title: 2016–17 New Zealand Football Championship
text: # 2016–17 New Zealand Football Championship
  
  The 2016–17 New Zealand Football Championship season (currently known as the Stirling Sports Premiership for sponsorship reasons) was the thirteenth season of the NZFC since its establishment in 2004. Ten teams competed this season with the addition of Eastern Suburbs AFC and Tasman United, and with WaiBOP United replaced by Hamilton Wanderers.
  
  The competition began on 16 October and ended on 2 April 2017.
  
  ## Clubs
  
  | Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity | Manager | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | Auckland City | Sandringham, Auckland | Kiwitea Street | 3,250 | Ramon Tribulietx | Kappa | Hi-Chew (front) Trillian Trust Inc (Back) Carters (Back) |
  | Canterbury United | Christchurch | ASB Football Park | 9,000 | Willy Gerdsen | Nike | Robbie's Bar and Bistro |
  | Eastern Suburbs | Panmure, Auckland | Bill McKinlay Park | 5,000 | Malcolm McPherson | Lilywhites | Winger Motors |
  | Hamilton Wanderers | Hamilton | Porritt Stadium Waikato Stadium | 5,000 25,800 | Mark Cossey | Nike | The Soccer Shop |
  | Hawke's Bay United | Napier | Bluewater Stadium | 5,000 | Brett Angell | Adidas | Kinetic Electrical |
  | Southern United | Dunedin | Forsyth Barr Stadium Peter Johnstone Park | 30,500 1,000 | Paul O'Reilly | Lotto Sport Italia | Freshwater Solutions |
  | Tasman United | Nelson | Trafalgar Park | 18,000 | Davor Tavich | Joma | Nelson Pine LVL (Front) Sprig & Fern (Back) |
  | Team Wellington | Wellington | David Farrington Park | 1,500 | Jose Figueira | Nike | Stonewood Homes |
  | Waitakere United | Whenuapai, Auckland | The Trusts Arena Fred Taylor Park | 4,900 2,500 | Chris Milicich | Lotto Sport Italia | Jerry Clayton BMW (Front) Heritage Hotels (Back) |
  | Wellington Phoenix | Wellington | Newtown Park | 5,000 | Andy Hedge | Adidas | Huawei |
  
  ## Regular season
  
  ### League table
  
  | Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | 1 | Auckland City | 18 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 35 | 15 | +20 | 36 | Qualification to the Champions League and Finals series |
  | 2 | Team Wellington | 18 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 51 | 32 | +19 | 36 | Qualification to the Champions League and Finals series |
  | 3 | Waitakere United | 18 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 31 | 25 | +6 | 34 | Qualification to the Finals series |
  | 4 | Hawke's Bay United | 18 | 10 | 2 | 6 | 46 | 30 | +16 | 32 | Qualification to the Finals series |
  | 5 | Eastern Suburbs | 18 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 28 | 25 | +3 | 30 | |
  | 6 | Canterbury United | 18 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 32 | 28 | +4 | 24 | |
  | 7 | Wellington Phoenix Reserves | 18 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 25 | 33 | −8 | 22 | |
  | 8 | Tasman United | 18 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 29 | 42 | −13 | 17 | |
  | 9 | Hamilton Wanderers | 18 | 4 | 1 | 13 | 24 | 50 | −26 | 13 | |
  | 10 | Southern United | 18 | 3 | 1 | 14 | 20 | 41 | −21 | 10 | |
  
  ### Positions by round
  
  | Team ╲ Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | Team Wellington | 10 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
  | Auckland City | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
  | Eastern Suburbs | 3 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 |
  | Hamilton Wanderers | 4 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
  | Wellington Phoenix | 8 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
  | Waitakere United | 5 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
  | Canterbury United | 6 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 |
  | Hawke's Bay United | 2 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 4 |
  | Tasman United | 6 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
  | Southern United | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
  
  * Leader and qualification to AFC Champions League Group stage
  * Qualification to Finals series
  
  ## Statistics
  
  ### Top scorers
  
      As of 1 April 2017
  
  | Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
  | - | - | - | - |
  | 1 | Tom Jackson | Team Wellington | 16 |
  | 2 | Aaron Clapham | Canterbury United | 12 |
  | 2 | Saul Halpin | Hawke's Bay United | 12 |
  | 2 | Emiliano Tade | Auckland City | 12 |
  | 5 | Ben Harris | Team Wellington | 11 |
  | 5 | Sam Mason-Smith | Hawke's Bay United | 11 |
  | 7 | Facundo Barbero | Hawke's Bay United | 9 |
  | 8 | Paul Ifill | Tasman United | 8 |
  | 9 | Stephen Hoyle | Canterbury United | 7 |
  | 9 | Tinashe Marowa | Tasman United | 7 |
  