# 2012 Netball Superleague season

The 2012 Netball Superleague season (known for sponsorship reasons as the FIAT Netball Superleague) was the seventh season of the Netball Superleague. The league was won by Northern Thunder. In the grand final Northern Thunder defeated Surrey Storm. 2012 saw the introduction of a new format, featuring three distinct phases, including a Showdown Weekend.

## Teams

Following the conclusion of the 2011 Netball Superleague season, England Netball decided to cut the number of teams from nine to eight and, as a result, Glasgow Wildcats lost their place in the league. In addition, Leeds Carnegie were re-branded as Yorkshire Jets.
| 2012 Superleague teams | Home venue/base | Country/Region |
| Celtic Dragons | Sport Wales National Centre | Wales |
| Hertfordshire Mavericks | University of Hertfordshire | East of England |
| Loughborough Lightning | Loughborough University | East Midlands |
| Northern Thunder | Wright Robinson College | North West England |
| Team Bath | University of Bath | South West England/West of England |
| Team Northumbria | West Gate Centre for Sport, Newcastle | North East England |
| Surrey Storm | University of Surrey | Greater London/South East England |
| Yorkshire Jets | Hull / Leeds / Sheffield | Yorkshire |

## Regular season
### Phase 1

Phase 1 featured all eight teams playing a single round of matches in a league format. At the end of the seven rounds, the top four and bottom four split into two tiers. Northern Thunder were unbeaten in Phase 1 of the season.
2012 Netball Superleague season – Phase 1 :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | D | GF | GA | PP | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Northern Thunder | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 443 | 269 | 164.7 | 21 | Qualified for Phase 2 Tier 1 |
| 2 | Surrey Storm | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 441 | 336 | 131.3 | 18 | Qualified for Phase 2 Tier 1 |
| 3 | Hertfordshire Mavericks | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 336 | 342 | 98.2 | 12 | Qualified for Phase 2 Tier 1 |
| 4 | Team Bath | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 356 | 353 | 100.8 | 9 | Qualified for Phase 2 Tier 1 |
| 5 | Celtic Dragons | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 351 | 355 | 98.9 | 9 | Qualified for Phase 2 Tier 2 |
| 6 | Yorkshire Jets | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 306 | 336 | 91.1 | 9 | Qualified for Phase 2 Tier 2 |
| 7 | Team Northumbria | 7 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 337 | 387 | 87.1 | 3 | Qualified for Phase 2 Tier 2 |
| 8 | Loughborough Lightning | 7 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 257 | 398 | 64.6 | 3 | Qualified for Phase 2 Tier 2 |

### Phase 2

Phase 2 was effectively a group stage, with the teams in each group playing each other home and away.
2012 Netball Superleague season – Tier 1 :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | D | GF | GA | PP | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Surrey Storm | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 376 | 302 | 124.5 | 18 | Qualified for semi-finals |
| 2 | Northern Thunder | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 376 | 278 | 135.3 | 12 | Qualified for semi-finals |
| 3 | Hertfordshire Mavericks | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 266 | 342 | 77.8 | 6 | Qualified for semi-finals |
| 4 | Team Bath | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 269 | 365 | 73.7 | 0 | Qualified for Eliminator |
2012 Netball Superleague season – Tier 2 :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | D | GF | GA | PP | Pts | Qualification |
| 5 | Celtic Dragons | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 342 | 249 | 137.3 | 18 | Qualified for Eliminator |
| 6 | Yorkshire Jets | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 319 | 270 | 118.1 | 12 | |
| 7 | Team Northumbria | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 273 | 336 | 81.3 | 3 | |
| 8 | Loughborough Lightning | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 239 | 318 | 75.2 | 3 | |

#### Eliminator

The Eliminator was effectively a 4th/5th place play-off with the winner qualifying for the semi-finals.
| 14 May 2012 | Team Bath | 52–50 | Celtic Dragons | University of Bath |
| University of Bath |||

## Showdown Weekend
### Semi Final 1

| 19 May 2012 | Northern Thunder | 57–33 | Hertfordshire Mavericks | SportHouse, Dagenham |

### Semi Final 2

| 19 May 2012 | Surrey Storm | 62–38 | Team Bath | SportHouse, Dagenham |

### 3rd/4th Place Play Off

| 20 May 2012 | Hertfordshire Mavericks | 46–39 | Team Bath | SportHouse, Dagenham |

### Grand Final

| 20 May 2012 | Northern Thunder | 57–55 | Surrey Storm | SportHouse, Dagenham Umpires: Gary Burgess and Louise Travis |
| SportHouse, Dagenham Umpires: Gary Burgess and Louise Travis |||
| 20 May 2012 | Janelle Lawson 33/39 (85%) Karen Greig 24/28 (86%) | | Rachel Dunn 35/41 (85%) Pamela Cookey 20/23 (87%) | SportHouse, Dagenham Umpires: Gary Burgess and Louise Travis |