2002–03 National Soccer League

The 2002–03 National Soccer League season, was the 27th season of the National Soccer League in Australia. The finals format was revised for this season, with the top six teams at the end of the regular season qualifying for a home-and-away championship series. The top two teams from the championship series progressed to the grand final. Olympic Sharks were crowned premiers and Perth Glory were champions.

NSL 2002–03
LeagueNational Soccer League
SportAssociation football
Duration2002–2003
Number of teams13
NSL season
ChampionsPerth Glory
Top scorerDamian Mori (24)

Teams
Team Home city Home ground
Adelaide City FCAdelaideHindmarsh Stadium
Brisbane StrikersBrisbaneBallymore Stadium
Football KingzAucklandMt Smart Stadium
Marconi-StallionsSydneyMarconi Stadium
Melbourne KnightsMelbourneKnights Stadium
Newcastle UnitedNewcastleNewcastle Stadium
Northern SpiritSydneyNorth Sydney Oval
Olympic SharksSydneyEndeavour Field
Parramatta PowerSydneyParramatta Stadium
Perth GloryPerthPerth Oval
South MelbourneMelbourneLakeside Stadium
Sydney UnitedSydneyEdensor Park
Wollongong CityWollongongBrandon Park

League standings
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Olympic Sharks 24 16 3 5 51 28 +23 51 2003 National Soccer League Championship Playoff
2 Perth Glory 24 16 2 6 48 22 +26 50
3 Parramatta Power 24 12 4 8 51 27 +24 40
4 Newcastle United 24 10 7 7 37 25 +12 37
5 Adelaide City 24 11 4 9 40 34 +6 37
6 Northern Spirit 24 11 3 10 37 44 −7 36
7 South Melbourne 24 10 5 9 36 37 −1 35
8 Sydney United 24 7 6 11 23 31 −8 27
9 Melbourne Knights 24 7 6 11 38 52 −14 27
10 Brisbane Strikers 24 7 5 12 38 45 −7 26
11 Football Kingz 24 6 6 12 26 45 −19 24
12 Marconi Fairfield 24 6 5 13 25 42 −17 23
13 Wollongong Wolves 24 5 8 11 25 43 −18 23
Updated to match(es) played on 16 March 2003. Source: Soccer Australia
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Championship Playoff
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Perth Glory (C) 10 8 0 2 27 7 +20 27[lower-alpha 1] 2002–03 National Soccer League Champions
2 Olympic Sharks 10 4 1 5 17 14 +3 19[lower-alpha 2] 2003 National Soccer League Grand Final
3 Adelaide City (R) 10 5 2 3 19 14 +5 17 Joined the 2003 SASF Premier League[lower-alpha 3]
4 Parramatta Power 10 3 4 3 16 21 −5 13
5 Northern Spirit 9 2 2 5 7 22 −15 8[lower-alpha 4]
6 Newcastle United 9 2 1 6 9 17 −8 7[lower-alpha 4]
Updated to match(es) played on 25 May 2003. Source: Soccer Australia
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champion; (R) Relegated.
Notes:
  1. Awarded 3 bonus points, due to regular season position.
  2. Awarded 6 bonus points, due to regular season position.
  3. Adelaide City was not forcibly relegated, but voluntarily left the League due to financial difficulties.[1]
  4. The final round match between Northern Spirit and Newcastle United was not played, as neither team could progress.

Grand final
Main article: 2003 National Soccer League Grand Final
Perth Glory2 – 0Olympic Sharks
Harnwell  29'
Mori  87'		 (Report)
Attendance: 38,111
Referee: Mark Shield
gollark: Yes, indeed.
gollark: It's the same line count, but much clearer.
gollark: ```luaif cmd=="exit"or cmd=="quit"then error()end```
gollark: Amazing!
gollark: ~~that's type system~~

References
  1. "A-League: Adelaide marks a decade United". abc.net.au. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
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