# 1996–97 Newcastle Breakers FC season

The 1996–97 season was the fifth season in the history of Newcastle Breakers. It was also the fifth season in the National Soccer League. In addition to the domestic league, they also participated in the NSL Cup. Newcastle Breakers finished 11th in their National Soccer League season, and were eliminated in the NSL Cup quarter-finals by Marconi Fairfield.

## Players

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | AUS | Adam Fittock |
| 2 | DF | AUS | Shane Pryce |
| 3 | MF | AUS | Glenn Sprod |
| 4 | DF | AUS | Glen Moore |
| 5 | MF | AUS | Peter Ritchie |
| 6 | MF | NZL | Robert Ironside |
| 7 | MF | AUS | Scott Thomas |
| 8 | MF | AUS | David Lowe (Captain) |
| 9 | FW | AUS | Clayton Zane |
| 10 | MF | AUS | Troy Halpin |
| 11 | MF | AUS | Gary Wilson |
| 12 | DF | AUS | Todd McManus |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 13 | DF | AUS | Andy Roberts |
| 14 | FW | AUS | Jason Bennett |
| 15 | MF | AUS | Mark Wilson |
| 16 | MF | AUS | Craig Sharpley |
| 17 | DF | AUS | Matthew Austin |
| 18 | FW | AUS | Harry James |
| 19 | FW | AUS | Liam McGuire |
| 20 | GK | AUS | Liam Baker |
| 21 | MF | AUS | Evis Heath |
| — | FW | AUS | Brett Eldridge |
| — | GK | AUS | Brad Swancott |

## Competitions
### Overview

| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record |
| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % |
| National Soccer League | 11 October 1996 | 20 April 1997 | Matchday 1 | 11th | 26 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 40 | 46 | −6 | 026.92 |
| NSL Cup | 12 January 1996 | 27 January 1996 | Round of 16 | Quarter-finals | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 5 | +8 | 066.67 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | 29 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 53 | 51 | +2 | 031.03 |
Last updated: complete Source: Competitions

### National Soccer League
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Sydney United | 26 | 17 | 5 | 4 | 67 | 33 | +34 | 56 | Qualification for the Finals series |
| 2 | Brisbane Strikers (C) | 26 | 15 | 2 | 9 | 55 | 40 | +15 | 47 | Qualification for the Finals series |
| 3 | South Melbourne | 26 | 14 | 4 | 8 | 39 | 25 | +14 | 46 | Qualification for the Finals series |
| 4 | Adelaide City | 26 | 11 | 10 | 5 | 32 | 22 | +10 | 43 | Qualification for the Finals series |
| 5 | Marconi Fairfield | 26 | 12 | 4 | 10 | 41 | 37 | +4 | 40 | Qualification for the Finals series |
| 6 | Melbourne Knights | 26 | 11 | 6 | 9 | 36 | 32 | +4 | 39 | Qualification for the Finals series |
| 7 | Perth Glory | 26 | 11 | 5 | 10 | 48 | 41 | +7 | 38 | |
| 8 | West Adelaide | 26 | 10 | 3 | 13 | 39 | 51 | −12 | 33 | |
| 9 | UTS Olympic | 26 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 41 | 46 | −5 | 32 | |
| 10 | Wollongong Wolves | 26 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 42 | 48 | −6 | 32 | |
| 11 | Newcastle Breakers | 26 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 40 | 46 | −6 | 30 | |
| 12 | Gippsland Falcons | 26 | 8 | 6 | 12 | 33 | 41 | −8 | 30 | |
| 13 | Collingwood Warriors | 26 | 6 | 9 | 11 | 32 | 44 | −12 | 27 | |
| 14 | Canberra Cosmos | 26 | 2 | 5 | 19 | 30 | 69 | −39 | 11 | |

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Source: worldfootball.net

#### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
| Ground | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H |
| Result | W | L | L | D | D | L | D | L | D | L | W | D | D | D | L | W | W | W | D | L | D | L | L | W | L | W |
| Position | 1 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 |

#### Matches
### NSL Cup
## Statistics
### Appearances and goals

Players with no appearances not included in the list.
| No. | Pos. | Nat. | Name | National Soccer League | National Soccer League | NSL Cup | NSL Cup | Total | Total |
| No. | Pos. | Nat. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 2 | DF | | Shane Pryce | 23(1) | 4 | 1 | 1 | 25 | 5 |
| 3 | MF | | Glenn Sprod | 25 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 28 | 5 |
| 4 | DF | | Glen Moore | 4(1) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 5 | MF | | Peter Ritchie | 14(3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | | Robert Ironside | 21 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 24 | 7 |
| 7 | MF | | Scott Thomas | 16(6) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 1 |
| 8 | MF | | David Lowe | 7(3) | 2 | 3 | 1 | 13 | 3 |
| 9 | FW | | Clayton Zane | 18(1) | 4 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 4 |
| 10 | MF | | Troy Halpin | 24 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 27 | 6 |
| 11 | MF | | Gary Wilson | 2(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 12 | DF | | Todd McManus | 25 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 28 | 0 |
| 13 | DF | | Andy Roberts | 9(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| 14 | FW | | Jason Bennett | 14(2) | 5 | 1 | 2 | 17 | 7 |
| 15 | MF | | Mark Wilson | 12(2) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 17 | 3 |
| 16 | MF | | Craig Sharpley | 11(5) | 1 | 0(2) | 0 | 18 | 1 |
| 17 | DF | | Matthew Austin | 21(1) | 1 | 3 | 0 | 25 | 1 |
| 18 | FW | | Harry James | 6(8) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 17 | 0 |
| 19 | FW | | Liam McGuire | 8(5) | 2 | 0(3) | 1 | 16 | 3 |
| 20 | GK | | Liam Baker | 23 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 26 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | | Evis Heath | 0(1) | 0 | 0(3) | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| — | FW | | Brett Eldridge | 0 | 0 | 2(1) | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| — | GK | | Brad Swancott | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |

### Clean sheets

| Rank | No. | Pos | Nat | Name | National Soccer League | NSL Cup | Total |
| 1 | 20 | GK | | Liam Baker | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | 4 | 0 | 4 |