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A-League

Season	2005–06
Dates	26 August 2005 – 5 March 2006
Champions	Sydney FC (1st title)
Premiers	Adelaide United (1st title)
Champions League	Sydney FC Adelaide United
Matches played	84
Goals scored	232 (2.76 per match)
Top goalscorer	Alex Brosque Bobby Despotovski Archie Thompson Stewart Petrie (8 goals)
Best goalkeeper	Clint Bolton
Biggest home win	Melbourne Victory 5–0 Sydney FC (16 October 2005)
Biggest away win	Newcastle Jets 0–5 Queensland Roar (26 January 2006)
Highest attendance	25,557
Lowest attendance	1,922
Average attendance	10,955
← 2003–04 NSL 2006–07 →

The 2005–06 A-League was the 29th season of top-flight soccer in Australia, and the inaugural season of the A-League. After over 12 months without a national professional club competition since the close of the 2003–04 National Soccer League season, the first match in the A-League was played on 26 August 2005. The competition was made up of a triple round robin league stage before a championship playoff featuring the top four teams.

Of the eight participants, four came from the National Soccer League (1977–2004): Perth Glory (established 1995), New Zealand Knights (1999), Newcastle Jets (2000) and Adelaide United (2003). New Zealand Knights had previously entered the NSL as the Auckland Football Kingz, but were significantly restructured and have a vastly different playing roster. Queensland Roar previously competed in the NSL from 1977 to 1988 and had competed in the Queensland State League since then as Brisbane Lions.

Adelaide United were named Premiers after finishing the season seven points clear at the top of the league. The first A-League Grand Final took place on 5 March 2006, with Sydney FC becoming the league's inaugural Champions, defeating the Central Coast Mariners 1–0.

Clubs

Foreign players

Club	Visa 1	Visa 2	Visa 3	Visa 4	Non-Visa foreigner(s)	Former player(s)
Adelaide United	Fernando	Qu Shengqing
Central Coast Mariners	André Gumprecht	Wayne O'Sullivan	Stewart Petrie		John Hutchinson Ian Ferguson
Melbourne Victory	Richard Kitzbichler	Geoffrey Claeys
New Zealand Knights	Zhang Xiaobin	Darren Bazeley	Ben Collett	Neil Emblen	Li Yan Ronnie Bull Naoki Imaya Frank van Eijs Sean Devine	Simon Yeo
Newcastle Jets	Guy Bates	Mateo Corbo			Vaughan Coveny
Perth Glory	Steve McMahon	Hiroyuki Ishida	Danny Hay	Henry Fa'arodo	Stuart Young Milan Jovanić
Queensland Roar	Reinaldo	Remo Buess	Osvaldo Carro		Seo Hyuk-su
Sydney FC	Terry McFlynn	Dwight Yorke	Alejandro Salazar			Kazuyoshi Miura

The following do not fill a Visa position:
Those players who were born and started their professional career abroad but have since gained Australian Residency (and New Zealand Residency, in the case of Wellington Phoenix);
Australian residents (and New Zealand residents, in the case of Wellington Phoenix) who have chosen to represent another national team;
Injury Replacement Players, or National Team Replacement Players;
Guest Players (eligible to play a maximum of ten games)

Salary cap exemptions and captains

Club	Marquee	Captain	Vice-Captain
Adelaide United	Qu Shengqing	Ross Aloisi	None
Central Coast Mariners	None	Noel Spencer	None
Melbourne Victory	Archie Thompson	Kevin Muscat	None
New Zealand Knights	None	Danny Hay Darren Bazeley	None
Newcastle Jets	Ned Zelic	Ned Zelic	None
Perth Glory	Brian Deane	Jamie Harnwell	None
Queensland Roar	None	Chad Gibson	None
Sydney FC	Dwight Yorke	Mark Rudan	None

Preliminary Competitions

Two competitions were held prior to the start of the A-League season.

Oceania Club Championship Qualification

This three-round competition was held in May 2005 to determine Australia's qualifier for the 2005 season of the Oceania Club Championship. It consisted of all Australian A-League clubs (i.e. all clubs except for the New Zealand Knights) and granted Perth Glory – the reigning NSL champions – a bye into the semi-finals.

Sydney FC qualified for and subsequently won the 2005 Oceania Club Championship entitling it to a place in the 2005 FIFA Club World Championship to be played in Tokyo.

Pre-Season Challenge Cup

The inaugural pre-season cup was held in July and August in the lead up to the start of the A-League season. The competition featured a group stage and a knockout stage. Commentators did not give much weight to the competition as a guide for performance during the season proper, as injuries or club strategic policy ruled that many teams did not use their best players and often used experimental tactics.

Group stage

Finals

The Central Coast Mariners were the inaugural Pre-season Challenge Cup winners.

Regular season

The A-League season commenced on 26 August 2005 with two Friday night fixtures. Games each round were held throughout the weekend, though certain rounds also featured Thursday night games. As there was no concurrent cup competition, midweek fixtures were uncommon unless they were held on Australian public holidays. A three-week break was also scheduled in December to coincide with the 2005 FIFA Club World Cup in Tokyo.

League table

1. New Zealand Knights cannot qualify for the AFC Champions League as they are not recognised as an AFC club.

Results

Round 1

26 August 2005	Perth Glory	0–1	Central Coast Mariners	Members Equity Stadium, Perth
20:00 UTC+8		Report Summary	Spencer 66'	Attendance: 11,113 Referee: Ben Williams

26 August 2005	Newcastle Jets	0–1	Adelaide United	EnergyAustralia Stadium, Newcastle
20:00 UTC+10		Report Summary	Veart 19'	Attendance: 13,160 Referee: Peter O'Leary

28 August 2005	Queensland Roar	2–0	New Zealand Knights	Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
15:00 UTC+10	Brosque 80' Baird 86'	Report Summary		Attendance: 20,725 Referee: Matthew Breeze

28 August 2005	Sydney FC	1–1	Melbourne Victory	Aussie Stadium, Sydney
17:00 UTC+10	Yorke 44'	Report Summary	Thompson 73'	Attendance: 25,208 Referee: Mark Shield

Round 2

2 September 2005	New Zealand Knights	1–3	Sydney FC	North Harbour Stadium, Auckland
20:00 UTC+12	Rose 69'	Report Summary	Rudan 25' Bingley 73' Middleby 90+4'	Attendance: 9,827 Referee: Peter O'Leary

4 September 2005	Central Coast Mariners	1–1	Newcastle Jets	Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford
15:00 UTC+10	Petrie 69'	Report Summary	Milicic 25'	Attendance: 5,917 Referee: Mark Shield

4 September 2005	Melbourne Victory	2–2	Perth Glory	Olympic Park Stadium, Melbourne
17:00 UTC+10	Kitzbichler 11' Muscat 85' (pen.)	Report Summary	Caceres 40' Despotovski 56'	Attendance: 17,960 Referee: Matthew Breeze

Round 3

9 September 2005	Adelaide United	1–0	Melbourne Victory	Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide
19:30 UTC+9:30	Brain 1'	Report Summary		Attendance: 8,785 Referee: Peter O'Leary

10 September 2005	Perth Glory	2–1	Queensland Roar	Members Equity Stadium, Perth
19:35 UTC+8	Despotovski 54', 72'	Report Summary	Moon 76'	Attendance: 8,509 Referee: Simon Przydacz

10 September 2005	Central Coast Mariners	0–2	New Zealand Knights	Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford
19:35 UTC+10		Report Summary	Yeo 69' Devine 80'	Attendance: 5,261 Referee: Ben Williams

11 September 2005	Newcastle Jets	2–1	Sydney FC	EnergyAustralia Stadium, Newcastle
17:00 UTC+10	Milicic 6' Johnson 18'	Report Summary	Yorke 78'	Attendance: 9,127 Referee: Matthew Breeze

Round 4

16 September 2005	Sydney FC	2–3	Central Coast Mariners	Aussie Stadium, Sydney
20:00 UTC+10	Packer 13' Yorke 72'	Report Summary	Petrie 20' (pen.) Gumprecht 35' Spencer 90+1'	Attendance: 15,614 Referee: Peter O'Leary

17 September 2005	Perth Glory	1–2	Adelaide United	Members Equity Stadium, Perth
19:35 UTC+8	Valkanis 20' (o.g.)	Report Summary	Aloisi 32' Qu 65'	Attendance: 8,052 Referee: Matthew Breeze

18 September 2005	Queensland Roar	1–1	Melbourne Victory	Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
15:00 UTC+10	Baird 62'	Report Summary	Allsopp 88'	Attendance: 15,444 Referee: Ben Williams

18 September 2005	Newcastle Jets	4–0	New Zealand Knights	EnergyAustralia Stadium, Newcastle
17:00 UTC+10	Haliti 12' Thompson 26' Musialik 37' Carle 70' (pen.)	Report Summary		Attendance: 7,495 Referee: Simon Przydacz

Round 5

22 September 2005	New Zealand Knights	0–1	Perth Glory	North Harbour Stadium, Auckland
20:00 UTC+12		Report Summary	Harnwell 68'	Attendance: 4,138 Referee: Neil Fox

23 September 2005	Queensland Roar	1–3	Sydney FC	Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
20:00 UTC+10	Timpano 50' (o.g.)	Report Summary	Corica 5', 67' McFlynn 68'	Attendance: 23,142 Referee: Matthew Breeze

25 September 2005	Melbourne Victory	1–0	Newcastle Jets	Olympic Park Stadium, Melbourne
17:00 UTC+10	Thompson 68'	Report Summary		Attendance: 13,831 Referee: Craig Zetter

25 September 2005	Adelaide United	1–1	Central Coast Mariners	Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide
17:00 UTC+9:30	Valkanis 34'	Report Summary	Kwasnik 19'	Attendance: 7,013 Referee: Angelo Nardi

Round 6

30 September 2005	Central Coast Mariners	1–2	Melbourne Victory	Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford
20:00 UTC+10	Heffernan 33'	Report Summary	Thompson 73' Leijer 81'	Attendance: 9,313 Referee: Ben Williams

1 October 2005	Newcastle Jets	0–1	Queensland Roar	EnergyAustralia Stadium, Newcastle
19:35 UTC+10		Report Summary	Moon 68'	Attendance: 7,436 Referee: Strebre Delovski

1 October 2005	Perth Glory	1–2	Sydney FC	Members Equity Stadium, Perth
19:35 UTC+8	Despotovski 40'	Report Summary	Petrovski 48' Yorke 65'	Attendance: 13,157 Referee: Matthew Breeze

2 October 2005	New Zealand Knights	1–2	Adelaide United	North Harbour Stadium, Auckland
18:00 UTC+12	Yeo 44'	Report Summary	Dodd 34' Qu 81'	Attendance: 3,558 Referee: Peter O'Leary

Round 7

7 October 2005	Queensland Roar	1–1	Central Coast Mariners	Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
20:00 UTC+10	Seo 57'	Report Summary	Spencer 41'	Attendance: 13,195 Referee: Perry Mur

8 October 2005	Newcastle Jets	1–5	Perth Glory	EnergyAustralia Stadium, Newcastle
19:30 UTC+10	Parisi 72'	Report Summary	Mori 33', 62' Harnwell 46' Despotovski 52' Sekulovski 80'	Attendance: 5,868 Referee: James Lewis

9 October 2005	Sydney FC	2–1	Adelaide United	Aussie Stadium, Sydney
17:00 UTC+10	Carney 54' Petrovski 88'	Report Summary	Valkanis 51'	Attendance: 18,276 Referee: Mark Shield

10 October 2005	Melbourne Victory	3–0	New Zealand Knights	Olympic Park Stadium, Melbourne
19:00 UTC+10	Kitzbichler 23' Muscat 62' Diaco 64'	Report Summary		Attendance: 11,010 Referee: Peter Green

Round 8

14 October 2005	Adelaide United	2–4	Newcastle Jets	Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide
19:30 UTC+9:30	Valkanis 38' Corbo 67' (o.g.)	Report Summary	Kemp 12' (o.g.) Carle 22', 89' Zelic 68'	Attendance: 13,182 Referee: Mark Shield

16 October 2005	Melbourne Victory	5–0	Sydney FC	Olympic Park Stadium, Melbourne
13:00 UTC+10	Kitzbichler 34' Muscat 53' (pen.), 78' (pen.) Thompson 57', 69'	Report Summary		Attendance: 18,206 Referee: Matthew Breeze

16 October 2005	Central Coast Mariners	4–0	Perth Glory	Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford
17:00 UTC+10	Petrie 14', 48' Heffernan 85' Spencer 90+3'	Report Summary		Attendance: 6,494 Referee: Ben Williams

16 October 2005	New Zealand Knights	0–2	Queensland Roar	North Harbour Stadium, Auckland
18:00 UTC+12		Report Summary	Seo 8' Baird 57'	Attendance: 4,182 Referee: Simon Przydacz

Round 9

21 October 2005	Sydney FC	2–0	New Zealand Knights	Aussie Stadium, Sydney
20:00 UTC+10	Petrovski 10' Carney 30'	Report Summary		Attendance: 11,836 Referee: Ben Williams

22 October 2005	Queensland Roar	1–2	Adelaide United	Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
19:30 UTC+10	Brownlie 76'	Report Summary	Fernando 59' Pantelis 89'	Attendance: 15,181 Referee: Peter O'Leary

23 October 2005	Newcastle Jets	1–0	Central Coast Mariners	Energy Australia Stadium
17:00 UTC+10	Parisi 88'	Report Summary		Attendance: 9,371 Referee: Matthew Breeze

23 October 2005	Perth Glory	2–1	Melbourne Victory	Members Equity Stadium, Perth
17:00 UTC+8	Deane 22' Sekulovski 55'	Report Summary	Thompson 39'	Attendance: 12,312 Referee: Mark Shield

Round 10

28 October 2005	Melbourne Victory	0–1	Adelaide United	Olympic Park Stadium, Melbourne
20:00 UTC+10		Report Summary	Veart 83'	Attendance: 16,201 Referee: Matthew Breeze

29 October 2005	New Zealand Knights	1–3	Central Coast Mariners	North Harbour Stadium, Auckland
20:00 UTC+12	Yeo 7' (pen.)	Report Summary	Heffernan 4' Petrie 49', 72' (pen.)	Attendance: 2,583 Referee: Neil Fox

30 October 2005	Sydney FC	1–1	Newcastle Jets	Aussie Stadium, Sydney
17:00 UTC+10	Carney 73'	Report Summary	Milicic 77'	Attendance: 9,132 Referee: Mark Shield

Round 11

4 November 2005	New Zealand Knights	2–4	Newcastle Jets	North Harbour Stadium, Auckland
20:00 UTC+13	Brockie 71', 77'	Report Summary	Milicic 18', 28', 56' Thompson 21'	Attendance: 2,561 Referee: Matthew Breeze

4 November 2005	Melbourne Victory	0–1	Queensland Roar	Olympic Park Stadium, Melbourne
20:00 UTC+11		Report Summary	McKay 15'	Attendance: 13,239 Referee: Mark Shield

5 November 2005	Central Coast Mariners	1–5	Sydney FC	Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford
20:00 UTC+11	Hutchinson 40'	Report Summary	Yorke 9' (pen.) Talay 14' Petrovski 23', 68', 83'	Attendance: 10,529 Referee: Simon Przydacz

6 November 2005	Adelaide United	2–4	Perth Glory	Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide
16:30 UTC+10:30	Veart 13' (pen.) Rees 53'	Report Summary	Mori 9', 34', 45+1' Despotovski 39' (pen.)	Attendance: 10,868 Referee: Ben Williams

Round 12

11 November 2005	Perth Glory	3–0	New Zealand Knights	Members Equity Stadium, Perth
19:00 UTC+8	Ward 69' Sekulovski 25' Despotovski 12'			Attendance: 9,667 Referee: Craig Zetter

13 November 2005	Central Coast Mariners	1–2	Adelaide United	Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford
15:00 UTC+11	Hutchinson 12'		Rech 90' Dodd 85'	Attendance: 5,467 Referee: Peter O'Leary

13 November 2005	Sydney FC	1–0	Queensland Roar	Aussie Stadium, Sydney
17:00 UTC+11	Zdrillic 54'			Attendance: 13,030 Referee: Ben Williams

Round 13

18 November 2005	Melbourne Victory	0–2	Central Coast Mariners	Olympic Park Stadium, Melbourne
20:00 UTC+11			Heffernan 75' Hutchinson 38'	Attendance: 13,892 Referee: Ben Williams

20 November 2005	Adelaide United	1–0	New Zealand Knights	Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide
16:30 UTC+10.30	Qu 38'			Attendance: 9,676 Referee: Angelo Nardi

20 November 2005	Queensland Roar	0–1	Newcastle Jets	Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
18:00 UTC+10			Thompson 34'	Attendance: 13,004 Referee: Mark Shield

Round 14

25 November 2005	Central Coast Mariners	2–2	Queensland Roar	Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford
20:00 UTC+11	Heffernan 89' Osman 56'		Brosque 7', 78'	Attendance: 5,194 Referee: Matthew Breeze

25 November 2005	Perth Glory	0–1	Newcastle Jets	Members Equity Stadium, Perth
17:00 UTC+8			Coveny 47'	Attendance: 7,921 Referee: Simon Przydacz

26 November 2005	New Zealand Knights	2–3	Melbourne Victory	North Harbour Stadium, Auckland
20:00 UTC+13	Devine 40' (pen.) Christie 30'		Kitzbichler 43', 73' Muscat 28' (pen.)	Attendance: 1,922 Referee: Peter O'Leary

27 November 2005	Adelaide United	3–2	Sydney FC	Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide
16:30 UTC+10.30	Rech 4', 84' Veart 14'		Miura 33', 76'	Attendance: 14,068 Referee: Mark Shield

Round 15

1 December 2005	Queensland Roar	1–1	New Zealand Knights	Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
19:00 UTC+10	Brownlie 28'		Yeo 44'	Attendance: 8,607 Referee: James Lewis

2 December 2005	Newcastle Jets	1–2	Adelaide United	EnergyAustralia Stadium, Newcastle
20:00 UTC+11	Johnson 59'		Brain 79' Veart 75'	Attendance: 10,132 Referee: Simon Przydacz

3 December 2005	Sydney FC	2–1	Melbourne Victory	Aussie Stadium, Sydney
19:00 UTC+11	Carney 81' Corica 24'		Allsopp 88'	Attendance: 17,272 Referee: Matthew Breeze

4 December 2005	Perth Glory	2–2	Central Coast Mariners	Members Equity Stadium, Perth
16:00 UTC+8	Ishida 65' Ward 54'		Petrie 12' Hutchinson 8'	Attendance: 7,428 Referee: Mark Shield

Round 16

29 December 2005	Melbourne Victory	2–2	Perth Glory	Olympic Park Stadium, Melbourne
20:00 UTC+11	Allsopp 45' Thompson 23'		Ward 67' Mori 5'	Attendance: 14,754 Referee: Peter O'Leary

30 December 2005	New Zealand Knights	2–2	Sydney FC	North Harbour Stadium, Auckland
20:00 UTC+13	Brockie 86' Devine 3'		Yorke 45' (pen.) Carney 6'	Attendance: 4,212 Referee: Peter Green

31 December 2005	Central Coast Mariners	4–1	Newcastle Jets	Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford
18:00 UTC+11	Hutchinson 71', 82' Brown 30' Gumprecht 3'		Coveny 85'	Attendance: 11,612 Referee: Mark Shield

1 January 2006	Adelaide United	4–2	Queensland Roar	Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide
18:30 UTC+10.30	Rech 40', 63' Qu 30' Veart 29'		Baird 83' Brosque 11'	Attendance: 8,426 Referee: Matthew Breeze

Round 17

5 January 2006	Adelaide United	1–0	Melbourne Victory	Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide
19:30 UTC+10.30	Dodd 14'			Attendance: 13,427 Referee: Mark Shield

7 January 2006	Perth Glory	0–2	Queensland Roar	Members Equity Stadium, Perth
19:00 UTC+8			Baird 80' Reinaldo 10'	Attendance: 11,087 Referee: Peter Green

8 January 2006	Central Coast Mariners	1–0	New Zealand Knights	Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford
17:00 UTC+11	Heffernan 90'			Attendance: 7,257 Referee: Strebre Delovski

Round 18

12 January 2006	Perth Glory	1–2	Adelaide United	Members Equity Stadium, Perth
19:00 UTC+8	Ward 86'		Aloisi 71' Qu 3'	Attendance: 5,033 Referee: Matthew Breeze

13 January 2006	Newcastle Jets	3–0	New Zealand Knights	EnergyAustralia Stadium, Newcastle
20:00 UTC+11	Haliti 86', 90' Milicic 19'			Attendance: 6,862 Referee: Perry Mur

14 January 2006	Sydney FC	1–1	Central Coast Mariners	Aussie Stadium, Sydney
19:00 UTC+11	Carney 61'		Pondeljak 52'	Attendance: 15,977 Referee: Ben Williams

15 January 2006	Queensland Roar	0–1	Melbourne Victory	Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
18:00 UTC+10			Thompson 56'	Attendance: 12,710 Referee: Mark Shield

Round 19

19 January 2006	New Zealand Knights	1–4	Perth Glory	North Harbour Stadium, Auckland
20:00 UTC+13	Emblen 7'		Harnwell 78' Coyne 14' Sekulovski 11', 42'	Attendance: 3,024 Referee: Neil Fox

20 January 2006	Adelaide United	1–1	Central Coast Mariners	Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide
19:30 UTC+10.30	Veart 50' (pen.)		Kwasnik 54'	Attendance: 13,008 Referee: Mark Shield

21 January 2006	Queensland Roar	2–1	Sydney FC	Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
19:00 UTC+10	Brosque 60', 70'		Petrovski 85'	Attendance: 13,302 Referee: Simon Przydacz

22 January 2006	Newcastle Jets	1–0	Melbourne Victory	EnergyAustralia Stadium, Newcastle
17:00 UTC+11	Coveny 36'			Attendance: 9,073 Referee: Matthew Breeze

Round 20

26 January 2006	Newcastle Jets	0–5	Queensland Roar	EnergyAustralia Stadium, Newcastle
20:00 UTC+11			Murdocca 90' McKay 83' Brosque 52' Richter 44' Reinaldo 10'	Attendance: 10,271 Referee: Peter O'Leary

27 January 2006	Central Coast Mariners	3–1	Melbourne Victory	Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford
20:00 UTC+11	Heffernan 88' Spencer 28', 62'		Ferrante 13'	Attendance: 11,945 Referee: Simon Przydacz

28 January 2006	New Zealand Knights	1–1	Adelaide United	North Harbour Stadium, Auckland
20:00 UTC+13	Zhang 71'		Brain 21'	Attendance: 3,079 Referee: Perry Mur

29 January 2006	Perth Glory	1–2	Sydney FC	Members Equity Stadium, Perth
16:00 UTC+8	Despotovski 53'		Zadkovich 23' Rudan 14'	Attendance: 12,796 Referee: Craig Zetter

Round 21

3 February 2006	Sydney FC	2–1	Adelaide United	Aussie Stadium, Sydney
20:00 UTC+11	Ceccoli 71' Yorke 48' (pen.)		Qu 90'	Attendance: 25,557 Referee: Mark Shield

4 February 2006	Melbourne Victory	2–1	New Zealand Knights	Olympic Park Stadium, Melbourne
18:00 UTC+11	Muscat 21' (pen.) Byrnes 2'		Brockie 90'	Attendance: 10,078 Referee: Angelo Nardi

4 February 2006	Queensland Roar	2–2	Central Coast Mariners	Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
19:00 UTC+10	Baird 60' Brosque 3'		O'Sullivan 81' Petrie 33'	Attendance: 13,641 Referee: Ben Williams

5 February 2006	Newcastle Jets	1–3	Perth Glory	EnergyAustralia Stadium, Newcastle
17:00 UTC+11	Coveny 34'		Mori 71' Picken 58' (o.g.) Ward 9'	Attendance: 9,232 Referee: Matthew Breeze

Finals series

After the home and away season, the finals series began, with the top four teams. The finals series used a modified Page playoff system, with the difference that each first-round game would be played over two legs. The winner of the finals series, Sydney FC was crowned as the A-League champion. Adelaide United, as the holder of the top position on the league ladder, were named the 2005–06 premiers.

Standard cup rules – such as the away goals rule (two-leg ties only), extra time and penalty shootouts were used to decide drawn games.

Semi-finals

12 February 2006	Adelaide United	2–2	Sydney FC	Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide
17:00 UTC+10.30	Rech 34' Dodd 31'		Petrovski 39' Corica 9'	Attendance: 15,104 Referee: Matthew Breeze

19 February 2006	Sydney FC	2–1	Adelaide United	Aussie Stadium, Sydney
17:00 UTC+11	Rudan 76' Petrovski 29'		Qu 60'	Attendance: 30,377 Referee: Mark Shield

Sydney FC won 4–3 on aggregate.

10 February 2006	Newcastle Jets	0–1	Central Coast Mariners	EnergyAustralia Stadium, Newcastle
20:00 UTC+11			Osman 76'	Attendance: 10,236 Referee: Ben Williams

17 February 2006	Central Coast Mariners	1–1	Newcastle Jets	Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford
20:00 UTC+11	Heffernan 79'		Thompson 28'	Attendance: 17,429 Referee: Simon Przydacz

Central Coast Mariners won 2–1 on aggregate.

Preliminary final

26 February 2006	Adelaide United	0–1	Central Coast Mariners	Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide
17:00 UTC+10.30			Pondeljak 7'	Attendance: 11,405 Referee: Matthew Breeze

Grand Final

5 March 2006	Sydney FC	1–0	Central Coast Mariners	Aussie Stadium, Sydney
17:00 UTC+11	Corica 62'			Attendance: 41,689 Referee: Mark Shield

Statistics

Attendance

Highest attendance

• 41,689: Sydney FC vs Central Coast Mariners, 5 March 2006 (grand final)
• 30,377: Sydney FC vs Adelaide United, 19 February 2006 (Semi-final Leg2)
• 25,557: Sydney FC vs Adelaide United, 3 February 2006 (Round 21)
• 25,208: Sydney FC vs Melbourne Victory, 28 August 2005 (Round 1)
• 23,142: Queensland Roar vs Sydney FC, 23 September 2005 (Round 5)
• 20,725: Queensland Roar vs New Zealand Knights, 28 August 2005 (Round 1)
• 18,276: Sydney FC vs Adelaide United, 9 October 2005 (Round 7)
• 18,206: Melbourne Victory vs Sydney FC, 16 October 2005 (Round 8)
• 17,960: Melbourne Victory vs Perth Glory, 4 September 2005 (Round 2)

Leading goalscorers

Total	Player		Team	Goals per Round
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21
8		Alex Brosque	Brisbane Roar	1													2		1			2	1	1
		Bobby Despotovski	Perth Glory		1	2			1	1				1	1								1
		Archie Thompson	Melbourne Victory	1				1	1		2	1							1		1
		Stewart Petrie	Central Coast Mariners		1		1				2		2					1						1
7		Carl Veart	Adelaide United	1									1	1			1	1	1			1
		Dean Heffernan	Central Coast Mariners						1		1		1			1	1			1			1
		Dwight Yorke	Sydney FC	1		1	1		1					1					1					1
		Ante Milicic	Newcastle Jets		1	1							1	3							1
		Sasho Petrovski	Sydney FC						1	1		1		3								1
		Damian Mori	Perth Glory							2				3					1					1

Disciplinary records

Biggest victories

Highest aggregate scores

Other honours

• First goal – Carl Veart (Adelaide United vs Newcastle Jets, Round 1)
• First hat trick – Ante Milicic (Newcastle Jets vs New Zealand Knights, Round 11)
• First red card – Richie Alagich (Adelaide United vs Melbourne Victory, Round 3)

Awards

AFC Champions League

Although Australia became a member of the Asian Football Confederation in 2006, Australian teams were not invited to participate in the 2006 AFC Champions League competition.

The AFC later determined that qualification for the 2007 AFC Champions League would be based on the 2005–06 A-League competition, despite that ACL matches will commence after the completion of the A-League 2006–07 season. Adelaide as Premiers and Sydney as Champions were the representatives.

See also

• 2005–06 Adelaide United FC season
• 2005–06 Central Coast Mariners FC season
• 2005–06 Melbourne Victory FC season
• 2005–06 Newcastle Jets FC season
• 2005–06 New Zealand Knights FC season
• 2005–06 Perth Glory FC season
• 2005–06 Queensland Roar FC season
• 2005–06 Sydney FC season

Notes

1. Bazeley replaced Hay as captain mid-season, after they released Hay on 23 December 2005.
2. Deane's contract was mutually terminated part-way through his marquee deal and he left mid-season.

References

1. "Eastern promise arrives right on Qu". The Sydney Morning Herald. 15 July 2005. The 30-year-old Chinese international, who has the potential to be one of the stars of the new A-League as Adelaide United's marquee signing...
2. "Dodd Gets The Nod As Skipper". FTBL. 31 July 2008. Ross Aloisi taking over as the club's first Hyundai A-League captain and then Valkanis acquiring the role prior to the 2007/08 season.
3. "Mariners announce soccer captain". The Sydney Morning Herald. 15 April 2005.
4. Lynch, Michael (30 April 2016). "Archie Thompson should play on after leaving Melbourne Victory". The Sydney Morning Herald. As Victory's inauguaral marquee signing...
5. "Archie Thompson, Adrian Leijer sign new deals with Melbourne Victory". The Guardian. 2 May 2014. Victory's first ever signing, and scorer, will join up with new marquee Besart Berisha next season, after agreeing a new deal with the club that takes him inside the salary cap
6. "Kevin Muscat appointed as new Melbourne Victory coach". The Guardian. 31 October 2013. Phoenix's Ernie Merrick was the Victory's inaugural coach and Muscat the club's inaugural captain
7. "Player Profile - Danny Hay". New Zealand Football Foundation. Retrieved 9 January 2020. He started the 2006–2007 season as inaugural captain for the Auckland-based New Zealand Knights
8. "Knights cut skipper Hay". The World Game. SBS. 23 December 2005.
9. "Hyundai A-League set for big start". Football Federation Australia. 26 August 2006. Welcome news however is the availability of captain and key defender Darren Bazeley
10. "Ned Zelic signs with Newcastle Jets". The Sydney Morning Herald. 30 April 2005.
11. "Jets look to shut down Mariners". ABC News. 10 February 2006. Jets captain Ned Zelic says...
12. Roach, Stewart (7 June 2006). "Easy come, easy go: Okon signs for Jets as captain Zelic quits". The Sydney Morning Herald.
13. Young, Richie (17 August 2007). "'Our Form Will Return' - North". FTBL. The Taree-born Socceroo says replacing former Jets captains Ned Zelic and Paul Okon came out of the blue at training.
14. ^ Davidson, John (17 August 2017). "Deane: I had to wash my own kit at Glory". FTBL. Deane was Perth's marquee signing for the first season of the new competition in 2005. Deane's spell at the Glory was short-lived, with the centre forward departing mid-season
15. "Harnwell named Glory captain". The Sydney Morning Herald. 6 May 2005.
16. "Roar name inaugural captain". ABC News. 3 May 2005. A-League club Queensland Roar have named Chad Gibson as their inaugural captain...
17. "Yorke goes Down Under". The Guardian. 30 June 2005. The former Manchester United, Aston Villa, Blackburn and Birmingham striker is Sydney's marquee player
18. "Long time coming for Rudan". The World Game. SBS. 2 March 2006.

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• A-League official website, including fixtures

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