# 2009 ANZ Championship season

The 2009 ANZ Championship season was the second season of the ANZ Championship. The 2009 season began on 4 April and concluded on 26 July. Melbourne Vixens were minor premiers. With a team co-captained by Bianca Chatfield and Sharelle McMahon, Vixens subsequently defeated Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic 58–43 in the major semi-final and Adelaide Thunderbirds 54–46 in the grand final to finish as overall premiers. The grand final was played on Sunday 26 July at Hisense Arena.

## Transfers

| Player | 2008 team | 2009 team |
| Jane Altschwager | Retirement | Adelaide Thunderbirds |
| Laura von Bertouch | Retirement | Adelaide Thunderbirds |
| Joanna Sutton | Retirement | Adelaide Thunderbirds |
| Ama Agbeze | West Coast Fever | Melbourne Vixens |
| Kathleen Knott | Victorian Fury | Melbourne Vixens |
| Chelsey Nash | Victorian Fury | Melbourne Vixens |
| Brooke Thompson | Victorian Fury | Melbourne Vixens |
| Sarah Wall | | Melbourne Vixens |
| Ashlee Mann | NNSW Blues/NSW Waratahs | New South Wales Swifts |
| Jessica Mansell | | New South Wales Swifts |
| Samantha May | Australian Institute of Sport | New South Wales Swifts |
| Courtney Tairi | Australian Institute of Sport | New South Wales Swifts |
| Amy Wild | | New South Wales Swifts |
| Madison Browne | Melbourne Vixens | West Coast Fever |
| Shae Bolton | | West Coast Fever |
| Johannah Curran | Melbourne Vixens | West Coast Fever |
| Sonia Mkoloma | Central Pulse | Canterbury Tactix |
| Larrissa Willcox | West Coast Fever | Canterbury Tactix |
| Althea Byfield | | Central Pulse |
| Paula Griffin | Northern Mystics | Central Pulse |
| Pamela Cookey | Team Bath | Northern Mystics |
| Debbie White | Southern Steel | Northern Mystics |
| Donna Wilkins | Retirement | Southern Steel |
| Adine Wilson | Retirement | Southern Steel |
| Sheryl Scanlan | Northern Mystics | Southern Steel |
| Leah Shoard | New South Wales Swifts | Southern Steel |
| Leana de Bruin | Northern Mystics | Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic |
| Frances Solia | Central Pulse | Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic |
| Jessica Tuki | Southern Steel | Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic |
Source:

## Head coaches and captains

| Team | Head coach | Captain |
| Adelaide Thunderbirds | Jane Woodlands-Thompson | Natalie von Bertouch |
| Melbourne Vixens | Julie Hoornweg | Sharelle McMahon Bianca Chatfield |
| New South Wales Swifts | Julie Fitzgerald | Catherine Cox |
| Queensland Firebirds | Vicki Wilson | Peta Stephens |
| West Coast Fever | Jane Searle | Stacey Rosman Johannah Curran |
| Canterbury Tactix | Helen Mahon-Stroud | Julie Seymour |
| Central Pulse | Yvette McCausland-Durie | Cushla Lichtwark |
| Northern Mystics | Te Aroha Keenan | Temepara George |
| Southern Steel | Robyn Broughton | Adine Wilson |
| Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic | Noeline Taurua | Joline Henry Irene van Dyk |

## Pre-season tournaments

| Tournament | Date | Winner | Score | Runners-up | Venue |
| Queenstown Pre-Season Tournament | 20–22 February | Northern Mystics | 58–53 | New South Wales Swifts | Queenstown Events Centre |
| SOPA Cup | 6–8 March | New South Wales Swifts | | Adelaide Thunderbirds | Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre |
| Waipa Pre-Season Tournament | 20–22 March | Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic | 53–37 | Northern Mystics | Te Awamutu Events Centre |
Source:

### Notes

* ^1 No final. Played as a round-robin tournament.

## Regular season

During the regular season the Australian teams played each other twice and the New Zealand teams once. The New Zealand teams also played each other twice and each of the Australian teams once. Melbourne Vixens won 12 of their 13 matches during the regular season. Their only defeat came in Round 10 against Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic, their main challengers for top spot. Vixens had to win their final two home matches with plenty of goals to guarantee top place. After a 63–35 win against Canterbury Tactix in Round 13, Vixens' defeated Central Pulse 80–39 in Round 14 to secure the minor premiership.

### Round 5

* BYES:  Queensland Firebirds and Southern Steel

### Round 6

* BYES:  Canterbury Tactix and Melbourne Vixens

### Round 7

* BYES:  Adelaide Thunderbirds and Central Pulse

### Round 8

* BYES:  Northern Mystics and West Coast Fever

### Round 9

* BYES:  New South Wales Swifts and Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic

### Round 13: Rivalry Round

Round 13 featured five Australia verses New Zealand matches. Goals scored by Australian and New Zealand teams were added together and the country with the most goals won the Rivalry Round Trophy. During the round, Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic became the first New Zealand team to win in Australia, defeating West Coast Fever 49–38. After 24 games, Central Pulse won their first match, defeating the reigning champions New South Wales Swifts 53–52.
Southern Steel became the third New Zealand team to secure a win when they defeated Adelaide Thunderbirds 58-49. Despite New Zealand teams winning three of the five matches, Australia won the Rivalry Round Trophy 261–252.

### Round 14

Sources:

## Final table

2009 ANZ Championship laddervte :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | G% | Pts |
| 1 | Melbourne Vixens | 13 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 769 | 614 | 125.24 | 24 |
| 2 | Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic | 13 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 673 | 562 | 119.75 | 22 |
| 3 | Adelaide Thunderbirds | 13 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 698 | 579 | 120.55 | 20 |
| 4 | Southern Steel | 13 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 662 | 645 | 102.64 | 16 |
| 5 | Queensland Firebirds | 13 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 700 | 690 | 101.45 | 16 |
| 6 | Canterbury Tactix | 13 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 639 | 662 | 96.53 | 10 |
| 7 | West Coast Fever | 13 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 666 | 735 | 90.61 | 10 |
| 8 | Northern Mystics | 13 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 642 | 727 | 88.31 | 6 |
| 9 | New South Wales Swifts | 13 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 709 | 748 | 94.79 | 4 |
| 10 | Central Pulse | 13 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 594 | 790 | 75.19 | 2 |
| Updated 20 February 2021 ||||||||||
Qualified for Major semi-final Qualified for Minor semi-final
* Pld = Games played
* W = Win (2 points)
* D = Draw (1 point)
* L = Loss (0 points)
* GF = Goals For (Total goals scored)
* GA = Goals Against (Total goals conceded)
* G% = Goal percentage (= 100 × GF/GA)
* Pts = Points
Source:

## Playoffs

| Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Preliminary final | Preliminary final | Preliminary final | Grand final | Grand final | Grand final |
| Sunday 12 July – Melbourne | Sunday 12 July – Melbourne | Sunday 12 July – Melbourne | | | | Sunday 26 July – Melbourne | Sunday 26 July – Melbourne | Sunday 26 July – Melbourne |
| Melbourne Vixens | Melbourne Vixens | 58 | | | | Melbourne Vixens | Melbourne Vixens | 54 |
| Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic | Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic | 43 | Sunday 19 July – Hamilton | Sunday 19 July – Hamilton | Sunday 19 July – Hamilton | Adelaide Thunderbirds | Adelaide Thunderbirds | 46 |
| | | | Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic | Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic | 37 | | | |
| Monday 13 July – Adelaide | Monday 13 July – Adelaide | Monday 13 July – Adelaide | Adelaide Thunderbirds | Adelaide Thunderbirds | 51 | | | |
| Adelaide Thunderbirds | Adelaide Thunderbirds | 51 | | | | | | |
| Southern Steel | Southern Steel | 45 | | | | | | |

### Major semi-final

| Sunday 12 July 14:30 (UTC+10) | Stats | Melbourne Vixens | 58–43 | Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic | Hisense Arena |
| Hisense Arena |||
| Sunday 12 July 14:30 (UTC+10) | Stats | Caitlin Thwaites 35/41 (85%) Sharelle McMahon 21/22 (95%) Ashlee Howard 2/2 (100%) | | Irene van Dyk 24/25 (96%) Maria Tutaia 19/23 (83%) | Hisense Arena |
Sources:

### Minor semi-final

| Monday 13 July 18:30 (UTC+9:30) | Stats | Adelaide Thunderbirds | 51–45 | Southern Steel | ETSA Park |
| ETSA Park |||
| Monday 13 July 18:30 (UTC+9:30) | Stats | Kate Beveridge 31/36 (86%) Natalie Medhurst 20/21 (95%) | | Megan Dehn 23/27 (85%) Donna Wilkins 22/24 (92%) | ETSA Park |
Sources:

### Preliminary final

| Sunday 19 July 19:00 (UTC+12) | Stats | Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic | 37–51 | Adelaide Thunderbirds | Mystery Creek Events Centre |
| Mystery Creek Events Centre |||
| Sunday 19 July 19:00 (UTC+12) | Stats | Irene van Dyk 25/26 (96%) Maria Tutaia 12/17 (71%) | | Kate Beveridge 28/30 (93%) Natalie Medhurst 22/25 (88%) Jane Altschwager 1/2 (50%) | Mystery Creek Events Centre |
Sources:

### Grand final

| Sunday 26 July 14:30 (UTC+10) | Stats | Melbourne Vixens | 54–46 | Adelaide Thunderbirds | Hisense Arena Attendance: 9,500 |
| Hisense Arena Attendance: 9,500 |||
| Sunday 26 July 14:30 (UTC+10) | Stats | Caitlin Thwaites 31/39 (79%) Sharelle McMahon 23/28 (82%) | | Kate Beveridge 28/34 (82%) Natalie Medhurst 18/23 (78%) Jane Altschwager 1/2 (50%) | Hisense Arena Attendance: 9,500 |
Sources:

## Award winners
### ANZ Championship awards

| Award | Winner | Team |
| Most Valuable Player | Romelda Aiken | Queensland Firebirds |
| Grand Final MVP | Sharelle McMahon | Melbourne Vixens |

### Australian Netball Awards

| Award | Winner | Team |
| Liz Ellis Diamond | Julie Corletto | Melbourne Vixens |
| Australian ANZ Championship Player of the Year | Natalie von Bertouch | Adelaide Thunderbirds |
| Australian ANZ Championship Coach of the Year | Julie Hoornweg | Melbourne Vixens |
Sources:

## Media coverage

In 2009 the ANZ Championship TV partners included Network 10 and One HD in Australia and Sky Sport (New Zealand). Television audiences were up 52% across Australia and New Zealand, from 5.8 million to 8.8 million. During the season, an average of 229,000 viewers watched per game. The grand final TV audience peaked at 354,329 viewers and the cumulative audience across both countries was over 11 million. Before the Round 12 match between New South Wales Swifts and West Coast Fever, Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre hosted a charity match, billed as Netball's Festival of Stars. The match was viewed by a television audience of 345,164 viewers.

## Gallery

* 7 March 2009; Erin Bell (GS) of New South Wales Swifts prepares to shoot against Brooke Thompson (GK) of Melbourne Vixens during the pre-season tournament, the 2009 SOPA Cup. Bell subsequently made her ANZ Championship debut with Swifts in the Round 1 match against Canterbury Tactix.
* 7 March 2009; Renae Hallinan (left) of Melbourne Vixens and Kimberlee Green (right) of New South Wales Swifts during the pre-season tournament, the 2009 SOPA Cup.
* 7 March 2009; Tamsin Greenway playing for Queensland Firebirds during the pre-season tournament, the 2009 SOPA Cup.