# 1979 National Soccer League

The 1979 National Soccer League was the third season of the National Soccer League, the former top Australian semi-professional league for association football clubs since its establishment in 1977. Marconi Fairfield secured a first National Soccer League title.

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Marconi Fairfield (C) | 26 | 15 | 6 | 5 | 58 | 32 | +26 | 40 | Qualification to Finals series |
| 2 | Heidelberg United | 26 | 14 | 7 | 5 | 44 | 30 | +14 | 36 | Qualification to Finals series |
| 3 | Sydney City | 26 | 15 | 3 | 8 | 47 | 29 | +18 | 34 | Qualification to Finals series |
| 4 | Brisbane City | 26 | 14 | 5 | 7 | 38 | 30 | +8 | 34 | Qualification to Finals series |
| 5 | Adelaide City | 26 | 13 | 6 | 7 | 43 | 27 | +16 | 33 | |
| 6 | Newcastle KB United | 26 | 11 | 9 | 6 | 43 | 30 | +13 | 32 | |
| 7 | West Adelaide | 26 | 10 | 4 | 12 | 28 | 31 | −3 | 25 | |
| 8 | APIA Leichhardt | 26 | 11 | 3 | 12 | 29 | 37 | −8 | 25 | |
| 9 | Brisbane Lions | 26 | 8 | 6 | 12 | 28 | 40 | −12 | 22 | |
| 10 | Footscray JUST | 26 | 8 | 3 | 15 | 29 | 43 | −14 | 20 | |
| 11 | St George-Budapest | 26 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 27 | 43 | −16 | 20 | |
| 12 | Canberra City | 26 | 6 | 8 | 12 | 25 | 41 | −16 | 20 | |
| 13 | Sydney Olympic (R) | 26 | 7 | 5 | 14 | 23 | 30 | −7 | 19 | Relegated to the 1980 NSW State League |
| 14 | South Melbourne | 26 | 6 | 3 | 17 | 26 | 45 | −19 | 16 | |
* 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A Bonus Point was awarded for victories of 4 goals or more.
* ↑ The Finals series was not considered the championship for the 1979 National Soccer League.

## Results

| Home \ Away | ADE | API | BRC | BRL | CAN | FOO | HEI | MAR | NKU | SOU | STG | SYC | SYO | WES |
| Adelaide City | — | 0–1 | 2–4 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 2–4 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| APIA Leichhardt | 1–1 | — | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 0–2 | 0–1 |
| Brisbane City | 2–1 | 2–0 | — | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 3–4 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 |
| Brisbane Lions | 0–6 | 2–1 | 1–2 | — | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 2–3 |
| Canberra City | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | — | 0–3 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 1–5 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 0–0 |
| Footscray JUST | 0–2 | 5–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–2 | — | 2–2 | 0–5 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 |
| Heidelberg United | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | — | 3–2 | 2–4 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 3–1 |
| Marconi Fairfield | 4–4 | 2–0 | 3–3 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–4 | — | 2–1 | 6–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 |
| Newcastle KB United | 0–0 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 3–0 | 3–3 | 2–1 | — | 3–0 | 4–2 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 |
| South Melbourne | 1–0 | 1–2 | 4–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | — | 2–0 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 3–4 |
| St George-Budapest | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–4 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | — | 0–5 | 2–0 | 2–0 |
| Sydney City | 2–3 | 2–3 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | — | 3–4 | 3–0 |
| Sydney Olympic | 1–2 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | — | 2–0 |
| West Adelaide | 1–2 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 5–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | — |

## Finals series

The top four teams in the league entered a play-off series. The winner of the Finals series was not considered the overall winner of the 1979 National Soccer League.

### Grand Final
## Season statistics
### Top scorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Mark Jankovics | Marconi Fairfield | 18 |
| 2 | Eddie Krncevic | Marconi Fairfield | 13 |
| 3 | Ken Boden | Newcastle KB United | 12 |
| 4 | Kevin Low | Newcastle KB United | 11 |
| 4 | Jamie Paton | Heidelberg United | 11 |
| 6 | Tony Brennan | Brisbane Lions | 10 |
| 6 | Gary Cole | Heidelberg United | 10 |
| 6 | Peter Sharne | Marconi Fairfield | 10 |
| 6 | Terry Smith | Sydney City | 10 |
| 10 | Terry Byrne | Canberra City | 9 |

## Individual awards

* Player of the Year: Ivo Prskalo (Marconi Fairfield)
* U-21 Player of the Year: Eddie Krncevic (Marconi Fairfield)
* Top Scorer(s): Mark Jankovics (Marconi Fairfield – 18 goals)
* Coach of the Year: Les Scheinflug (Marconi Fairfield)