Sydney Swifts
Encyclopedia
The Sydney Swifts were an Australia
n netball
team, playing in the national Commonwealth Bank Trophy
. They were based out of Acer Arena
and Sydney Olympic Park
Sports Centre in the suburb of Homebush
. Following the 2003 demise of the Sydney Sandpipers
, the Swifts were the only team representing the city of Sydney
. The Swifts were coached by Julie Fitzgerald and captained by Liz Ellis
. The team was merged with the Hunter Jaegers
at the end of 2007 and renamed New South Wales Swifts
to play in the newly created trans-Tasman netball league, ANZ Championship
.
recovered from a knee reconstruction to lead a group of tough athletes, and take out the MVP award for the third time.
The Swifts were among the most perennially successfully teams in the Commonwealth Bank Trophy, which they first won in 2001 and subsequently in four out of the eleven years during which the event was held. The Swifts were in losing Grand Finalists on several other occasions and made the finals series every year.
The team were particularly successful the final years of the competition, winning a memorable Grand Final game against the Melbourne Phoenix
in 2004 by a single goal. In 2006, they were undefeated in both the home-and-away series and the finals, and trounced the Adelaide Thunderbirds
by 29 goals in the Grand Final.
In 2007, the Swifts defeated the minor premiers, the Melbourne Phoenix
, by eight goals in 2007 in the Grand Final to take out the last ever Commonwealth Bank Trophy title.
But they now wear red not yellow.
|-
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n netball
Netball
Netball is a ball sport played between two teams of seven players. Its development, derived from early versions of basketball, began in England in the 1890s. By 1960 international playing rules had been standardised for the game, and the International Federation of Netball and Women's Basketball ...
team, playing in the national Commonwealth Bank Trophy
Commonwealth Bank Trophy
The Commonwealth Bank Trophy was the pre-eminent national netball competition in Australia from 1997 to 2007.It was established in 1997 as a true national league to replace the ailing, state club-based Mobil League. Designed from the beginning to be more marketable to the general public, it saw...
. They were based out of Acer Arena
Acer Arena
The Allphones Arena is a large entertainment and sporting complex located in Sydney, Australia. It is situated in Sydney Olympic Park, and was completed in 1999 as part of the facilities for the 2000 Summer Olympics....
and Sydney Olympic Park
Sydney Olympic Park
Sydney Olympic Park is a suburb in western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Sydney Olympic Park is located 16 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Auburn Council....
Sports Centre in the suburb of Homebush
Homebush, New South Wales
Homebush is an inner western suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Homebush is located 15 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Municipality of Strathfield. Homebush West and Homebush Bay are separate suburbs...
. Following the 2003 demise of the Sydney Sandpipers
Sydney Sandpipers
The Sydney Sandpapers were one of the inaugural teams in the Commonwealth Bank Trophy, Australia's national women's netball league. Based out of University of Sydney, the team's strip was a vivid sky blue and they competed from 1997 to 2003, after which the Sydney Swifts were left as the only New...
, the Swifts were the only team representing the city of Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
. The Swifts were coached by Julie Fitzgerald and captained by Liz Ellis
Liz Ellis
Elizabeth "Liz" Ellis AM is a retired Australian netball player, a member of the national team from 1992 until 2007 and captain for the last four of those years. She is the most capped international player for Australian netball....
. The team was merged with the Hunter Jaegers
Hunter Jaegers
The Hunter Jaegers were an Australian netball team representing the Hunter Valley of New South Wales in the national Commonwealth Bank Trophy. The team was initially based out of the Newcastle Entertainment Centre, but merged with the Sydney Swifts in 2008 to create the New South Wales Swifts to...
at the end of 2007 and renamed New South Wales Swifts
New South Wales Swifts
The New South Wales Swifts are an Australian netball team based in Sydney that compete in the trans-Tasman ANZ Championship. The Swifts were formed in 2007 as an amalgamation of two teams from the Commonwealth Bank Trophy – the Sydney Swifts and the Hunter Jaegers...
to play in the newly created trans-Tasman netball league, ANZ Championship
ANZ Championship
The ANZ Championship is the pre-eminent netball league in the world. The competition is held annually between April and July, comprising 69 matches played over 17 weeks. It is contested by ten teams, five from Australia and five from New Zealand...
.
History
In 2006, the Swifts achieved a feat unsurpassed in Australian sport for 47 years - an undefeated season in the national league. Captain Liz EllisLiz Ellis
Elizabeth "Liz" Ellis AM is a retired Australian netball player, a member of the national team from 1992 until 2007 and captain for the last four of those years. She is the most capped international player for Australian netball....
recovered from a knee reconstruction to lead a group of tough athletes, and take out the MVP award for the third time.
The Swifts were among the most perennially successfully teams in the Commonwealth Bank Trophy, which they first won in 2001 and subsequently in four out of the eleven years during which the event was held. The Swifts were in losing Grand Finalists on several other occasions and made the finals series every year.
The team were particularly successful the final years of the competition, winning a memorable Grand Final game against the Melbourne Phoenix
Melbourne Phoenix
The Melbourne Phoenix were an Australian netball team. They were one of two teams representing the city of Melbourne, Victoria in the national Commonwealth Bank Trophy. They have been replaced by the Melbourne Vixens in the ANZ Championship...
in 2004 by a single goal. In 2006, they were undefeated in both the home-and-away series and the finals, and trounced the Adelaide Thunderbirds
Adelaide Thunderbirds
The Adelaide Thunderbirds are an Australian netball team based in Adelaide that currently compete in the trans-Tasman ANZ Championship. The Thunderbirds were formed as one of the foundation teams of the Commonwealth Bank Trophy , previously the premier netball league in Australia, which was...
by 29 goals in the Grand Final.
In 2007, the Swifts defeated the minor premiers, the Melbourne Phoenix
Melbourne Phoenix
The Melbourne Phoenix were an Australian netball team. They were one of two teams representing the city of Melbourne, Victoria in the national Commonwealth Bank Trophy. They have been replaced by the Melbourne Vixens in the ANZ Championship...
, by eight goals in 2007 in the Grand Final to take out the last ever Commonwealth Bank Trophy title.
But they now wear red not yellow.
2008 NSW Swifts Team
- Erin BellErin Bell (netball player)Erin Bell is an Australian netball player in the ANZ Championship, playing for the Adelaide Thunderbirds. Bell's previous ANZ Championship team was the NSW Swifts, and she also played for the Sydney Swifts in the Commonwealth Bank Trophy...
- Rebecca BulleyRebecca BulleyRebecca Bulley is an Australian international netball player. A defence circle player, Bulley was included in the Australian national squad in 2005 and 2007. Previously, she was the co-captain of the Melbourne Kestrels and of the AIS Canberra Darters during the Commonwealth Bank Trophy...
- Catherine CoxCatherine CoxCatherine Cox is an Australian netball player. Cox has played regularly for the Australian national team since her first appearance in 1997 and is a member of the ANZ Championship team West Coast Fever....
(captain) - Selina GilsenanSelina GilsenanSelina Gilsenan is a retired Australian netball player. Gilsenan has Rotuman ancestry form her mother.-Career:After a successful year playing in the Commonwealth Bank Trophy premiership-winning team in 2001, national selectors identified Selina's talent and she received her first invitation to...
- Kimberlee GreenKimberlee GreenKimberlee Green is an Australian international netball player. Green played six years in the Commonwealth Bank Trophy, for the Sydney Swifts and AIS Canberra Darters. With the start of the ANZ Championship, Green signed with Sydney franchise the New South Wales Swifts, which won the inaugural...
- Adelaide JohnsonAdelaide Johnson (netball player)Adelaide Johnson is an Australian netball player. Johnson played with the Sydney Swifts in the Commonwealth Bank Trophy from 2005–07, winning two premierships in the last two years of the competition...
- Emma KosterEmma KosterEmma Koster is an Australian netball player in the ANZ Championship, playing for the New South Wales Swifts.-References:*. Retrieved on 2009-03-20....
- Tiffany LincolnTiffany LincolnTiffany Lincoln is an Australian netball player. In 2008, Lincoln played for the New South Wales Swifts in the ANZ Championship. She was not signed to play in the 2009 season.-References:*. Retrieved on 2008-07-18....
- Susan PratleySusan PratleySusan Pratley is an Australian netball player, who plays goal attack or goal shooter. She has been a member of the Australian national team since 2006, replacing the likes of Eloise Southby-Halbish, Megan Dehn, and Cynna Kydd...
- Kimberley PurcellKimberley PurcellKimberley Smith is an Australian netball player in the ANZ Championship, playing for the New South Wales Swifts. In 2006 and before, she played for the Hunter Jaegers...
- Leah ShoardLeah ShoardLeah Shoard is an Australian netball player in the ANZ Championship, playing for the Southern Steel in New Zealand.She played for the New South Wales Swifts in the 2008 season, having previously been signed for the Sydney Swifts and AIS Canberra Darters in the Commonwealth Bank Trophy...
- Vanessa WareVanessa WareVanessa Ware is an Australian netball player in the ANZ Championship, playing for the New South Wales Swifts. She was one of the seven members to help the Swifts win the 2008 ANZ Championship Grand Final over Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic...
Final placings
- 1997: 3rd
- 1998: 2nd
- 1999: 3rd
- 2000: 3rd
- 2001: 1st
- 2002: 3rd
- 2003: 2nd
- 2004: 1st
- 2005: 2nd
- 2006: 1st
- 2007: 1st
External links
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