The greatest moment in West Adelaide's history came the following season, when it became the first football club of any code from Adelaide to be crowned national champion. West had finished the inaugural NSL season in seventh place, 11 points behind champions Eastern Suburbs, later renamed Sydney City. The New South Wales side would again be one of the strongest in 1978 although Hellas improved markedly. The team included star players such as goalkeeper Martyn Crook and sweeper Neil McGachey. John Margaritis began the year as coach but left after 10 rounds to be replaced first by player-coach McGachey and later by Jim Adam, a coach from Victoria.