# 2011 Queensland Firebirds season

The 2011 Mission Queensland Firebirds season saw Queensland Firebirds compete in the 2011 ANZ Championship. With a team coached by Roselee Jencke, captained by Lauren Nourse and featuring Romelda Aiken, Laura Geitz, Clare McMeniman and Natalie Medhurst, Firebirds finished the season undefeated. They became the first team in the history of the ANZ Championship to go through the regular season and the playoffs without losing a single match. In the major semi-final, Firebirds defeated Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic and in the grand final they defeated Northern Mystics, winning their first premiership. This marked the beginning of a golden age for Firebirds. Between 2011 and 2016, Jencke guided them to five grand finals and three premierships.

## Players
### Player movements

Summary of 2011 player movements :
| Gains | Losses |
| Candice Adams Elissa Macleod April Letton (NNSW Waratahs) Chelsea Pitman (Canterbury Tactix) Ameliaranne Wells (Queensland Fusion) | Alissa Castrisos Sophie Croft (Queensland Fusion) Laura Scherian (Queensland Fusion) Sarah Wall (Melbourne Vixens) |
Source:

### 2011 roster
#### Notes

* ^1 Candice Adams, Jacqui Russell and Ameliaranne Wells were all members of the 2011 Queensland Fusion squad.
Source:

### Gold medallists

Laura Geitz, Natalie Medhurst and Chelsea Pitman were all members of the Australia team that won the gold medal at the 2011 World Netball Championships.

## Pre-season

Between 28 and 30 January, Firebirds participated in the Queenstown Pre-Season Tournament, hosted by Southern Steel. They played five matches against Steel, Canterbury Tactix and Central Pulse. Firebirds won the tournament, defeating Pulse in the final.

### Final
## Regular season
### Fixtures and results
#### Round 1

Queensland Firebirds received a bye.

#### Round 12

Sources:

### Final table

2011 ANZ Championship laddervte :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | GF | GA | GD | G% | Pts |
| 1 | Queensland Firebirds | 13 | 13 | 0 | 758 | 587 | 171 | 129.13 | 26 |
| 2 | Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic | 13 | 10 | 3 | 647 | 578 | 69 | 111.94 | 20 |
| 3 | New South Wales Swifts | 13 | 9 | 4 | 677 | 606 | 71 | 111.72 | 18 |
| 4 | Northern Mystics | 13 | 9 | 4 | 684 | 619 | 65 | 110.5 | 18 |
| 5 | Melbourne Vixens | 13 | 8 | 5 | 664 | 610 | 54 | 108.85 | 16 |
| 6 | Adelaide Thunderbirds | 13 | 5 | 8 | 662 | 737 | -75 | 89.82 | 10 |
| 7 | Southern Steel | 13 | 4 | 9 | 533 | 594 | -61 | 89.73 | 8 |
| 8 | Central Pulse | 13 | 3 | 10 | 599 | 683 | -84 | 87.7 | 6 |
| 9 | West Coast Fever | 13 | 3 | 10 | 646 | 754 | -108 | 85.68 | 6 |
| 10 | Canterbury Tactix | 13 | 1 | 12 | 621 | 723 | -102 | 85.89 | 2 |
| Updated 8 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
Source:

## Playoffs

| Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Preliminary final | Preliminary final | Preliminary final | Grand final | Grand final | Grand final |
| 9 May – Gold Coast | 9 May – Gold Coast | 9 May – Gold Coast | | | | 22 May – Brisbane | 22 May – Brisbane | 22 May – Brisbane |
| Queensland Firebirds | Queensland Firebirds | 50 | | | | Queensland Firebirds | Queensland Firebirds | 57 |
| Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic | Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic | 39 | 15 May – Hamilton | 15 May – Hamilton | 15 May – Hamilton | Northern Mystics | Northern Mystics | 44 |
| | | | Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic | Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic | 42 | | | |
| 8 May – Sydney | 8 May – Sydney | 8 May – Sydney | Northern Mystics | Northern Mystics | 43 | | | |
| New South Wales Swifts | New South Wales Swifts | 44 | | | | | | |
| Northern Mystics | Northern Mystics | 49 | | | | | | |

### Minor semifinal

| Sunday 8 May 14:20 (UTC+10) | New South Wales Swifts | 44–49 | Northern Mystics | Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre Umpires: Rachael Ayre (Australia) Mandy Nottingham (New Zealand) Reserve umpire: Jemma Carlton (Australia) | TEN SKYSport |
| TEN SKYSport |||
| Sunday 8 May 14:20 (UTC+10) | Catherine Cox 28/36 (78%) Amorette Wild 8/8 (100%) Susan Pratley 8/10 (80%) | | Cathrine Latu 25/28 (89%) Maria Tutaia 24/29 (83%) | Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre Umpires: Rachael Ayre (Australia) Mandy Nottingham (New Zealand) Reserve umpire: Jemma Carlton (Australia) | TEN SKYSport |
Source:

### Major semifinal

| Monday 9 May 19:40 (UTC+10) | Stats | Queensland Firebirds | 50–39 | Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic | Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre | TEN SKYSport |
| TEN SKYSport |||
| Monday 9 May 19:40 (UTC+10) | Stats | Romelda Aiken 29/33 (88%) Natalie Medhurst 21/27 (78%) | | Irene van Dyk 17/19 (89%) Jamilah Gupwell 16/18 (89%) Julianna Naoupu 6/8 (75%) | Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre | TEN SKYSport |
Source:

### Preliminary final

| Sunday 15 May 18:20 (UTC+12) | Stats | Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic | 42–43 | Northern Mystics | Mystery Creek Events Centre | TEN SKYSport |
| TEN SKYSport |||
| Sunday 15 May 18:20 (UTC+12) | Stats | Irene van Dyk 27/28 (96%) Julianna Naoupu 14/19 (74%) Jamilah Gupwell 1/3 (33%) | | Cathrine Latu 15/17 (88%) Maria Tutaia 28/30 (93%) | Mystery Creek Events Centre | TEN SKYSport |
Source:

### Grand final

| Sunday 22 May 14:30 (UTC+10) | Stats | Queensland Firebirds | 57–44 | Northern Mystics | Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre Attendance: 3,541 Umpires: Sharon Kelly (Australia) Mandy Nottingham (New Zealand) Reserve umpire: Rachael Ayre (Australia) | TEN SKYSport |
| TEN SKYSport |||
| Sunday 22 May 14:30 (UTC+10) | Stats | Romelda Aiken 35/40 (88%) Natalie Medhurst 22/24 (92%) | | Cathrine Latu 21/21 (100%) Maria Tutaia 23/31 (74%) | Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre Attendance: 3,541 Umpires: Sharon Kelly (Australia) Mandy Nottingham (New Zealand) Reserve umpire: Rachael Ayre (Australia) | TEN SKYSport |
Source:
Source:

## Statistics

| Player | GS | GA | G% | A | R | CPR | I | D | P | T |
| Candice Adams | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Romelda Aiken | 523 | 607 | 86.2 | 24 | 65 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 46 | 59 |
| Laura Geitz | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 0 | 57 | 92 | 264 | 22 |
| April Letton | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Elissa Macleod | 0 | 0 | 0 | 80 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 104 | 24 |
| Clare McMeniman | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 32 | 4 | 24 | 86 | 7 |
| Natalie Medhurst | 338 | 404 | 83.7 | 141 | 8 | 256 | 8 | 23 | 39 | 41 |
| Lauren Nourse | 0 | 0 | 0 | 121 | 0 | 47 | 1 | 2 | 60 | 25 |
| Chelsea Pitman | 1 | 3 | 33.3 | 101 | 1 | 250 | 5 | 9 | 61 | 25 |
| Jacqui Russell | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 2 |
| Amy Steel | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 55 | 23 | 35 | 149 | 13 |
| Keirra Trompf | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 69 | 10 | 31 | 128 | 9 |
| Ameliaranne Wells | 3 | 6 | 50.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Source:

## Award winners
### ANZ Championship awards

| Award | Winner |
| ANZ Championship Most Valuable Player | Natalie Medhurst |
| ANZ Championship Grand Final MVP | Romelda Aiken |
| ANZ Championship All Star Team Member | Romelda Aiken |
| ANZ Championship All Star Team Coach | Roselee Jencke |

### Australian Netball Awards

| Award | Winner |
| Liz Ellis Diamond | Laura Geitz |
| Australian ANZ Championship Player of the Year | Laura Geitz |
| Australian ANZ Championship Coach of the Year | Roselee Jencke |
| Australian Under-21 Player of the Year | April Letton |

### Firebirds awards

| Award | Winner |
| Player of the Year | Romelda Aiken |
| Players' Player | Laura Geitz |
| Members' Player of the Year | Natalie Medhurst |
| Spirit Award | Lauren Nourse |

#### Notes

* ^2 Award shared with Leana de Bruin (Southern Steel)
Sources: