Top scorers

    As of matches played on 10 April 2016
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Bruno Fornaroli | Melbourne City | 23 |
| 2 | Jamie Maclaren | Brisbane Roar | 18 |
| 3 | Besart Berisha | Melbourne Victory | 17 |
| 4 | Diego Castro | Perth Glory | 13 |
| 5 | Aaron Mooy | Melbourne City | 11 |
| 6 | Filip Hološko | Sydney FC | 10 |
| 6 | Andy Keogh | Perth Glory | 10 |
| 6 | Mitch Nichols | Western Sydney Wanderers | 10 |
| 6 | Harry Novillo | Melbourne City | 10 |
| 6 | Brendon Šantalab | Western Sydney Wanderers | 10 |

#### Hat-tricks

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
| Blake Powell$^4$ | Wellington Phoenix | Western Sydney Wanderers | 5–2 | 14 February 2016 |
| Bruno Fornaroli | Melbourne City | Sydney FC | 3–0 | 5 March 2016 |
| Jamie Maclaren | Brisbane Roar | Melbourne Victory | 5–0 | 12 March 2016 |
| Romeo Castelen | Western Sydney Wanderers | Brisbane Roar | 5–4 | 24 April 2016 |

##### Note

$^4$ Player scored 4 goals

#### Own goals

    As of matches played on 10 April 2016
| Player | Club | Against | Round |
| Lee Ki-je | Newcastle Jets | Wellington Phoenix | 1 |
| Andreu | Western Sydney Wanderers | Adelaide United | 2 |
| Diogo Ferreira | Perth Glory | Adelaide United | 3 |
| Andrew Durante | Wellington Phoenix | Melbourne Victory | 4 |
| Manny Muscat | Wellington Phoenix | Adelaide United | 12 |
| Jake McGing | Central Coast Mariners | Sydney FC | 12 |
| Patrick Kisnorbo | Melbourne City | Brisbane Roar | 12 |
| Aaron Hughes | Melbourne City | Western Sydney Wanderers | 14 |
| Tarek Elrich | Adelaide United | Perth Glory | 14 |
| Corey Brown | Brisbane Roar | Adelaide United | 16 |
| Daniel Mullen | Newcastle Jets | Perth Glory | 16 |
| Matthew Jurman | Sydney FC | Melbourne Victory | 16 |
| Corona | Brisbane Roar | Sydney FC | 17 |
| Enver Alivodić | Newcastle Jets | Brisbane Roar | 19 |
| Andrew Durante | Wellington Phoenix | Newcastle Jets | 20 |
| Scott Jamieson | Western Sydney Wanderers | Sydney FC | 20 |

#### Clean sheets

    As of matches played on 10 April 2016
| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
| 1 | Eugene Galekovic | Adelaide United | 12 |
| 2 | Vedran Janjetović | Sydney FC | 8 |
| 3 | Andrew Redmayne | Western Sydney Wanderers | 7 |
| 3 | Danny Vukovic | Melbourne Victory | 7 |
| 3 | Jamie Young | Brisbane Roar | 7 |
| 6 | Ante Covic | Perth Glory | 5 |
| 7 | Thomas Sørensen | Melbourne City | 4 |
| 8 | Mark Birighitti | Newcastle Jets | 3 |
| 8 | Glen Moss | Wellington Phoenix | 3 |
| 10 | Liam Reddy | Western Sydney Wanderers | 2 |

### Discipline

During the season each club is given fair play points based on the number of cards they received in games. A yellow card is worth 1 point, a second yellow card is worth 2 points, and a red card is worth 3 points. At the annual awards night, the club with the fewest points wins the Fair Play Award.
| Club | | | | FP Pts |
| Brisbane Roar | 45 | 1 | 0 | 47 |
| Perth Glory | 56 | 4 | 1 | 67 |
| Adelaide United | 70 | 0 | 0 | 70 |
| Newcastle Jets | 57 | 5 | 1 | 70 |
| Sydney FC | 64 | 1 | 2 | 72 |
| Wellington Phoenix | 68 | 3 | 0 | 74 |
| Western Sydney Wanderers | 69 | 0 | 2 | 75 |
| Melbourne City | 72 | 2 | 1 | 79 |
| Central Coast Mariners | 58 | 6 | 3 | 80 |
| Melbourne Victory | 73 | 1 | 2 | 81 |
| League total | 632 | 23 | 12 | |
Last updated: 9 April 2016. Source: ultimatealeague.com

## 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.
* Johnny Warren Medal – Diego Castro, Perth Glory
* NAB Young Footballer of the Year – Jamie Maclaren, Brisbane Roar
* Nike Golden Boot Award – Bruno Fornaroli, Melbourne City (23 goals)
* Goalkeeper of the Year – Thomas Sørensen, Melbourne City
* Coach of the Year – Guillermo Amor, Adelaide United
* Fair Play Award – Brisbane Roar
* Referee of the Year – Jarred Gillett
* Goal of the Year – Roy O'Donovan, Central Coast Mariners (Adelaide United v Central Coast Mariners, 27 March 2016)