# 2018 National Women's League (New Zealand)

The 2018 National Women's League was the sixteenth season of the NWL, New Zealand's top level women's football league since its establishment in 2002. Seven teams were again involved in this season representing the different regions in New Zealand. This was the first year that the league had two rounds with the two highest-placed sides progressing to a one-off grand final. The season also featured a double header round over Labour weekend, in which all sides except Capital played two matches over the weekend.

## Teams

| Team | Location | Ground | Coach |
| Northern Lights | North Shore | QBE Stadium, Domain 3 | Gemma Lewis |
| Auckland | Auckland | McLennan Park | Tracy Wrigley |
| WaiBOP | Hamilton | Gower Park | Michael Mayne |
| Central Football | Palmerston North | Massey Uni | Donald Piper |
| Capital | Lower Hutt | Memorial Park | Emma Evans |
| Canterbury United Pride | Christchurch | English Park | Alana Gunn |
| Southern United | Dunedin | Tahuna Park | Rignacio Sande |

## Regular season
### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Northern Lights | 12 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 33 | 8 | +25 | 29 | Qualification to the Final |
| 2 | Canterbury United Pride (C) | 12 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 41 | 14 | +27 | 27 | Qualification to the Final |
| 3 | Auckland | 12 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 26 | 11 | +15 | 22 | |
| 4 | Capital | 12 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 32 | 27 | +5 | 20 | |
| 5 | Southern United | 12 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 37 | 28 | +9 | 16 | |
| 6 | WaiBOP | 12 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 14 | 36 | −22 | 4 | |
| 7 | Central Football | 12 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 5 | 64 | −59 | 3 | |

### Positions by round

| Team ╲ Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
| Auckland | 2 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Canterbury United Pride | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Capital | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Central Football | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| Northern Lights | 4 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Southern United | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| WaiBOP | 5 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
* Qualification to Grand final

### Fixtures and results

New Zealand women's football league matches took place from September to December 2018 and also for the first time include a double header round over Labour weekend.

#### Round 1

Bye: Northern Lights

#### Round 2

Bye: Auckland

#### Round 3

Bye: WaiBOP

#### Round 4

Bye: Canterbury United Pride

#### Round 5

Bye: Southern United

#### Round 6 (Double Header Week)

Bye: Capital

#### Round 7

Bye: Central

#### Round 8

Bye: Auckland

#### Round 9

Bye: WaiBOP

#### Round 10

Bye: Southern United

#### Round 11

Bye: Canterbury United Pride

#### Round 12

Bye: Northern Lights

#### Round 13

Bye: Central

## Statistics

    As of 9 December 2018

### Top scorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Sarah Gregorius | Capital | 12 |
| 2 | Cody Taylor | Canterbury United Pride | 10 |
| 3 | Annalie Longo | Canterbury United Pride | 7 |
| 3 | Jade Parris | Auckland | 7 |
| 5 | Emily Morison | Southern United | 6 |
| 5 | Ava Pritchard | Northern Lights | 6 |
| 5 | Gabi Rennie | Canterbury United Pride | 6 |
| 8 | Monique Barker | Canterbury United Pride | 5 |
| 8 | Shontelle Smith | Southern United | 5 |
| 10 | Meisha Boone | Capital | 4 |
| 10 | Kelli Brown | WaiBOP | 4 |
| 10 | Mikayla Gray | Southern United | 4 |
| 10 | Whitney Hepburn | Canterbury United Pride | 4 |
| 10 | Emma Main | Capital | 4 |
| 10 | Britney-Lee Nicholson | Southern United | 4 |
| 10 | Dayna Stevens | Northern Lights | 4 |

### Hat-tricks

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
| Monique Barker | Canterbury United Pride | WaiBOP | 6–0 | 23 September 2018 |
| Kelli Brown | WaiBOP | Central Football | 3–0 | 22 October 2018 |
| Cody Taylor | Canterbury United Pride | Central Football | 8–0 | 11 November 2018 |
| Sarah Gregorius | Capital | Southern United | 4–5 | 9 December 2018 |

### Own goals

| Player | Club | Against | Round |
| Mackenzie Barry | Central Football | Southern United | 1 |
| Mackenzie Barry | Central Football | Canterbury United Pride | 3 |
| Kate Watson | Central Football | Canterbury United Pride | 3 |
| Bianca Stiles | Auckland | Southern United | 3 |
| Meisha Boone | Capital | Auckland | 4 |
| Ashley Weld | WaiBOP | Northern Lights | 7 |