Queensland Firebirds

Queensland Firebirds are an Australian professional netball team based in Brisbane, Queensland. Since 2017 they have played in Suncorp Super Netball. Between 2008 and 2016, they played in the ANZ Championship and between 1997 and 2007, they played in the Commonwealth Bank Trophy. Firebirds were the most successful team during the ANZ Championship era, playing in five grand finals and winning three premierships, in 2011, 2015 and 2016. They were the only team to win back to back ANZ Championship titles.

Queensland Firebirds

Founded	1997
Based in	Brisbane
Regions	Queensland
Home venue	Queensland State Netball Centre
Head coach	Rebecca Bulley
Captain	Kim Ravaillion
Vice-captain	Lara Dunkley
Premierships	3 (2011, 2015, 2016)[1]
League	Suncorp Super Netball ANZ Championship Commonwealth Bank Trophy
2023 placing	7th
Website	www.firebirds.net.au

History

Commonwealth Bank Trophy

Between 1997 and 2007, Queensland Firebirds represented Netball Queensland in the Commonwealth Bank Trophy league.^{[2][3][4][5][6][7]} Together with Adelaide Ravens, Adelaide Thunderbirds, Melbourne Kestrels, Melbourne Phoenix, Perth Orioles, Sydney Sandpipers and Sydney Swifts, Firebirds were one of the founding members of the league.^[8][9] Between 2005 and 2009, Vicki Wilson, a former Australia netball international, served as Firebirds head coach.^{[10][11][12][13][14]} In 2006 Firebirds reached their first play-off series, losing 58–56 in the semi-finals to Melbourne Phoenix.^[15]

Regular season statistics

Season	Position	Won	Drawn	Lost
1997[2]	1st	14	0	0
1998[2]	1st	14	0	0
1999[3]	1st	14	0	0
2000[3]	1st	14	0	0
2001[4]	1st	14	0	0
2002[4]	1st	14	0	0
2003[5]	1st	14	0	0
2004[5][16][17]	1st	14	0	0
2005[6][16][18]	1st	14	0	0
2006[6]	1st	14	0	0
2007[7]	1st	14	0	0

ANZ Championship

Between 2008 and 2016, Firebirds played in the ANZ Championship.^[19][20] In 2009, Roselee Jencke was appointed head coach.^[13] In 2011 Firebirds finished the season undefeated. This marked the beginning of a golden age for the team. Between 2011 and 2016, Jencke guided Firebirds to five grand finals and three premierships. They were the most successful team during the ANZ Championship era and the only team to win back to back titles.^{[20][21][22][23][24]} Romelda Aiken, Laura Geitz and Clare McMeniman formed the nucleus of the Firebirds squad and featured in all three Championship winning squads.^{[25][26][27][28][29]}

Regular season statistics

Season	Position	Won	Drawn	Lost
2008[19][30]	1st	13	0	0
2009[31]	1st	13	0	0
2010[32]	1st	13	0	0
2011[33][34][35]	1st	13	0	0
2012[36]	1st	13	0	0
2013	1st	13	0	0
2014[37]	1st	13	0	0
2015[38]	1st	13	0	0
2016[20]	1st	13	0	0

  Premierships
  Runners Up

Suncorp Super Netball

Since 2017, Firebirds have played in Suncorp Super Netball.^[1] They have only participated in one year of finals, being knocked out in the minor semi-final of 2018.^[39]

Regular season statistics

Season	Position	Won	Drawn	Lost
2017[40]	1st	14	0	0
2018[41]	1st	14	0	0
2019[42]	1st	14	0	0
2020	1st	14	0	0
2021	1st	14	0	0
2022[43]	1st	14	0	0

Grand finals

ANZ Championship

Season	Winners	Score	Runners Up	Venue
2011[34][44][45]	Queensland Firebirds	57–44	Northern Mystics	Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre
2013[46][47]	Adelaide Thunderbirds	50–52	Queensland Firebirds	Adelaide Entertainment Centre
2014[37][48]	Melbourne Vixens	53–55	Queensland Firebirds	Hisense Arena
2015[38][49][50]	Queensland Firebirds	57–56	New South Wales Swifts	Brisbane Entertainment Centre
2016[20][25][51]	Queensland Firebirds	69–67	New South Wales Swifts	Brisbane Entertainment Centre

Home venues

Firebirds have played their home games at various venues throughout Brisbane and Queensland. In February 2019, they moved into a new permanent home, the Queensland State Netball Centre.^[52][53]

	Years
Chandler Arena[17][18][54]	1997–2008
Brisbane Entertainment Centre[55][56]	2008–2018
Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre[18][36]	2005, 2008–2017
Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre[36]	2008–2017
Gold Coast Sports and Leisure Centre[57]	2018
Queensland State Netball Centre[52][53]	2019–

Notable players

2025 squad

2025 Queensland Firebirds roster
Players	Coaching staff
Nat. Name Position(s) DoB Height Mary Cholhok Nuba GS 3 January 1997 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) Ruby Bakewell-Doran GD, WD, GK 21 January 1999 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) Lara Dunkley C, WA, WD 31 May 1995 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) Isabelle Shearer GK, GD – Macy Gardner C, WA, WD 7 June 2000 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) Imogen Allison C, WD, 24 April 1998 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) Hulita Veve WD, C – Tippah Dwan GA, WA, GS 30 October 1999 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) Ash Barnett GK, GD 16 November 2002 – Emily Moore GA, GS 7 March 1997 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)	Head coach Kiri Wills Assistant coach Notes (c) – Captain (cc) – Co-captain (vc) – Vice-captain – Injury / maternity leave (TRP) – Temporary Replacement Player
Player profiles: Team website	Last updated: 5 October 2024

Internationals

 Australia

Rebecca Bulley Michelle Fielke Sharon Finnan Laura Geitz Melanie Groves Alexandra Hodge

Demelza McCloud Clare McMeniman Natalie Medhurst Joanne Morgan Caitlyn Nevins Lauren Nourse

Chelsea Pitman Kim Ravaillion Gabi Simpson Amy Steel Gretel Tippett Vicki Wilson

Verity Simmons Steph Wood

 Australia Fast5

• Karyn Bailey
• Carla Dziwoki
• Kate Shimmin
• Amorette Wild

 England

• Tamsin Greenway
• Chelsea Pitman
• Kate Shimmin
• Eboni Usoro-Brown

 Jamaica

• Romelda Aiken

 New Zealand

• Ameliaranne Ekenasio

 South Africa

• Erin Burger
• Ine-Mari Venter
• Lenize Potgieter

 Fiji

• Simone Nalatu

 Papua New Guinea

• Maleta Roberts

Captains

	Years
Carla Dziwoki[16]	2005
Melanie McKenzie[16]	2005
Peta Stephens[58][59]	2006–2009
Lauren Nourse[60][61]	2010–2012
Laura Geitz[61]	2012–2016
Gabi Simpson[62][63]	2017– 2021
Kim Ravaillion	2022–2024

Head coaches

Coach	Years
Patti Farrell	1997–1999
Sue Hawkins[64]	1999–2003
Brenda Scherian[10][11][16]	2004–2005
Vicki Wilson[10][11][12][13][14]	2005–2009
Roselee Jencke[13][14][21][22][23][24]	2009–2020
Megan Anderson[65][66][67]	2020–2022
Rebecca Bulley[68][69]	2022–2024

Main sponsors

Sponsors	Seasons
Firestone[9]	c. 1997–1999
Mission Foods[36][38][70][71]	2010–2015
Lorna Jane[72][55]	2016–

Queensland Sapphires

Main article: Queensland Sapphires

Queensland Sapphires are the reserve team of Queensland Firebirds.^[73][74]

Premierships

• ANZ Championship
  • Winners: 2011, 2015, 2016
  • Runners Up: 2013, 2014