1988 National Soccer League
# 1988 National Soccer League

The 1988 National Soccer League season, was the 12th season of the National Soccer League in Australia.

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Wollongong City | 26 | 13 | 8 | 5 | 44 | 32 | +12 | 34 | Qualification for the Finals series |
| 2 | Sydney Croatia | 26 | 15 | 4 | 7 | 38 | 30 | +8 | 34 | Qualification for the Finals series |
| 3 | South Melbourne | 26 | 13 | 8 | 5 | 36 | 29 | +7 | 34 | Qualification for the Finals series |
| 4 | Marconi Fairfield (C) | 26 | 12 | 8 | 6 | 46 | 26 | +20 | 32 | Qualification for the Finals series |
| 5 | Sydney Olympic | 26 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 28 | 22 | +6 | 27 | Qualification for the Finals series |
| 6 | Adelaide City | 26 | 10 | 7 | 9 | 36 | 35 | +1 | 27 | |
| 7 | Sunshine George Cross | 26 | 11 | 5 | 10 | 38 | 39 | −1 | 27 | |
| 8 | St George-Budapest | 26 | 10 | 6 | 10 | 41 | 35 | +6 | 26 | |
| 9 | Melbourne Croatia | 26 | 9 | 6 | 11 | 28 | 33 | −5 | 24 | |
| 10 | Footscray JUST | 26 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 34 | 32 | +2 | 23 | |
| 11 | APIA Leichhardt | 26 | 8 | 7 | 11 | 28 | 35 | −7 | 23 | |
| 12 | Preston Makedonia | 26 | 5 | 12 | 9 | 29 | 35 | −6 | 22 | |
| 13 | Brunswick Juventus (R) | 26 | 7 | 5 | 14 | 31 | 43 | −12 | 19 | Relegation to the Victorian State League |
| 14 | Brisbane Lions (R) | 26 | 4 | 4 | 18 | 28 | 59 | −31 | 12 | Relegation to the Brisbane Premier League |

## Finals series

| Elimination and qualifying Finals | Elimination and qualifying Finals | Elimination and qualifying Finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Preliminary Final | Preliminary Final | Preliminary Final | Grand Final | Grand Final | Grand Final |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | | | 1 | Wollongong City | 0 (3) | | | | 2 | Sydney Croatia | 2 (4) |
| | | | 2 | Sydney Croatia (p) | 0 (4) | | | | 4 | Marconi Fairfield (p) | 2 (5) |
| 2 | Sydney Croatia | 2 | | | | 1 | Wollongong City | 0 | | | |
| 3 | South Melbourne | 1 | | | | 4 | Marconi Fairfield | 2 | | | |
| | | | 3 | South Melbourne | 1 | | | | | | |
| | | | 4 | Marconi Fairfield | 2 | | | | | | |
| 4 | Marconi Fairfield | 3 | | | | | | | | | |
| 5 | Sydney Olympic | 1 | | | | | | | | | |

## Individual awards

* Player(s) of the Year: Paul Wade (South Melbourne); Frank Farina (Marconi Fairfield)
* U-21 Player of the Year: Paul Trimboli (South Melbourne)
* Top Scorer: Frank Farina (Marconi Fairfield) – 16 goals
* Coach of the Year: Brian Garvey (South Melbourne)
