Netball’s rich history in Victoria

People often say sport is the heartbeat of the community. It pumps life into everything around it.  

Never is this saying truer than when considering Victoria and the sport of netball.  

Underpinning the Suncorp Super Netball competition of today is a thriving community of Victorians who have long loved the game. Drive through any Victorian town on a Saturday morning and you’ll soon stumble across a series of well-loved asphalt courts, accompanied by a soundtrack of screeching runners on court and umpires’ whistles.  

So how does the grassroots connect to the elite?  

The first Australian netball team was formed in 1938, and Victorians proudly cheered on our national representatives and revelled in the birth of epic international rivalries.  

But as interest in the sport grew, so did the demand for a professional domestic league.  

In 1997, the talent pool of athletes and support for the sport hit critical mass, and the first ever professional competition was born with not one but two elite teams for Melbourne.  

And the rest you could say, was history. 

 
HUMBLE BEGINNINGS 

Netball, once called Women’s Basketball was first played in the 1800s. 

In the Australian state of Victoria, the Victorian Women’s Basketball Association was created in 1928, marking the first time Victoria had a state-based organisation for the sport. 

 This association meant that Victoria became eligible to have a state representative side compete against other states and territories. 

Victoria would go on to win the first Australian Women’s Basketball Association tournament held in Melbourne in September 1928. 

For years women flocked to play Women’s Basketball in Victoria before the sport officially changed its name to netball in 1970. 

The Victorian Women’s Basketball Association quickly followed changing its name to the Victorian Netball Association which is known today as Netball Victoria. 

It has been a long journey to John Cain Arena where the Melbourne Vixens now play. 

Before that, the elite competitions were played at the State Netball Hockey Centre and before that, at the Waverley Women’s Sports Centre. 

And for many years Royal Park was the home of netball in Victoria. 

Since then, the venue has undergone multiple facelifts. In 2001 it was demolished and upgraded to include the State Netball Hockey Centre. 

Twenty years later in 2021, the centre was refurbished again with the State Netball Hockey Centre also housing the Netball Victoria office. 

While the Vixens might play under the bright lights of John Cain Arena, Royal Park is where they call home. 
 

THE PHOENIX  

Enter the Melbourne Phoenix. 

The side was the most successful team of the Commonwealth Bank Trophy era.  

From 1997 to 2007 the Phoenix dominated the national league, winning five out of a possible 11 premierships. 

The side launched the careers of netball icons such as Sharelle McMahon, Bianca Chatfield, Natasha Chokljat, Eloise Southby and Renae Ingles.  

The Phoenix won 135 matches out of the 176 they played over the Commonwealth Bank Trophy period their premiership wins in 1997, 2000, 2002, 2003 and 2005. 

Victorian fans latched onto the Phoenix purple and rallied around the side but there was a cohort of Victorian fans who stood loyal to their rival, the Melbourne Kestrels. 
 

THE KESTRELS 

While the Phoenix were the most successful team in the Commonwealth Bank Trophy they were challenged by their Victorian counterparts the Melbourne Kestrels 

The Kestrels like the Phoenix was the birthplace for some of Victoria’s netball greats including; Caitlin Thwaites, Rebecca Bulley, Sharni Norder, Madi Browne, Shelley O’Donnell OAM and Nicole Richardson who all donned the Kestrels orange dress during their careers. 

Although often living in the shadows of their Victorian counterparts the Kestrels were competitive winning 79 out of 160 matches they played.  

From 1997 to 2007 there was no stronger Victorian netball rivalry than that of the Melbourne Phoenix and Melbourne Kestrels. 

The Melbourne Phoenix might have won 20 out of 24 match ups between the two sides but the Kestrels never went down without a fight. 

Speaking about the rivalry between the two sides Sharelle McMahon a former member of Melbourne Phoenix recalled it being fierce. 

“We always loved playing against each other,” she said. 

“When we came up against the Kestrels, we wanted to make sure we held our ground. We felt the same way against everyone but we had this fierce rivalry where we wanted to hold our ground as much as we could to be the best team in Melbourne.”  
 

VIXENS RISING  

When the ANZ Championship took over from the Commonwealth Bank Trophy in 2008, the Melbourne Phoenix and Melbourne Kestrels rivalry was put to bed. 

The two rivals merged creating the formidable Melbourne Vixens. 

The Vixens were formed with a mix of the experienced Phoenix and the young talent of the Kestrels. 

On the back of the Melbourne Vixens dresses are the letters PKNC standing for Phoenix Kestrels Netball Club and paying tribute to the rich history of the club. 

The side went on to win two premierships in the ANZ Championship days and also one so far in the current Suncorp Super Netball League. 

The first premiership came in 2009 against the Adelaide Thunderbirds. The Vixens controlled the middle of the match to go on and win by eight goals. 

The second premiership came in 2014 with the Vixens defeating the Queensland Firebirds by 11 goals. From 2008 to 2016, the Vixens held the elite netball monopoly in Victoria with players such as Julie Corletto, Tegan Philip, Kate Beveridge, Catherine Cox and current Vixens co-captains Liz Watson and Kate Moloney wearing the navy uniform.  

But then in 2017 came the Suncorp Super Netball League and with it the Collingwood Magpies. 

The third Vixens premiership in 2020 was an emotional one with Thwaites and Philip retiring from the game and the side playing away from home in the Queensland Hub while the world fought Covid-19.  

Since then, the Vixens have been a regular fixture in finals only missing in 2021 and have won 64 Suncorp Super Netball matches since the league launched. 
 

THE COLLINGWOOD MAGPIES  

The Magpies netball team never truly reached their full potential but the rivalry between the Vixens and Magpies ignited immediately. 

Collingwood attracted some of netball’s biggest names over the years including Norder, Browne, Thwaites, Erin Bell, Geva Mentor, Nat Butler and Kim Ravaillion. With many Victorian fans staying faithful to the Vixens, the us against them mentality was huge.  

With the backing of one of AFL’s biggest clubs behind them the expectations and pressure on the Collingwood team to perform was high.  

The side only won 36 Suncorp Super Netball matches throughout their seven years in the league. 

The Vixens and Collingwood played out some thrilling match ups throughout the Pies’ time in Suncorp Super Netball including the 2022 round 14 clash that gave Collingwood their last finals appearance. 

The Vixens held their ground in Victoria, winning 10 out of 15 meetings between the two sides by an average of seven goals.  

With the Magpies bowing out of Suncorp Super Netball the next chapter of Victorian netball history is ready to be written. 

As a new team prepares to take on the Vixens juggernaut for bragging rights as the best team in Victoria. 

With all players off contract, all eyes will be on the new kids on the block and which players the new Victorian club lands.