1983 Wollongong City FC season

The 1983 season was the third in the history of Wollongong City (now Wollongong Wolves). It was also the third season in the National Soccer League. In addition to the domestic league, they also participated in the NSL Cup. Wollongong City finished 15th in their National Soccer League season, and were eliminated in the NSL Cup first round by Canberra City.

Wollongong City

1983 season
Manager	Willie Wallace
Stadium	Ziems Park St George Stadium Wollongong Showground
National Soccer League	15th
NSL Cup	First round
Top goalscorer	League: Roy Cotton Phil O'Connor (12) All: Roy Cotton (13)
Highest home attendance	3,482 vs. Sydney City (24 April 1984) National Soccer League
Lowest home attendance	1,000
Average home league attendance	1,871
Biggest win	3–1 vs. Adelaide City (H) (18 September 1983) National Soccer League 2–0 vs. Brisbane City (A) (9 October 1983) National Soccer League
Biggest defeat	0–4 vs. St George-Budapest (A) (10 September 1983) National Soccer League
← 1982 1984 →

Players

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK   SCO Jim Preston 2 MF   AUS Peter Willis 3 DF   AUS Steve Pollard 4 DF   ENG Chris Dunleavy 5 DF   AUS Ray Vliestra 6 DF   ENG Jeff Ainsworth 7 DF   ENG Alan Waldron 8 MF   ENG John Fleming 9 MF   ENG Roy Cotton 10 MF   AUS Larry Gaffney

No. Pos. Nation Player 11 FW   AUS Phil O'Connor 12   ENG Jim McBreen 13 DF   AUS Phil Kerr 14 FW   AUS Glen Fontana 15 DF   AUS David Green 20 GK   AUS Natch Vardareff —   AUS Phil Muhlbauer — DF   AUS Jamie Dummett — DF   AUS Scott Dickson — MF   AUS Warren Baker

Overview

Competition	First match	Last match	Starting round	Final position	Record
					Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
National Soccer League	13 March 1983	9 October 1983	Matchday 1	15th	30	4	15	11	41	55	−14	013.33
NSL Cup	6 March 1983		First round	First round	1	0	0	1	1	2	−1	000.00
Total					31	4	15	12	42	57	−15	012.90

Last updated: complete
Source: Competitions

National Soccer League

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	St George-Budapest (C)	30	15	10	5	47	27	+20	55
2	Sydney City	30	15	9	6	48	30	+18	54
3	Preston Makedonia	30	15	7	8	47	32	+15	52
4	South Melbourne	30	15	7	8	44	36	+8	52
5	Newcastle KB United	30	14	7	9	45	26	+19	49
6	Heidelberg United	30	11	10	9	39	38	+1	43
7	Sydney Olympic	30	12	5	13	38	36	+2	41
8	APIA Leichhardt	30	11	6	13	43	36	+7	39
9	Marconi Fairfield	30	9	11	10	43	41	+2	38
10	Canberra City	30	11	5	14	47	53	−6	38
11	Adelaide City	30	10	6	14	37	38	−1	36
12	Footscray JUST	30	9	9	12	25	42	−17	36
13	West Adelaide	30	7	12	11	25	37	−12	33
14	Brisbane City	30	8	9	13	33	50	−17	33
15	Wollongong City	30	4	15	11	41	55	−14	27
16	Brisbane Lions	30	6	8	16	36	61	−25	26

Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions

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	27	28	29	30
Ground	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A
Result	D	D	D	L	D	W	L	L	D	L	L	L	D	D	D	D	D	L	D	L	L	W	D	L	D	L	W	D	D	W
Position	8	10	14	14	12	12	13	14	16	16	16	16	16	15	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	15	16	15	15	15

Source: worldfootball.net
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

Wollongong City v Brisbane City

13 March 1983 1	Wollongong City	1–1	Brisbane City	Wollongong
	O'Connor   8'	Report	Willis   35' (o.g.)	Stadium: Ziems Park Attendance: 1,624^[1] Referee: Tim Davies

Newcastle KB United v Wollongong City

19 March 1983 2	Newcastle KB United	1–1	Wollongong City	Newcastle
	Lowe   85'	Report	Cotton   62'	Stadium: Newcastle International Sports Centre Attendance: 2,024 Referee: Arthur Owens

Wollongong City v APIA Leichhardt

27 March 1983 3	Wollongong City	1–1	APIA Leichhardt	Wollongong
	Fleming   19'	Report	Giampaolo   53'	Stadium: Ziems Park Attendance: 2,114 Referee: Richard Lorenc

Preston Makedonia v Wollongong City

3 April 1983 4	Preston Makedonia	3–2	Wollongong City	Melbourne
	Campbell   28' Lucchesi   44', 56'	Report	Cotton   65' Fleming   82'	Stadium: B.T. Connor Reserve Attendance: 4,500 Referee: Even Venios

Wollongong City v West Adelaide

10 April 1983 5	Wollongong City	1–1	West Adelaide	Wollongong
	Ainsworth   86'	Report	Atsalas   69'	Stadium: Ziems Park Attendance: 2,374 Referee: Peter Rampley

South Melbourne v Wollongong City

17 April 1983 6	South Melbourne	0–1	Wollongong City	Melbourne
		Report	O'Connor   80'	Stadium: Middle Park Attendance: 4,500 Referee: Even Venios

Wollongong City v Sydney City

24 April 1983 7	Wollongong City	2–3	Sydney City	Wollongong
15:00 AEST	O'Connor   1', 78'	Report	Kosmina   33', 83' (pen.) Kay   48'	Stadium: Ziems Park Attendance: 3,482 Referee: Ken Small

Canberra City v Wollongong City

30 April 1983 8	Canberra City	3–1	Wollongong City	Canberra
15:00 AEST	Bryant   20' G. Byrne   47' (pen.) Gibson   55'	Report	O'Connor   30'	Stadium: Bruce Stadium Attendance: 1,313 Referee: Bob Mee

Marconi Fairfield v Wollongong City

15 May 1983 10	Marconi Fairfield	5–4	Wollongong City	Sydney
	Winn   40', 43', 61' Jankovics   56' Carbone   90'	Report	Willis   49' (pen.) Cotton   74' Hunter   80' (o.g.) Fleming   82'	Stadium: Marconi Stadium Attendance: 2,160 Referee: Barry Wilkinson

Heidelberg United v Wollongong City

29 May 1983 12	Heidelberg United	2–0	Wollongong City	Melbourne
	Lea   9', 83'	Report		Stadium: Olympic Village Attendance: 2,000 Referee: Jim Fearn

Wollongong City v Footscray JUST

5 June 1983 13	Wollongong City	1–1	Footscray JUST	Wollongong
	O'Connor   25'	Report	Carroll   1'	Stadium: Ziems Park Attendance: 2,103 Referee: Richard Lorenc

Adelaide City v Wollongong City

12 June 1983 14	Adelaide City	2–2	Wollongong City	Adelaide
	Banfield   11' (pen.) Dods   43'	Report	McBreen   78', 83'	Stadium: Olympic Sports Field Attendance: 1,965 Referee: Don Campbell

Wollongong City v St George-Budapest

26 June 1983 15	Wollongong City	0–0	St George-Budapest	Wollongong
15:00 AEST		Report		Stadium: Ziems Park Attendance: 1,423 Referee: Ken Small

West Adelaide v Wollongong City

3 July 1983 16	West Adelaide	1–1	Wollongong City	Adelaide
	Atsalas   27'	Report	Cotton   9'	Stadium: Hindmarsh Stadium Attendance: 950 Referee: Don Campbell

Wollongong City v Sydney Olympic

6 July 1983 11	Wollongong City	1–2	Sydney Olympic	Sydney
	Cotton   27'	Report	Paterson   15' Patalis   66'	Stadium: St George Stadium Attendance: 3,095 Referee: Tim Davies

Wollongong City v Preston Makedonia

10 July 1983 17	Wollongong City	1–1	Preston Makedonia	Wollongong
15:00 AEST	Willis   44' (pen.)	Report	Odzakov   60'	Stadium: Ziems Park Attendance: 3,014 Referee: Barry Wilkinson

APIA Leichhardt v Wollongong City

17 July 1983 18	APIA Leichhardt	4–1	Wollongong City	Sydney
	Bradley   35', 76' DeCeglie   ?' Valeri   89'	Report	O'Connor   70'	Stadium: Lambert Park Attendance: 2,674 Referee: Arthur Owens

Wollongong City v South Melbourne

24 July 1983 19	Wollongong City	2–2	South Melbourne	Wollongong
	Dickson   ?' Gaffney   51'	Report	Brown   52' Egan   ?'	Stadium: Ziems Park Attendance: 1,565 Referee: Gary Power

Sydney City v Wollongong City

31 July 1983 20	Sydney City	3–1	Wollongong City	Sydney
	Gomez   58' Souness   68', 76' (pen.)	Report	Cotton   4'	Stadium: ES Marks Athletics Field Attendance: 768 Referee: Arthur Owens

Wollongong City v Canberra City

7 August 1983 21	Wollongong City	2–3	Canberra City	Wollongong
	Ainsworth   79' Cotton   81'	Report	Brennan   2' Farina   28' Gibson   90+3'	Stadium: Ziems Park Attendance: 1,173 Referee: Ken Small

Brisbane Lions v Wollongong City

14 August 1983 22	Brisbane Lions	1–2	Wollongong City	Brisbane
	Stewart   14'	Report	Cotton   34' O'Connor   90'	Stadium: Richlands Stadium Attendance: 2,500 Referee: Bill Monteverde

Wollongong City v Marconi Fairfield

21 August 1983 23	Wollongong City	1–1	Marconi Fairfield	Wollongong
	Dickson   79'	Report	Vardareff   80' (o.g.)	Stadium: Ziems Park Attendance: 2,000 Referee: Richard Lorenc

Footscray JUST v Wollongong City

28 August 1983 24	Footscray JUST	3–1	Wollongong City	Melbourne
	Paton   44', 65', 85'	Report	Cotton   10'	Stadium: Schintler Reserve Attendance: 1,500 Referee: Evan Venios

Wollongong City v Heidelberg United

4 September 1983 25	Wollongong City	0–0	Heidelberg United	Wollongong
		Report		Stadium: Ziems Park Attendance: 1,000

St George-Budapest v Wollongong City

10 September 1983 26	St George-Budapest	4–0	Wollongong City	Sydney
	Slater   48' Wilkinson   65' Marton   71', 84'	Report		Stadium: St George Stadium Attendance: 1,720 Referee: Ken Small

Wollongong City v Adelaide City

18 September 1983 27	Wollongong City	3–1	Adelaide City	Wollongong
	O'Connor   43', 88' Cotton   59'	Report	Mullen   75'	Stadium: Wollongong Showground Attendance: 1,100 Referee: Barry Wilkinson

Sydney Olympic v Wollongong City

25 September 1983 28	Sydney Olympic	3–3	Wollongong City	Sydney
	Patikas   2', 69' Patalis   17'	Report	O'Connor   24' Willis   60', 90+2'	Stadium: St George Stadium Attendance: 3,100 Referee: Tony Boskovic

Wollongong City v Newcastle KB United

2 October 1983 29	Wollongong City	2–2	Newcastle KB United	Wollongong
	Cotton   6' Dunleavy   28'	Report	Lowe   70', 89'	Stadium: Wollongong Showground Attendance: 1,000

Brisbane City v Wollongong City

9 October 1983 30	Brisbane City	0–2	Wollongong City	Brisbane
		Report	Dunleavy   9' O'Connor   13'	Stadium: Spencer Park Attendance: 800 Referee: Dave Nugent

Wollongong City v Brisbane Lions

16 October 1983 9	Wollongong City	1–1	Brisbane Lions	Wollongong
	Cotton   42'	Report	Wright   26'	Stadium: Wollongong Showground Attendance: 1,000 Referee: Gary Power

NSL Cup

Canberra City v Wollongong City

6 March 1983 First round	Canberra City	2–1	Wollongong City	Queanbeyan
	Redmond   5' Gibson   34'	Report	Cotton   43'	Stadium: Seiffert Oval Attendance: 1,200 Referee: Bob Mee

Statistics

Appearances and goals

Players with no appearances not included in the list.^[2][3]

No.	Pos.	Nat.	Name	National Soccer League		NSL Cup		Total
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK		Jim Preston	17	0	1	0	18	0
2	MF		Peter Willis	30	4	1	0	31	4
3	DF		Steve Pollard	22	0	1	0	23	0
4	DF		Chris Dunleavy	22	2	1	0	23	2
5	DF		Ray Vliestra	23	0	1	0	24	0
6	DF		Jeff Ainsworth	30	2	1	0	31	2
7	DF		Alan Waldron	2(1)	0	0	0	3	0
8	MF		John Fleming	23(1)	3	1	0	25	3
9	MF		Roy Cotton	29	12	1	1	30	13
10	MF		Larry Gaffney	24(2)	1	1	0	27	1
11	FW		Phil O'Connor	28	12	1	0	29	12
12			Jim McBreen	22(1)	2	1	0	24	2
13	DF		Phil Kerr	20(1)	0	0	0	21	0
14	FW		Glen Fontana	0(1)	0	0	0	1	0
15	DF		David Green	1(4)	0	0	0	5	0
20	GK		Natch Vardareff	13	0	0	0	13	0
—	DF		Warren Baker	2	0	0	0	2	0
—	DF		Scott Dickson	11(3)	2	0	0	14	2
—	DF		Jamie Dummett	6	0	0	0	6	0
—	DF		Phil Muhlbauer	5	0	0	0	5	0

Clean sheets

Rank	No.	Pos	Nat	Name	National Soccer League	NSL Cup	Total
1	1	GK		Jim Preston	2	0	2
	20	GK		Natch Vardareff	2	0	2
Total					4	0	4

References

1. "1983 National Soccer League Results". ozfootball.net. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
2. "Australia's Premier Football Player Archive". ozfootball.net. Aussie Footballers. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
3. "1983 National Soccer League Cup Results". ozfootball.net. Retrieved 27 June 2022.