The 2008 TeleChoice Premier League season was the eighth season of the revamped NSW Premier League. This season also marked the promotion of two new teams, in the West Sydney Berries and the Macarthur Rams from the Super League (one division lower). This increased the teams competing in the competition from 10 to 12 teams and the number of rounds from 18 to 22 in the regular season.
| Champions | Wollongong FC |
|---|---|
| Premiers | Sutherland Sharks FC |
| Top goalscorer | Robert Younis (21) |
← 2007 2009 → | |
The 2008 season officially began on 22 February and concluded with the grand final between Wollongong FC and the Sutherland Sharks on 7 September.
Before the start of the season, all the 2008 teams competed in the Johnny Warren Cup, the official pre-season tournament. On 16 February, Sydney Olympic defeated the Sutherland Sharks 2 goals to 1 at Seymour Shaw Park to win the Johnny Warren Cup.[1]
Throughout the season many Premier League, Super League, Division One and Division Two teams competed in an FA Cup-style knockout competition in which the Bankstown City Lions and Sydney Olympic contested the grand final with Bankstown prevailing 3–1 winners.[2]
Changes from Previous Season edit
The number of teams competing increased from 10 to 12, with the inclusion of the West Sydney Berries and the Macarthur Rams. The regular season remained a home-away round-robin format, thus increasing the number of rounds from 18 to 22. The final series was therefore also adapted. The number of teams competing in the finals series increased from 4 to 5. The finals series used a 5-team McIntyre system to determine the champions.
Clubs edit
Teams promoted from Super League:
(After the end of the 2007 season.)
Teams relegated to Super League:
(After the end of the 2007 season.)
- Nil
| Club | Ground | Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| A.P.I.A. Leichhardt Tigers | Lambert Park | 7,000 |
| Bankstown City Lions FC | Jensen Oval | 8,000 |
| Blacktown City Demons FC | Fairfax Community Stadium | 7,500 |
| Macarthur Rams | Campbelltown Stadium | 20,000 |
| Manly United FC | Cromer Park | 5,000 |
| Marconi Stallions FC | Marconi Stadium | 11,500 |
| Penrith Nepean United FC | CUA Stadium | 21,000 |
| Sutherland Sharks FC | Seymour Shaw Park | 5,000 |
| Sydney Olympic FC | Belmore Sports Ground | 25,000 |
| Sydney United FC | Sydney United Sports Centre | 12,000 |
| West Sydney Berries FC | Sydney Olympic Park Athletic Centre | 18,000 |
| Wollongong FC | John Crehan Park | 7,500 |
Regular season edit
League table edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sutherland Sharks | 22 | 12 | 8 | 2 | 48 | 19 | +29 | 44 | Qualified for the Championship Finals series |
| 2 | Wollongong FC (C) | 22 | 13 | 5 | 4 | 39 | 19 | +20 | 44 | |
| 3 | Sydney Olympic | 22 | 12 | 5 | 5 | 38 | 23 | +15 | 41 | |
| 4 | Manly United | 22 | 12 | 3 | 7 | 42 | 21 | +21 | 39 | |
| 5 | Sydney United | 22 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 29 | 21 | +8 | 34 | |
| 6 | APIA Leichhardt Tigers | 22 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 41 | 35 | +6 | 34 | |
| 7 | Bankstown City | 22 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 27 | 27 | 0 | 27 | |
| 8 | West Sydney Berries | 22 | 7 | 3 | 12 | 30 | 41 | −11 | 24 | |
| 9 | Marconi Stallions | 22 | 3 | 10 | 9 | 29 | 41 | −12 | 19 | |
| 10 | Macarthur Rams (R) | 22 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 16 | 41 | −25 | 19 | Relegation to Super League |
| 11 | Penrith Nepean United | 22 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 25 | 50 | −25 | 17 | |
| 12 | Blacktown City | 22 | 3 | 7 | 12 | 14 | 40 | −26 | 16 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Results edit
Finals series edit
| Qualifying Finals | Semi-finals | Preliminary final | Grand final | |||||||||||||||
| 1 | Sutherland Sharks | 1 | 2 | Wollongong FC | 4 | |||||||||||||
| 2 | Wollongong FC | 2 | 1 | Sutherland Sharks | 2 | |||||||||||||
| 2 | Wollongong FC | 3 | 1 | Sutherland Sharks | 2 | |||||||||||||
| 3 | Sydney Olympic FC | 2 | 3 | Sydney Olympic FC | 1 | |||||||||||||
| 3 | Sydney Olympic | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Manly United FC | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Manly United FC | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Sydney United FC | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
Qualifying Finals edit
| 15 August 2008 Qualifying Final | Wollongong FC | 3–2 | Sydney Olympic FC | WIN Stadium, Wollongong |
| 19:30 UTC+10 | Ilija Prenzoski  12', 90'Matt Bailey 84' |
Report | Siraj Al Tall 73' Matthew Mayora 75' |
Attendance: 1,200 approx. Referee: Strebre Delovski |
| 15 August 2008 Elimination final | Manly United FC | 2–1 | Sydney United FC | Cromer Park, Sydney |
| 19:45 UTC+10 | Craig Midgley 56', 85' |
Report | Luka Glavaš 61' |
Attendance: 1,000 approx. Referee: Peter Vrtkovski |
Semi-finals edit
| 24 August 2008 Minor semi-final | Sydney Olympic FC | 2–1 | Manly United FC | Belmore Sports Ground, Sydney |
| 15:00 UTC+10 | Paul Wither 32', 61' |
Report | Michael Lloyd-Green 47' |
Attendance: 900 approx. Referee: Atila Stibinger |
| 24 August 2008 Major semi-final | Sutherland Sharks FC | 1–2 | Wollongong FC | Seymour Shaw Park, Sydney |
| 15:00 UTC+10 | Jim Bakis 10' |
Report | Matt Bailey 66' Ilija Prenzoski 106' |
Attendance: 983 Referee: Peter Vrtkovski |
Preliminary final edit
| 20 August 2008 | Sutherland Sharks FC | 2–1 | Sydney Olympic FC | Seymour Shaw Park, Sydney |
| 19:30 UTC+10 | David Reid 13' Nick Stavroulakis 25' |
Report | Anthony Hartshorn 53' |
Attendance: 1,020 Referee: James Lewis |
Grand final edit
| 7 September 2008 | Wollongong FC | 4–2 | Sutherland Sharks FC | CUA Stadium, Sydney |
| 15:00 UTC+10 | Matt Bailey 28' Tynan Diaz 38'Chris Price 60' (pen.) Samet Kaynak 90 + 3' |
Report | Nick Stavroulakis 8' Neil Jablonski 90+2' |
Attendance: 4,586 approx. Referee: Jonathan Streater |
Gold Medal Dinner edit
At the end of the season, Football NSW hosted the Gold Medal Dinner, where players, coaches and referees were awarded for their work throughout the Premier League season.[3]
| Award | Grade | Name | Club |
|---|---|---|---|
| Player of the Year | First Grade | Brendan Gan | Sutherland Sharks |
| Andreas Golden Boot | First Grade | Robert Younis | A.P.I.A. Leichhardt Tigers |
| Player of the Year | 20's | Daniel Rezo | Sydney United |
| Golden Boot | 20's | Brodie Mooy | Marconi Stallions |
| Goalkeeper of the Year | First Grade | Matthew Nash | A.P.I.A. Leichhardt Tigers |
| Coach of the Year | First Grade | Brian Brown | Sutherland Sharks |
| Referee of the Year | – | Jonathan Streater | – |
All-Stars Team edit
Based on a points system in which all match reporters took part in during the course of the 22 rounds, eleven players were selected in various positions highlighting their performances for season 2008.
Goalkeeper: Matthew Nash (A.P.I.A. Leichhardt Tigers)
Defence: Emmanuel Zunino (Sydney Olympic), Pedj Bojić (Sutherland Sharks), Danial Cummins (Wollongong FC), Shane Webb (Bankstown City Lions)
Midfield: Nahuel Arrarte (Marconi Stallions), Robbie Cattanach (Manly United), Brendan Gan (Sutherland Sharks), Christopher Boyle (Sydney United)
Attack: Robert Younis (A.P.I.A. Leichhardt Tigers), Brad Boardman (Sutherland Sharks)
Coach: 
Brian "Bomber" Brown
See also edit
References edit
- ^ "10-man Olympic clinch Johnny Warren Cup".
- ^ "Bankstown City Lions clinch 2008 Tiger Turf Cup". Archived from the original on 27 February 2012. Retrieved 10 August 2008.
- ^ "2008 Gold Medal Dinner a huge success as Brendan Gan scoops major award". Football NSW. 26 September 2008. Retrieved 5 April 2009.