# 2012 Melbourne Vixens season

The 2012 Melbourne Vixens season saw Melbourne Vixens compete in the 2012 ANZ Championship. With a team captained by Bianca Chatfield and featuring Madison Browne, Julie Corletto and Geva Mentor, Vixens finished the season as minor premiers. In the major semi-final they defeated Northern Mystics 56–50. This was the first ever netball match held at Rod Laver Arena. However they lost the grand final 41–38 to Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic and finished the season as runners-up. After five years as head coach of Vixens, Julie Hoornweg announced her retirement at the end of the 2012 season.

## Players
### Player movements

Gains and losses :
| Gains | Losses |
| Karyn Howarth (Victorian Fury) Kara Richards (Adelaide Thunderbirds) Ashlee Howard (West Coast Fever) | Renae Hallinan (Adelaide Thunderbirds) Kathleen Knott (Victorian Fury) Sharelle McMahon (pregnancy) |
Sources:

### Squad
#### Notes

* ^1 Kelsey Browne was called up as a temporary replacement player for Round 1 and Round 2.
* ^2 Kelsey Browne, Ashlee Howard, Kara Richards and Micaela Wilson were also members of the 2012 Victorian Fury squad.
Sources:

### Milestones

* Karyn Howarth made her ANZ Championship debut in Round 1 against Queensland Firebirds.
* Julie Corletto and Madison Browne both made their 50th ANZ Championship appearances in Round 5 against Queensland Firebirds.
* Chelsey Tregear made her 50th ANZ Championship appearance in Round 14 against Southern Steel. Tregear subsequently announced her retirement at the Vixens awards ceremony.
Sources:

## Tauranga Pre-Season Tournament

On 2, 3 and 4 March, Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic hosted a pre-season tournament at the TECT Arena in Tauranga. For the first time since 2008, all ten ANZ Championship teams competed at the same tournament. The ten teams were divided into two pools of five. Teams within each pool played each other once and the winners qualified for the final. Melbourne Vixens won their pool but subsequently lost the final 50–30 to Queensland Firebirds.

### Final

Sources:

## Regular season

Melbourne Vixens finished the regular season as minor premiers. After winning their first six matches, they lost to New South Wales Swifts in Round 7. They then lost three successive matches, another to Swifts and one to Northern Mystics. On 20 May in Round 8, against Mystics, Vixens were undone by Mystics defender Anna Harrison and her Harrison Hoist. Harrison made several vital blocks while being hoisted rugby union lineout-style by her defensive partners, helping Mystics secure a 49–45 win. However, Vixens successively claimed the minor premiership with three wins in the final three rounds.

### Fixtures and results
#### Round 11

Melbourne Vixens received a bye.

#### Round 14

Sources:

### Final table

2012 ANZ Championship laddervte :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | GF | GA | GD | G% | Pts |
| 1 | Melbourne Vixens | 13 | 10 | 3 | 645 | 569 | 76 | 113.36 | 20 |
| 2 | Northern Mystics | 13 | 10 | 3 | 667 | 633 | 34 | 105.37 | 20 |
| 3 | Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic | 13 | 9 | 4 | 699 | 594 | 105 | 117.68 | 18 |
| 4 | Adelaide Thunderbirds | 13 | 9 | 4 | 670 | 589 | 81 | 113.75 | 18 |
| 5 | New South Wales Swifts | 13 | 8 | 5 | 624 | 638 | -14 | 97.81 | 16 |
| 6 | Queensland Firebirds | 13 | 7 | 6 | 686 | 640 | 46 | 107.19 | 14 |
| 7 | Central Pulse | 13 | 5 | 8 | 585 | 626 | -41 | 93.45 | 10 |
| 8 | West Coast Fever | 13 | 3 | 10 | 608 | 673 | -65 | 90.34 | 6 |
| 9 | Southern Steel | 13 | 2 | 11 | 639 | 728 | -89 | 87.77 | 4 |
| 10 | Canterbury Tactix | 13 | 2 | 11 | 634 | 767 | -133 | 82.66 | 4 |
| Updated 28 March 2021 ||||||||||
Qualified for Major semi-final Qualified for Minor semi-final
* Pld = Games played
* W = Win (2 points)
* L = Loss (0 points)
* GF = Goals For
* GA = Goals Against
* GD = Goals Difference (= GF−GA)
* G% = Goal percentage (= 100 × GF/GA)
Pts = Points

## Finals

| Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Preliminary final | Preliminary final | Preliminary final | Grand final | Grand final | Grand final |
| 8 July – Rod Laver Arena | 8 July – Rod Laver Arena | 8 July – Rod Laver Arena | | | | 22 July – Hisense Arena | 22 July – Hisense Arena | 22 July – Hisense Arena |
| Melbourne Vixens | Melbourne Vixens | 56 | | | | Melbourne Vixens | Melbourne Vixens | 38 |
| Northern Mystics | Northern Mystics | 50 | 16 July – Trusts Stadium | 16 July – Trusts Stadium | 16 July – Trusts Stadium | Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic | Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic | 41 |
| | | | Northern Mystics | Northern Mystics | 48 | | | |
| 9 July – Claudelands Arena | 9 July – Claudelands Arena | 9 July – Claudelands Arena | Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic | Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic | 57 | | | |
| Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic | Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic | 49 | | | | | | |
| Adelaide Thunderbirds | Adelaide Thunderbirds | 48 | | | | | | |

### Major semi-final

| Sunday 8 July 14:20 (UTC+10) | Stats | Melbourne Vixens | 56–50 | Northern Mystics | Rod Laver Arena |
| Rod Laver Arena |||
| Sunday 8 July 14:20 (UTC+10) | Stats | Karyn Howarth 33/40 (83%) Tegan Caldwell 23/26 (88%) | | Cathrine Latu 30/32 (94%) Maria Tutaia 20/23 (87%) | Rod Laver Arena |
Sources:

### Grand final

| Sunday 22 July 14:30 (UTC+10) | Melbourne Vixens | 38–41 | Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic | Hisense Arena Attendance: 10,500 |
| Hisense Arena Attendance: 10,500 |||
| Sunday 22 July 14:30 (UTC+10) | Karyn Howarth 22/29 (76%) Tegan Caldwell 16/26 (62%) | | Irene van Dyk 25/26 (96%) Julianna Naoupu 16/24 (67%) | Hisense Arena Attendance: 10,500 |
Sources:

## Award winners
### Vixens awards

| Award | Winner |
| Best and Fairest | Geva Mentor |
| Player of the Finals | Madison Browne |
| Coaches’ Award | Chelsey Tregear |
| Rookie of the Year | Karyn Howarth |
| Outstanding Service Award | Jennifer McIntyre |
| Excellence in Sport and Life Award | Bianca Chatfield |
Sources:

### All Stars

| Position | Player |
| WA | Madison Browne |
| WD | Julie Corletto |
| GK | Geva Mentor |
Sources:

### Australian Netball Awards

| Award | Winner |
| Australian ANZ Championship Player of the Year | Madison Browne |
| Liz Ellis Diamond | Madison Browne |
| Australian ANZ Championship Coach of the Year | Julie Hoornweg |
Sources: