The 1996–97 NSL Cup was the 21st and final edition of the NSL Cup, which was the main national association football knockout cup competition in Australia. The NSL Cup was sponsored by Johnnie Walker and known as the Johnnie Walker Cup for sponsorship purposes.
South Melbourne were the defending champions, having defeated Newcastle Breakers to win their second title in the previous season's final, but they were eliminated in the semi-finals by eventual winners Collingwood Warriors.
Collingwood Warriors defeated Marconi Fairfield 1–0 in the final to win their first NSL Cup title.
Teams The NSL Cup was a knockout competition with 16 teams taking part all trying to reach the Final in October 1996. The competition consisted of 13 out of 14 teams from the National Soccer League (with the exclusion of Perth Glory) plus Brisbane Lions and two state representative sides of Northern NSW Soccer Federation and South Australian Soccer Federation.
Round Main date Number of fixtures Clubs remaining First round 8 16 → 8 Quarter-finals Saturday 21 September 1996 4 8 → 4 Semi-finals Saturday 28 September 1996 2 4 → 2 Final Sunday 6 October 1996 1 2 → 1
Bracket
First round
Marconi Fairfield won 4–1 on aggregate
UTS Olympic won 2–0 on aggregate
South Melbourne won 4–2 on aggregate
Brisbane Strikers won 2–1 on aggregate
Melbourne Knights won 4–2 on aggregate
Newcastle Breakers won 12–2 on aggregate
Adelaide City won 1–0 on aggregate
Collingwood Warriors won 2–1 on aggregate
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final
References