# 2023–24 A-League Men

The 2023–24 A-League Men, known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, was the 47th season of national level men's soccer in Australia, and the 19th since the establishment of the competition as the A-League in 2004. This season was the last as a 12-team competition, with expansion to 13 teams from 2024–25 with the inclusion of Auckland FC.
Central Coast Mariners were the premiers and champions this season.

## Clubs
### Stadiums and locations

Twelve clubs are participating in the 2023–24 season.
    Note: Table lists in alphabetical order.
| Club | City | Home ground | Capacity |
| Adelaide United | Adelaide | Coopers Stadium | 16,500 |
| Brisbane Roar | Brisbane | Suncorp Stadium | 52,500 |
| Brisbane Roar | Brisbane | Ballymore Stadium | 6,000 |
| Central Coast Mariners | Gosford | Industree Group Stadium | 20,059 |
| Macarthur FC | Campbelltown | Campbelltown Sports Stadium | 17,500 |
| Melbourne City | Melbourne | AAMI Park | 30,050 |
| Melbourne Victory | Melbourne | AAMI Park | 30,050 |
| Newcastle Jets | Newcastle | McDonald Jones Stadium | 30,000 |
| Perth Glory | Perth | HBF Park | 20,500 |
| Sydney FC | Sydney | Allianz Stadium | 42,500 |
| Wellington Phoenix | Wellington | Sky Stadium | 35,000 |
| Wellington Phoenix | Auckland | Go Media Mount Smart Stadium | 30,000 |
| Wellington Phoenix | Auckland | Eden Park | 50,000 |
| Western Sydney Wanderers | Parramatta | CommBank Stadium | 30,000 |
| Western United | Melbourne | AAMI Park | 30,050 |
| Western United | Ballarat | Mars Stadium | 11,000 |
| Western United | Hobart | North Hobart Oval | 10,000 |
| Western United | Tarneit | Wyndham Regional Football Facility | 5,000 |

### Personnel and kits

| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Kit sponsor |
| Adelaide United | Carl Veart | Ryan Kitto | UCAN | Flinders University Australian Outdoor Living |
| Brisbane Roar | Ruben Zadkovich | Tom Aldred | New Balance | OutKast |
| Central Coast Mariners | Mark Jackson | Danny Vukovic | Cikers | MATE |
| Macarthur FC | Mile Sterjovski | Ulises Dávila | Kelme | Pennytel |
| Melbourne City | Aurelio Vidmar (caretaker) | Jamie Maclaren | Puma | Etihad Airways |
| Melbourne Victory | Tony Popovic | Roderick Miranda | Macron | Bonza AIA (finals series) |
| Newcastle Jets | Robert Stanton | Brandon O'Neill | Legend Sportswear | Port of Newcastle Ampcontrol |
| Perth Glory | Alen Stajcic | Mark Beevers Adam Taggart | Macron | Vacant La Vida Homes (from round 21 onwards) |
| Sydney FC | Ufuk Talay | Luke Brattan | Under Armour | Macquarie University |
| Wellington Phoenix | Giancarlo Italiano | Alex Rufer | Paladin Sports | Oppo Spark |
| Western Sydney Wanderers | Marko Rudan | Marcelo | Adidas | Voltaren Turner Freeman Lawyers |
| Western United | John Aloisi | Josh Risdon | Kappa | Sharp |
* ^ Melbourne Victory's shirt sponsor was changed to AIA for the finals series after Bonza entered voluntary administration on 30 April 2024.

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position on table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| Brisbane Roar | Nick Green (caretaker) | End of contract | 2 May 2023 | Pre-season | Ross Aloisi | 2 May 2023 |
| Wellington Phoenix | Ufuk Talay | End of contract | 6 May 2023 | Pre-season | Giancarlo Italiano | 6 May 2023 |
| Perth Glory | Ruben Zadkovich | Resigned | 2 June 2023 | Pre-season | Kenny Lowe (caretaker) | 12 July 2023 |
| Newcastle Jets | Arthur Papas | Resigned | 19 June 2023 | Pre-season | Robert Stanton | 26 June 2023 |
| Perth Glory | Kenny Lowe (caretaker) | End of contract | 3 August 2023 | Pre-season | Alen Stajcic | 3 August 2023 |
| Central Coast Mariners | Nick Montgomery | Signed by Hibernian | 11 September 2023 | Pre-season | Abbas Saad (caretaker) | 11 September 2023 |
| Central Coast Mariners | Abbas Saad (caretaker) | End of caretaker spell | 27 September 2023 | Pre-season | Mark Jackson | 27 September 2023 |
| Melbourne City | Rado Vidošić | Mutual termination | 1 November 2023 | 12th | Aurelio Vidmar (caretaker) | 1 November 2023 |
| Sydney FC | Steve Corica | Mutual termination | 7 November 2023 | 12th | Ufuk Talay | 8 November 2023 |
| Brisbane Roar | Ross Aloisi | Signed by Shanghai Port | 24 December 2023 | 5th | Luciano Trani (caretaker) | 24 December 2023 |
| Brisbane Roar | Luciano Trani (caretaker) | End of caretaker spell | 1 January 2024 | 7th | Ben Cahn | 1 January 2024 |
| Brisbane Roar | Ben Cahn | Indefinite leave | 1 February 2024 | 9th | Ruben Zadkovich (caretaker) | 1 February 2024 |
| Brisbane Roar | Ruben Zadkovich (caretaker) | Promoted to full-time | N/A | 8th | Ruben Zadkovich | 22 April 2024 |

### Foreign players

| Club | Visa 1 | Visa 2 | Visa 3 | Visa 4 | Visa 5 | Non-visa foreigner(s) | Former player(s) |
| Adelaide United | Zach Clough | Ryan Tunnicliffe | Hiroshi Ibusuki | Javi López | | Isaías$^1$ | |
| Brisbane Roar | Florin Berenguer | Jay O'Shea | Marco Rojas | | | Tom Aldred$^1$ Ayom Majok$^2$ Jack Hingert$^2$ | |
| Central Coast Mariners | Ronald Barcellos | Mikael Doka | Ángel Torres | Ryan Edmondson | Brian Kaltak | Dan Hall$^2$ Storm Roux$^2$ | Marco Túlio |
| Macarthur FC | Valère Germain | Ulises Dávila | Clayton Lewis | Tommy Smith | Filip Kurto | Charles M'Mombwa$^2$ | |
| Melbourne City | Léo Natel | Vicente Fernández | Samuel Souprayen | Tolgay Arslan | Nuno Reis | Marin Jakoliš$^2$ Jamie Young$^2$ | Hamza Sakhi |
| Melbourne Victory | Roly Bonevacia | Damien Da Silva | Zinédine Machach | Roderick Miranda | Salim Khelifi | Adama Traoré$^1$ Matthew Bozinovski$^2$ | Rai Marchán |
| Newcastle Jets | Carl Jenkinson | Jason Berthomier | | | | Lachlan Bayliss$^2$ Dane Ingham$^2$ | |
| Perth Glory | Darryl Lachman | Mark Beevers | | | | Antonis Martis$^2$ Oliver Sail$^2$ Stefan Colakovski$^2$ | Aaron McEneff Salim Khelifi |
| Sydney FC | Fábio Gomes | Gabriel Lacerda | Joe Lolley | Jack Rodwell | Róbert Mak | | |
| Wellington Phoenix | Bozhidar Kraev | Youstin Salas | David Ball | Scott Wootton | Oskar Zawada | Mohamed Al-Taay$^2$ | |
| Western Sydney Wanderers | Marcelo | Sonny Kittel | Jorrit Hendrix | Marcus Antonsson | | Dylan Scicluna$^2$ Miloš Ninković$^1$ Valentino Yuel$^2$ | |
| Western United | Daniel Penha | Riku Danzaki | Tomoki Imai | | | | |
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 (or New Zealand citizenship, in the case of Wellington Phoenix); $^2$Australian citizens (or 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)

## Regular season

The 2023–24 season will see each team play 27 games followed by a finals series for the top six teams.

### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Central Coast Mariners (C) | 27 | 17 | 4 | 6 | 49 | 27 | +22 | 55 | Qualification for AFC Champions League Elite and Finals series |
| 2 | Wellington Phoenix | 27 | 15 | 8 | 4 | 42 | 26 | +16 | 53 | Qualification for Finals series |
| 3 | Melbourne Victory | 27 | 10 | 12 | 5 | 43 | 33 | +10 | 42 | Qualification for Finals series |
| 4 | Sydney FC | 27 | 12 | 5 | 10 | 52 | 41 | +11 | 41 | Qualification for AFC Champions League Two and Finals series |
| 5 | Macarthur FC | 27 | 11 | 8 | 8 | 45 | 48 | −3 | 41 | Qualification for Finals series |
| 6 | Melbourne City | 27 | 11 | 6 | 10 | 50 | 38 | +12 | 39 | Qualification for Finals series |
| 7 | Western Sydney Wanderers | 27 | 11 | 4 | 12 | 44 | 48 | −4 | 37 | |
| 8 | Adelaide United | 27 | 9 | 5 | 13 | 52 | 53 | −1 | 32 | |
| 9 | Brisbane Roar | 27 | 8 | 6 | 13 | 42 | 55 | −13 | 30 | Qualification for 2024 Australia Cup play-offs |
| 10 | Newcastle Jets | 27 | 6 | 10 | 11 | 39 | 47 | −8 | 28 | Qualification for 2024 Australia Cup play-offs |
| 11 | Western United | 27 | 7 | 5 | 15 | 36 | 55 | −19 | 26 | Qualification for 2024 Australia Cup play-offs |
| 12 | Perth Glory | 27 | 5 | 7 | 15 | 46 | 69 | −23 | 22 | Qualification for 2024 Australia Cup play-offs |
* ↑ Wellington Phoenix cannot qualify for Asian Football Confederation competitions as they are based in New Zealand, which is part of the Oceania Football Confederation.
* 1 2 The top two teams enter the finals series at the semi-finals, while the teams ranked third to sixth enter the finals series at the elimination-finals.
* ↑ Qualified for AFC Champions League Two as the 2023 Australia Cup winners.

### Fixtures and results

| Home \ Away | ADL | BRI | CCM | MAC | MCY | MVC | NEW | PER | SYD | WEL | WSW | WUN | ADL | BRI | CCM | MAC | MCY | MVC | NEW | PER | SYD | WEL | WSW | WUN |
| Adelaide United | | 0–2 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 6–0 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 3–3 | 1–5 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 4–1 | | | 0–4 | 1–2 | | | | | 4–3 | | | |
| Brisbane Roar | 3–4 | | 0–3 | 1–3 | 5–1 | 3–2 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | | | | 1–2 | | | 3–2 | | 1–2 | | | |
| Central Coast Mariners | 2–0 | 1–2 | | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 4–2 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 4–0 | | 2–0 | | | 2–1 | 1–1 | | | | | | |
| Macarthur FC | 4–3 | 1–1 | 0–3 | | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 4–3 | 1–0 | | | | | | | | | | 1–2 | 1–3 | 3–3 |
| Melbourne City | 1–0 | 8–1 | 3–3 | 3–3 | | 0–0 | 0–0 | 8–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 7–0 | 1–2 | | | | | | 0–0 | | | | | | 1–0 |
| Melbourne Victory | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | | 5–3 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 3–4 | 2–1 | 2–0 | | | | | | | | 1–1 | | | |
| Newcastle Jets | 0–1 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 2–0 | | | 1–3 | | | | | | | 1–1 | | |
| Perth Glory | 2–4 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 2–3 | 2–2 | | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 3–4 | | | | | 4–2 | | 2–2 | | | 3–4 | | |
| Sydney FC | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 4–0 | 3–2 | | 3–1 | 0–1 | 4–2 | | | | | | | | 7–1 | | | 2–1 | |
| Wellington Phoenix | 3–2 | 5–2 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 2–1 | | 2–0 | 2–0 | | 1–0 | | | | 1–0 | | | | | | |
| Western Sydney Wanderers | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 3–4 | 3–3 | 2–0 | 1–4 | 0–0 | | 5–0 | | | | | 1–2 | | | 1–2 | | | | 1–3 |
| Western United | 1–3 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 4–2 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | | 3–3 | | | | | | 2–0 | | | | | |

## Finals series

The finals series was held in mostly the same format as the previous year, run over four weeks, involving the top six teams from the regular season. In the first week of fixtures, the third-through-sixth ranked teams will each play an elimination match, with the two winners of those matches joining the first and second ranked teams in two-legged semi-final ties. The two winners of those matches will meet in the Grand Final. The previous format, which saw Sydney hosting the Grand Final until the 2024–25 season, was overturned in October 2023, reverting back to the higher-ranked semi-final winner hosting the match.

### Bracket

| Elimination-finals | Elimination-finals | Elimination-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Grand final | Grand final | Grand final |
| 4 | Sydney FC | 4 | | | | | | | | |
| 5 | Macarthur FC | 0 | 4 | Sydney FC | 1 | 0 | 1 | | | |
| | | | 1 | Central Coast Mariners | 2 | 0 | 2 | | | |
| | | | | | | | | 1 | Central Coast Mariners (a.e.t.) | 3 |
| 3 | Melbourne Victory (p) | 1 (3) | | | | | | 3 | Melbourne Victory | 1 |
| 6 | Melbourne City | 1 (2) | 3 | Melbourne Victory (a.e.t.) | 0 | 2 | 2 | | | |
| | | | 2 | Wellington Phoenix | 0 | 1 | 1 | | | |

### Semi-finals
#### Summary

| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Central Coast Mariners | 2–1 | Sydney FC | 2–1 | 0–0 |
| Wellington Phoenix | 1–2 | Melbourne Victory | 0–0 | 1–2 (a.e.t.) |

#### Matches

Central Coast Mariners won 2–1 on aggregate.
Melbourne Victory won 2–1 on aggregate.

### Grand Final
## Regular season statistics
### Top scorers

    As of 1 May 2024.
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Adam Taggart | Perth Glory | 20 |
| 2 | Bruno Fornaroli | Melbourne Victory | 18 |
| 3 | Apostolos Stamatelopoulos | Newcastle Jets | 17 |
| 4 | Hiroshi Ibusuki | Adelaide United | 15 |
| 5 | Tolgay Arslan | Melbourne City | 13 |
| 5 | Kosta Barbarouses | Wellington Phoenix | 13 |
| 5 | Ángel Torres | Central Coast Mariners | 13 |
| 8 | Valère Germain | Macarthur FC | 12 |
| 9 | Fábio Gomes | Sydney FC | 11 |
| 9 | Joe Lolley | Sydney FC | 11 |

### Hat-tricks

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
| Bruno Fornaroli$^4$ | Melbourne Victory | Newcastle Jets | 5–3 (H) | 29 October 2023 |
| Oskar Zawada | Wellington Phoenix | Brisbane Roar | 5–2 (H) | 4 November 2023 |
| Bruno Fornaroli$^4$ | Melbourne Victory | Western Sydney Wanderers | 3–4 (A) | 10 December 2023 |
| Ángel Torres | Central Coast Mariners | Melbourne City | 3–3 (A) | 17 December 2023 |
| Jamie Maclaren | Melbourne City | Brisbane Roar | 8–1 (H) | 28 December 2023 |
| Ulises Dávila | Macarthur FC | Western United | 3–3 (N) | 12 January 2024 |
| Hiroshi Ibusuki | Adelaide United | Sydney FC | 4–3 (N) | 13 January 2024 |
| Valère Germain | Macarthur FC | Western Sydney Wanderers | 4–3 (H) | 4 February 2024 |
| Nestory Irankunda | Adelaide United | Western United | 4–1 (H) | 29 March 2024 |
| Tolgay Arslan | Melbourne City | Perth Glory | 8–0 (H) | 14 April 2024 |
Key :
| $^4$ | Player scored four goals |
| (H) | Home team |
| (A) | Away team |
| (N) | Neutral ground |

### Clean sheets

    As of 1 May 2024
| Rank | Goalkeeper | Club | Clean sheets |
| 1 | Danny Vukovic | Central Coast Mariners | 12 |
| 2 | Alex Paulsen | Wellington Phoenix | 11 |
| 3 | Jamie Young | Melbourne City | 10 |
| 4 | Paul Izzo | Melbourne Victory | 6 |
| 5 | Filip Kurto | Macarthur FC | 5 |
| 5 | Ryan Scott | Newcastle Jets | 5 |
| 5 | Lawrence Thomas | Western Sydney Wanderers | 5 |
| 8 | Macklin Freke | Brisbane Roar | 3 |
| 9 | Joe Gauci | Adelaide United | 2 |
| 9 | Daniel Margush | Western Sydney Wanderers | 2 |
| 9 | Andrew Redmayne | Sydney FC | 2 |

## Awards
### Annual awards

| Award | Winner | Club |
| Johnny Warren Medal | Josh Nisbet | Central Coast Mariners |
| Young Footballer of the Year | Nestory Irankunda Alex Paulsen | Adelaide United Wellington Phoenix |
| Golden Boot Award | Adam Taggart | Perth Glory |
| Goalkeeper of the Year | Alex Paulsen | Wellington Phoenix |
| Goal of the Year | Bruno Fornaroli | Melbourne Victory |
| Save of the Year | Danny Vukovic | Central Coast Mariners |
| Playmaker of the Year | Anthony Caceres | Sydney FC |
| Fan Player of the Year | Alex Paulsen | Wellington Phoenix |
| Coach of the Year | Mark Jackson | Central Coast Mariners |
| Fair Play Award | Newcastle Jets | Newcastle Jets |
| Referee of the Year | Alex King | — |

### Club awards

| Club | Player of the Season |
| Adelaide United | Zach Clough |
| Brisbane Roar | Macklin Freke |
| Central Coast Mariners | Max Balard |
| Macarthur FC | Jake Hollman |
| Melbourne City | Tolgay Arslan |
| Melbourne Victory | Damien Da Silva |
| Newcastle Jets | Apostolos Stamatelopoulos |
| Perth Glory | Adam Taggart |
| Sydney FC | Joe Lolley |
| Wellington Phoenix | Kosta Barbarouses |
| Western Sydney Wanderers | Marcelo |
| Western United | Daniel Penha |

## Attendances

Sydney FC drew the highest average home attendance in the 2023-24 edition of the A-League.
| # | Football club | Home games | Average attendance |
| 1 | Sydney FC | 13 | 14,476 |
| 2 | Melbourne Victory | 13 | 12,227 |
| 3 | Western Sydney Wanderers | 13 | 10,573 |
| 4 | Adelaide United | 13 | 10,035 |
| 5 | Wellington Phoenix | 13 | 8,940 |
| 6 | Melbourne City FC | 13 | 8,488 |
| 7 | Central Coast Mariners | 13 | 7,250 |
| 8 | Brisbane Roar | 13 | 6,707 |
| 9 | Perth Glory | 13 | 5,964 |
| 10 | Newcastle United Jets | 13 | 5,673 |
| 11 | Macarthur FC | 13 | 4,216 |
| 12 | Western United | 13 | 3,274 |