2012 Adelaide Thunderbirds season

The 2012 Adelaide Thunderbirds season saw Adelaide Thunderbirds compete in the 2012 ANZ Championship. After winning nine games doing the regular season, Thunderbirds finished fourth and qualified for the play-offs. However they subsequently lost the minor semi-final 49–48 to the eventual overall champions, Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic. ^[1][2][3][4]

Adelaide Thunderbirds
2012 season
Head coach	Jane Woodlands-Thompson
Asst. coach	Dan Ryan Judy Greenwood Tania Obst
Manager	Catherine Foreman
Co-captains	Sharni Layton Natalie von Bertouch
Main venue	Netball SA Stadium
Season results
Wins–losses	9–5
Regular season	4th
Finals placing	4th
Team colours

Players

Jhaniele Fowler

In November 2011, Thunderbirds signed Jhaniele Fowler, the Jamaica international. However the deal depended upon Carla Borrego, a former Jamaica international, successfully becoming an Australian citizen and thus freeing up Thunderbirds' export place for Fowler. This did not happen in time for the start of the season and the deal collapsed. ^{[5][6][7][8][9]}

Player movements

Gains and losses

Gains	Losses
Rebecca Bulley (New South Wales Swifts) Renae Hallinan (Melbourne Vixens) Melissa Rowland (Southern Force) [10] Amehlia Schmidt (Southern Force)	Georgia Beaton (Southern Force) Bianca Giteau Kara Richards (Melbourne Vixens) Joanna Sutton (New South Wales Swifts)

Sources:^{[1][9][11][12]}

2012 roster

2012 Adelaide Thunderbirds roster
Players	Coaching staff
Nat. Name Position(s) DoB Height Emily Beaton C, WA (1987-04-09)9 April 1987 (aged 24) 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) Erin Bell GA, WA, GS (1985-10-26)26 October 1985 (aged 26) 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) Carla Borrego GA, GS (1983-11-11)11 November 1983 (aged 28) 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) Natalie von Bertouch (cc) C, WA, WD (1982-12-16)16 December 1982 (aged 29) 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) Rebecca Bulley GD, GK, WD (1982-08-18)18 August 1982 (aged 29) 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) Renae Hallinan WD, C (1986-07-18)18 July 1986 (aged 25) 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) Cody Lange GS, GA (1994-10-24)24 October 1994 (aged 17) 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) Sharni Layton (cc) GK, GD, WD (1988-01-06)6 January 1988 (aged 24) 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) Maddy Proud C, WA (1993-12-04)4 December 1993 (aged 18) 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in) Melissa Rowland GA, GS (1989-05-18)18 May 1989 (aged 22) 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) Amehlia Schmidt GD, GK (1993-03-08)8 March 1993 (aged 19) 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) Kate Shimmin GK, GD (1992-02-13)13 February 1992 (aged 20) 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)	Head coach Jane Woodlands-Thompson Assistant coach Dan Ryan Judy Greenwood Tania Obst Manager: Catherine Foreman Operations Manager: Rebekah Webster Physiotherapist: Andrew Hopkins Strength and conditioning: Andrew Maynard Damian Maynard Paul Taylor Paul Beltrame Performance Analyst: Catherine Foreman Doctor: Dr Angela Moran Dietician: Natalie von Bertouch Chaplain: Emma George Notes (c) – Captain (cc) – Co-captain (vc) – Vice-captain – Injury / maternity leave (TRP) – Temporary Replacement Player

Source:^[1]

Notes

• ^1 Cody Lange, Maddy Proud, Melissa Rowland and Kate Shimmin were all members of the 2012 Southern Force squad. With a team that was coached by Tania Obst and also featured other past and future Thunderbirds' players Kelly Altmann, Georgia Beaton and Sheree Wingard, Southern Force finished as 2012 Australian Netball League champions, defeating NNSW Waratahs 50–36 in the grand final.^[1][13]
• ^2 Amehlia Schmidt was also in the 2012 Australian Institute of Sport ANL squad. ^[1][14]

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. Thunderbirds finished the tournament in 7th place.

7th/8th place play-off

Sunday 4 March	Adelaide Thunderbirds	42–34	New South Wales Swifts	TECT Arena

Sources:^{[12][15][16][17]}

Regular season

Fixtures and results

Round 1

Saturday 31 March	Adelaide Thunderbirds	57 – 40	New South Wales Swifts	Netball SA Stadium
13:50 (UTC+10:30)	Erin Bell  16/24 (67%) Carla Borrego  41/48 (85%)	Report Stats	Kimberly Borger  3/6 (50%) Carla Dziwoki  16/20 (80%) Susan Pratley  21/26 (81%)

Round 2

Sunday 8 April	Queensland Firebirds	44 – 54	Adelaide Thunderbirds	Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre
12:10 (UTC+10:00)	Romelda Aiken  34/43 (79%) Natalie Medhurst  10/11 (91%) Chelsea Pitman  0/1 (0%)	Stats	Erin Bell  22/29 (76%) Carla Borrego  32/35 (91%)

Round 3

Sunday 15 April	Adelaide Thunderbirds	34 – 48	Melbourne Vixens	Netball SA Stadium
13:50 (UTC+09:30)	Erin Bell  14/16 (88%) Carla Borrego  20/26 (77%)	Stats	Kate Beveridge  18/23 (78%) Tegan Caldwell  22/23 (96%) Karyn Howarth  8/12 (67%)

Round 4

Sunday 22 April	Northern Mystics	48 – 50	Adelaide Thunderbirds	Trusts Stadium
19:20 (UTC+12:00)	Cathrine Latu  11/11 (100%) Grace Rasmussen  3/4 (75%) Maria Tutaia  34/44 (77%)	Stats	Erin Bell  16/19 (84%) Carla Borrego  34/38 (89%)

Round 5

Sunday 29 April	West Coast Fever	36 – 48	Adelaide Thunderbirds	Challenge Stadium
10:10 (UTC+08:00)	Caitlin Bassett  23/27 (85%) Catherine Cox  8/17 (47%) Sarah East  5/9 (56%)	Stats	Erin Bell  21/28 (75%) Carla Borrego  27/32 (84%)

Round 6

Monday 7 May	Adelaide Thunderbirds	58 – 48	Southern Steel	Netball SA Stadium
19:40 (UTC+09:30)	Erin Bell  18/19 (95%) Carla Borrego  40/46 (87%)	Stats	Jodi Brown  18/25 (72%) Te Paea Selby-Rickit  10/13 (77%) Donna Wilkins  20/23 (87%)

Round 7

Sunday 13 May	Adelaide Thunderbirds	60 – 43	West Coast Fever	Netball SA Stadium
11:40 (UTC+09:30)	Erin Bell  17/22 (77%) Carla Borrego  43/45 (96%)	Stats	Caitlin Bassett  38/42 (90%) Catherine Cox  3/5 (60%) Sarah East  0/2 (0%) Nikala Smith  2/4 (50%)

Round 8

Monday 21 May	Central Pulse	47 – 46	Adelaide Thunderbirds	TSB Bank Arena
19:20 (UTC+12:00)	Paula Griffin  14/20 (70%) Caitlin Thwaites  33/7 (471%)	Stats	Erin Bell  19/22 (86%) Carla Borrego  27/34 (79%)

Round 9

Adelaide Thunderbirds received a bye.

Round 10

Sunday 3 June	Melbourne Vixens	48 – 40	Adelaide Thunderbirds	Hisense Arena
14:20 (UTC+10:00)	Kate Beveridge  30/36 (83%) Tegan Caldwell  15/20 (75%) Karyn Howarth  3/4 (75%)	Report	Erin Bell  ? Carla Borrego  ?	Attendance: 7,212

Round 11

Sunday 10 June	Adelaide Thunderbirds	54 – 49	Queensland Firebirds	Netball SA Stadium
13:40 (UTC+09:30)	Erin Bell  19/21 (90%) Carla Borrego  35/35 (100%)	Report	Romelda Aiken  ? Natalie Medhurst  ?

Round 12

Sunday 17 June	New South Wales Swifts	35 – 62	Adelaide Thunderbirds	Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre
14:20 (UTC+10:00)	Susan Pratley  6/1 (600%) Amorette Wild  12/14 (86%) Carla Dziwoki  17/21 (81%)	Stats	Carla Borrego  44/48 (92%) Erin Bell  16/19 (84%) Cody Lange  2/3 (67%)

Round 13

Saturday 23 June	Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic	59 – 42	Adelaide Thunderbirds	TECT Arena
16:20 (UTC+12:00)	Julianna Naoupu  18/23 (78%) Irene van Dyk  41/42 (98%)	Report	Erin Bell Carla Borrego

Round 14

Sunday 1 July	Adelaide Thunderbirds	65 – 44	Canterbury Tactix	Netball SA Stadium
13:40 (UTC+09:30)	Erin Bell  ? Carla Borrego  34/37 (92%)	Report	Ellen Halpenny  ? Joanne Harten  ?

Sources:^[18]

Final table

2012 ANZ Championship ladder v t e
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

Preliminary final

Grand final

8 July – Rod Laver Arena

22 July – Hisense Arena

Melbourne Vixens

56

Melbourne Vixens

38

Northern Mystics

50

16 July – Trusts Stadium

Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic

41

Northern Mystics

48

9 July – Claudelands Arena

Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic

57

Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic

49

Adelaide Thunderbirds

48

---

Minor semi-final

Monday 9 July 19:20 (UTC+12)	Stats	Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic	49–48	Adelaide Thunderbirds		Claudelands Arena
		Scoring by quarter: 15-7, 8-19, 15-13, 11-9
		Irene van Dyk  28/28 (100%) Julianna Naoupu  21/23 (91%)		Erin Bell  26/29 (90%) Carla Borrego  22/30 (73%)

Sources:^[3][4]

Award winners

Thunderbirds awards

Award	Winner
Thunderbirds MVP	Rebecca Bulley
The Advertiser Player of the Year	Rebecca Bulley
Tanya Denver Medal	Rebecca Bulley
Thunderbirds Players Player	Rebecca Bulley
Fan Favourite	Kate Shimmin

Sources:^[1]

References

1. "Annual Report 2012 – Netball SA" (PDF). sa.netball.com.au. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
2. "ANZ Championship - 2012 Season Ladder". www.anz-championship.com. Archived from the original on 23 April 2021. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
3. "T'birds fall out of finals". www.abc.net.au. 9 July 2012. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
4. "Adelaide Thunderbirds eliminated from ANZ Championship by Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic". www.news.com.au. 10 July 2012. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
5. "I want to be an Aussie". The Advertiser. www.pressreader.com. 4 May 2011. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
6. "T'bird sign Jamaican superstar Fowler". www.adelaidenow.com.au. 25 November 2011. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
7. "Fowler signs ANZ contract". jamaica-gleaner.com. 26 November 2011. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
8. "Waiting in the wings". jamaica-gleaner.com. 8 March 2012. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
9. "Netball: Team-by-team guide". www.nzherald.co.nz. 29 March 2012. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
10. "True Grit – Melissa Rowland returns to the Adelaide Thunderbirds". glamadelaide.com.au. 5 October 2011. Archived from the original on 5 August 2020. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
11. "Annual Report 2011 – Netball SA" (PDF). sa.netball.com.au. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
12. "ANZ 2012 Netball Championship review". www.theroar.com.au. 19 March 2012. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
13. "Netball NSW and NSW Swifts – 2012 Annual Report" (PDF). Netball NSW. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 January 2021. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
14. "2012 AIS Netball Program". Clearinghouse for Sport. Australian Sports Commission. Archived from the original on 28 March 2019. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
15. "Taurua eyes bringing Magic to top". www.nzherald.co.nz. 29 February 2012. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
16. "Firebirds win preseason comp". www.abc.net.au. 4 March 2012. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
17. "Netball: Plenty for Steel to work on". www.odt.co.nz. 5 March 2012. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
18. "ANZ Championship - 2012 Season Fixture". www.anz-championship.com. Archived from the original on 22 April 2021. Retrieved 19 March 2021.