Women's National Soccer League

The Women's National Soccer League (WNSL) was Australia's top women's soccer league. Originally known as the Ansett Australia Summer Series for sponsorship reasons, the WNSL began in 1996 consisting of six clubs and continued through until 2004, folding alongside the National Soccer League. It was not until 2008 that a women's top flight league was re-established in Australia, named the W-League, as of the 2021–22 season renamed A-League Women.

History Women's soccer in Australia up until the 1974 FIFA World Cup where the Australia men's team qualified for the first time, was virtually non-existent in regards to any organised competition or formalized structure. However in August of 1974, the first National Women's Championships were held in Sydney between five teams of state representation (New South Wales, Northern New South Wales, Victoria, South Queensland and Western Australia). The matches were played at Granville, Centennial Park, and Bankstown in Sydney, with New South Wales winning the inaugural championship.

Following this initial tournament, representatives from the sides who had participated met and formed the Australian Women's Soccer Association (AWSA). National championships were held annually until 1993. In 1996, the AWSA established the Women's National Soccer League which gained national recognition when the competition was sponsored by Ansett Airlines. Clubs in the league were initially representatives of the various state-based institutes of sports. The league was initially split into two conferences (North & Southern), similar to that of the men's National Soccer League. The southern conference was represented by ACT Academy of Sports (later became Canberra Eclipse), ITC Victoria (later became Victoria Vision), SA Sports Institute (later became Adelaide Sensation). The northern conference was represented by NSW Institute of Sport (later became NSW Sapphires), Queensland Academy of Sport (later became Queensland Sting) and Northern NSW ITC (later became Northern NSW Pride). Western Australia would receive representation during the final season with the introduction of the Western Waves.

The WNSL disbanded in 2004 alongside the National Soccer League. Queensland Sting were the most successful side winning 4 championships.

Clubs Club City Home Ground Other Names Adelaide Sensation Adelaide, South Australia Hindmarsh Stadium SA Sports Institute, SASI Buffalo Pirates Canberra Eclipse Canberra, Australian Capital Territory AIS, McKellar Stadium ACT Academy of Sports Northern NSW Pride Newcastle, New South Wales Weston Park, Wanderers Oval Northern NSW ITC, NNSW Horizon NSW Sapphires FC Sydney, New South Wales Sydney United Sports Centre NSW Institute of Sport Queensland Sting FC Brisbane, Queensland Perry Park, QAS Centre Queensland Academy of Sport Victoria Vision Melbourne, Victoria Bulleen Soccer Club ITC Victoria Western Waves* Perth, Western Australia Perth Oval

In 2004, Western Waves was given temporary entry to the WNSL for six games.

Champions Season Winner Result Runner-up 1996–97 QAS 2–1 SASI 1997–98 NSWIS 3–2 SASI 1998–99 SASI Pirates 2–0 Canberra Eclipse 1999 NSW Sapphires FC 1–0 SASI Pirates 2000–01 Queensland Sting FC 1–0 NSW Sapphires FC 2001–02 Canberra Eclipse 1–0 NSW Sapphires FC 2002–03 Queensland Sting FC 1–0 NSW Sapphires FC 2003–04 NSW Sapphires FC 3–1 Queensland Sting FC 2004 Queensland Sting FC 2–0 Northern NSW Pride Ref.

Individual honours Julie Dolan Medal

The medal is awarded annually to the player voted to be the best player in Women's soccer leagues in Australia, named after former Matildas Captain and football administrator Julie Dolan. The award was for the best player in the WNSL, and is currently maintained in the successor competition, the W-League (now known as the A-League Women). The following table contains only those winners of the medal who were awarded it during the WNSL era. Year Winner Club 1996–97 unknown 1997–98 Sharon Black SA Sports Institute 1998–99 Julie Murray NSWIS Sapphires 1999–00 Ann Marie Vozzo SASI Pirates 2000–01 Taryn Rockall NSW Sapphires FC 2001–02 Joanne Peters NSW Sapphires FC 2002–03 Lisa De Vanna Heather Garriock Adelaide Sensation Queensland Sting 2003–04 2004–05 Taryn Rockall NSW Sapphires FC

Golden Boot Season Top Scorer Club Goals 1996–97 Kristy Moore SASI 9 1997–98 Sharon Black SASI 11 1998–99 Lisa Casagrande CNB 16 1999 Belinda Dawney QLD 7 2000–01 Taryn Rockall NSW 6 2001–02 Caitlin Munoz CNB 9 2002–03 Lisa De Vanna ADE 9 2003–04 Catherine Cannuli NSW13 2004 Katie Gill NNSW 13

WNSL Rising Star Award Year Winner Club 2002–03 Erin Hunter Northern NSW Pride 2004–05 Sasha McDonnell Queensland Sting

Women's National Soccer League

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