Back home, Wollongong United and Olympic confirmed themselves as the Premier League's powerhouses, while there were upsets galore in the District League and Women's Division One grand finals.

The Wollongong Wolves and Illawarra Stingrays both had mixed results in the NSW NPL, but there were still highlights for both teams, while the Matildas and Socceroos continued to make Australians proud.

With the year wrapping up, now is as good time as ever to look back at the top 10 football moments of 2022.

Twenty-seven minutes. That's how long it took for Wollongong Olympic to wash away 37 years of burden and expectation on October 23.

Despite the year of football being decimated by rain, anticipation was high when the Illawarra Premier League's biggest rivals, Olympic and United, met on grand final day at WIN Stadium.

IPL fans were treated to a belter of a game from the outset, with Olympic goalkeeper Justin Pasfield making a superb penalty save inside the first minute. Captain Chris Price then found the back of the net, before a Bailey Barbarovski own-goal gave Matt Bailey's men a 2-0 lead within the first half-hour.

Klime Sekutkoski then clawed one back on the stroke of halftime, but it was all in vain, as Olympic held on to claim a 2-1 win and seal their first IPL grand final victory since 1985 (under previous name Artis FC).

"It feels bloody awesome. They took us all the way until the end, they really pressed us, but this team has courage, guts, determination and belief. What a great bunch of guys to do it with, and I think we deserved it today. So credit where credit is due," Olympic veteran Tynan Diaz said.

Sticking with the IPL theme, how could we look past Wollongong United winning their first premiership?

United wrapped up the title in September, with one round to spare, following a 3-1 win over Coniston at Macedonia Park.

It put to bed three years of hard work and heartbreak for Billy Tsovolos's side, who had got mighty close in 2020, before a last-round slip up (to Coniston) saw Woonona sneak through to claim the crown.

The 2022 premiership win is United's first since the club joined the Premier League in 1978.

"We've played really well for three years now and it's obviously been a heavily disrupted last three years," Tsovolos said.

"2020, we fell just short and 2021, we were in the race for the league title, but that season got cut short. So I think we deserve to pick one up based on how we've played over the last three years. It's great for the club."

It may have been early morning in many households, but the roar of "LECCCKIIIIEEE" could be heard throughout Australia on December 1.

In an arm-wrestle, Matthew Leckie's second-half stunner proved the difference as the Socceroos defeated Denmark 1-0 to progress to the FIFA World Cup's round of 16.

It was a stunning effort from the Aussies, who bounced back a first-up 4-1 thumping at the hands of France to beat Tunisia and a quality Danish outfit.

The Aussies would go on to fall 2-1 to Messi and Argentina in the next round, but it mattered not. These Socceroos had already equalled their nation's best ever effort at a World Cup.

If there were any lingering doubts about Caitlin Foord being one of Australia's finest footballers, they were finally put to bed in 2022.

The Shellharbour product continued her superb form for Arsenal in the Women's Super League and on the world stage for the Matildas, highlighted by a brace in Australia's 4-0 win over Sweden in November.

The performance capped a remarkable goal-scoring period for the 28-year-old, who found the back of the net five times within the space of three games in the green and gold.

Foord has now represented her country on more than 100 occasions and will be a key figure when the Matildas host the FIFA Women's World Cup on home soil in 2023.

It wasn't quite dubbed the battle of David versus Goliath, but minor premiers Helensburgh were the clear favourite heading into this year's District League grand final against Unanderra.

However, someone failed to tell Hearts coach Rod Williams, who had his players up for the fight from the opening whistle at WIN Stadium on October 23. In an enthralling contest, Unanderra's defence held the Thistle at bay and forced the game into extra time.

It was there that the Hearts came alive, with Mark Picciolini breaking the deadlock in the first minute of extra time, before Tatsuki Nagatsuki's stunning strike from outside the box in the second half of extra-time put the result beyond doubt.

"In the regular season they were by far and away the better side and they are the best side in the league but grand finals are there for the script to be written and we wrote the script," Williams said afterwards.

"I thought we were the best side of 120 minutes."

Speaking of upsets, boy, did anyone see this one coming?

Albion Park had dominated the Women's Division One competition for close to a decade, and were expected to claim another premiership when they faced University in the 2022 grand final on October 13.

Uni had got close to being dubbed premiers the past four years, but always fallen short at the last hurdle thanks to Park's dynamic team. But, this time, the Unicorns were able to claim their own fairytale.

Kate Sebben's incredible curling shot from outside the box gave Uni a 1-0 lead early in the second half at Ian McLenann, before Amy Morrell's tap-in minutes later doubled their advantage. Park's Jessica Rossi then cut the deficit to one soon after, however, the Unicorns were able to hold on for a well-earned victory.

"I thought we were in that game, I'm proud of the way the girls played. I thought we beat ourselves, to be honest, but credit to Uni. They came out, took their chances and thoroughly deserve that win," Park captain Brittany Ring said afterwards.

We've already mentioned Wollongong United once in this list, but they deserve a second mention for their record-breaking run in this year's Australia Cup.

The Premier League powerhouse created history by becoming the first grassroots association team to reach the national round of 32 in the nation-wide competition (formerly known as the FFA Cup). Their impressive run ended in July when the side hosted strong Victorian club Green Gully SC, who claimed a thrilling 3-2 win.

Mitsuo Yamada had United fans dreaming of a boilover at Ian McLennan Park with his penalty inside 20 minutes, before Alex Salmon equalised on the stroke of halftime. Bailey Babarovski then scrambled home a goal in the 58^th minute to give the hosts a 2-1 lead, however, Joshua Hope and Gianluca Iannucci were able to find the back of the net to seal victory for Green Gully.

"It was a very disappointing end to the game for us. I thought we matched them for the whole 90 minutes but in the end, they showed a bit of class to get two quality goals and the third one," United skipper Danny Lazarevski said afterwards.

It was mostly a year to forget for the Wollongong Wolves, but Luke Wilkshire's men showed what they were capable of in their impressive 3-1 win over Blacktown City in May.

After a goalless opening stanza, striker Peter Simonoski got the ball rolling early in the second half at WIN Stadium, before Mitch Mallia clawed one back for the visitors in the 66^th minute.

However, the Wolves refused to cave in front of their home crowd, with Leroy Jennings wrestling back the lead nine minutes later before Lachlan Scott's goal in the 82^nd minute put the result beyond doubt.

While the Wolves would go on to win four games in 2022, Blacktown eventually finished the season as the NSW NPL1 grand final winners.

Following the departure of Wilkshire post-season, the Wolves will start a new era in 2023 under new head coach, former Sydney FC star David Carney.

Similar to the Wolves, the Illawarra Stingrays never truly hit top gear during the 2022 NSW Women's NPL season.

However, Anthony Guido's side did have plenty of moments of joy during their eight victories, and they finished the season with a wet sail.

The women in pink ended their campaign with three wins from their last four starts, including a 2-0 victory on the road against Manly in the final round. Goals on either side of the half from Kaelah Austin and Michelle Carney secured the impressive result.

It put the exclamation point on a promising campaign at times for the Stingrays, who will also start a new era under new head coach Steve Gordon next year.

And, to cap off, how could we look past Helensburgh and Gerringong's dominant performances in this year's District League and Community League respectively?

The Thistle dominated the regular season, wrapping up the minor premiership with a round to spare after thrashing Balgownie 12-1.

Helensburgh would go on to fall at the last hurdle, losing the DL grand final to Unanderra, but it was still an incredible campaign for Andy Paine's men, who have put themselves in a good position for a 2023 Premier League promotion.

Meanwhile, the Breakers swept all before them in 2022 on their way to winning the Community League title.

Gerringong finished their season unbeaten and will now go through the formal processes in order to be promoted to the District League next year.

"To join the District League would be great for Gerringong," first grade captain Andy Lockard said.

"It's another outlet for community spirit and an expansion on the established pathways for players. The overall goal has not changed from its inception. We will continue to aim high for all of our community so that we are able to provide a platform to perform and play in the highest competitions.

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