2015 Queensland Firebirds season

The 2015 Queensland Firebirds season saw the Queensland Firebirds netball team compete in the 2015 ANZ Championship. With a team coached by Roselee Jencke, captained by Laura Geitz and featuring Romelda Aiken, Clare McMeniman and Kim Ravaillion, Firebirds won the Australian Conference, the Challenge Trophy, the minor premiership and the overall championship. Firebirds narrowly defeated New South Wales Swifts in both the Australian Conference final and the Grand Final on their way to effectively winning four titles.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]}

Queensland Firebirds
2015 season
21 January 2015; Members of the 2015 Queensland Firebirds team. Form left to right, Clare McMeniman, Romelda Aiken, Rebecca Bulley, Laura Clemesha, Beryl Friday, Caitlyn Nevins and Kim Ravaillion.
Head coach	Roselee Jencke
Asst. coach	Jenny Brazel
Manager	Nannette Rigoni
Captain	Laura Geitz
Vice-captain	Clare McMeniman
Main venue	Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre
Season results
Wins–losses	14–1 (1 draw)
Regular season	1st (Australian Conference) Challenge Trophy holders
Finals placing	1st
Team colours

Players

Player movements

Gains and losses

Gains	Losses
Rebecca Bulley (Adelaide Thunderbirds)[9][10] Mahalia Cassidy (Queensland Fusion) Beryl Friday (Queensland Fusion)[11] Caitlyn Nevins (Melbourne Vixens)[12] Laura Scherian (Queensland Fusion) Gretel Tippett (New South Wales Swifts)	Demelza Fellowes (Mainland Tactix) Nicola Gray (Adelaide Thunderbirds) Jacinta Messer (Year out)[13] Stephanie Puopolo (Victorian Fury)[14] Ameliaranne Wells (Central Pulse)[15][16]

Sources:^[1][17][18]

2015 roster

2015 Queensland Firebirds roster
Players	Coaching staff
Nat. Name Position(s) DoB Height Romelda Aiken GS, GA (1988-11-19)19 November 1988 (aged 26) 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) Rebecca Bulley GD, GK, WD (1982-08-18)18 August 1982 (aged 32) 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) Mahalia Cassidy (TRP) WA, C (1995-10-09)9 October 1995 (aged 19) 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) Laura Clemesha GK, GD (1992-01-21)21 January 1992 (aged 23) 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) Beryl Friday GA, GS, WA (1994-01-19)19 January 1994 (aged 21) 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) Laura Geitz (c) GK, GD (1987-11-04)4 November 1987 (aged 27) 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) Clare McMeniman (vc) GD, WD (1985-07-11)11 July 1985 (aged 29) 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) Caitlyn Nevins WA, C (1987-06-01)1 June 1987 (aged 27) 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) Kim Ravaillion C, WD, WA (1993-07-26)26 July 1993 (aged 21) 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) Laura Scherian (TRP) WA, C (1988-06-26)26 June 1988 (aged 26) 1.67 m (5 ft 6 in) Verity Simmons  WA, C (1991-05-19)19 May 1991 (aged 23) 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) Gabi Simpson WD, GD, C (1992-10-17)17 October 1992 (aged 22) 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in) Gretel Tippett GA,GS (1993-07-03)3 July 1993 (aged 21) 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) Amorette Wild GA, GS, WA (1989-08-10)10 August 1989 (aged 25) 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)	Head coach Roselee Jencke Assistant coach Jenny Brazel Manager: Nannette Rigoni Notes (c) – Captain (cc) – Co-captain (vc) – Vice-captain – Injury / maternity leave (TRP) – Temporary Replacement Player

Notes

• ^1 Mahalia Cassidy, Laura Clemesha, Beryl Friday, Laura Scherian and Verity Simmons were all members of the 2015 Queensland Fusion squad. Jenny Brazel was the Fusion head coach.

Sources:^[1][8][17]

Debutants

• Mahalia Cassidy made her ANZ Championship debut in the Round 8 match against Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic.^[1]

Milestones

• Romelda Aiken and Rebecca Bulley both made their 100th ANZ Championship appearance in the Round 1 match against West Coast Fever.
• Laura Geitz made her 100th ANZ Championship appearance in the Round 5 match against New South Wales Swifts.^[19]
• Romelda Aiken scored her 4,000 ANZ Championship goal in the Round 10 match against West Coast Fever.^[20]

Sources:^[1]

Gold medallists

Rebecca Bulley, Laura Geitz and Kim Ravaillion were all members of the Australia team that won the gold medal at the 2015 Netball World Cup. Geitz also captained Australia during the tournament.^[1][21][22]

Constellation Cup

On 22 October 2015, during the second test of the 2015 Constellation Cup series against New Zealand, for the first time in the history of the Australia national netball team, five Queensland Firebirds players were on the court at the same time. The five were Laura Geitz, Clare McMeniman, Gretel Tippett, Kim Ravaillion and Gabi Simpson.^[23]

Summer Shootout

Between 6 and 8 February, New South Wales Swifts hosted the Summer Shootout at Netball Central, Sydney Olympic Park. All ten ANZ Championship teams participated in the three-day tournament. A total of 25 games, consisting of both full length and shortened games consisting of two 15-minute periods, were played over the weekend. Firebirds finished the weekend with four wins and one defeat.^{[24][25][26][27][28]}

Fri 6 Feb	Queensland Firebirds	58–44	Mainland Tactix
6:30pm

Sat 7 Feb	Queensland Firebirds	30–17	Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic
10:00am

Sat 7 Feb	Queensland Firebirds	33–26	Southern Steel
2:30pm

Sat 7 Feb	Melbourne Vixens	26–23	Queensland Firebirds
4:30pm

Sun 8 Feb	Queensland Firebirds	46–44	Adelaide Thunderbirds
10:00am

Regular season

Fixtures and results

Round 1

Sun 1 March	Queensland Firebirds	50 - 57	West Coast Fever	Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre
11:18 AM (AEST)	Romelda Aiken  ? Amy Wild  ?	Report	Caitlin Bassett  44 Natalie Medhurst  ?

Round 2

Sun 8 March	Central Pulse	46 - 52	Queensland Firebirds	Te Rauparaha Arena
7:10 PM (NZDT)	Jodi Brown  27 Irene van Dyk  19	Report	Romelda Aiken  37 Amy Wild  15

Round 3

Sun 15 March	New South Wales Swifts	47 - 47	Queensland Firebirds	Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre
12.18 PM (AEDT)	Susan Pettitt  29/37 (78%) Caitlin Thwaites  18/22 (82%)	Report	Romelda Aiken  36/46 (78%) Gretel Tippett  11/14 (79%)

Round 4

Queensland Firebirds received a bye.

Round 5

Mon 30 March	Queensland Firebirds	51 - 47	New South Wales Swifts	Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre
7:18 PM (AEST)	Romelda Aiken  43 Gretel Tippett  ?	Report	Susan Pettitt  ? Caitlin Thwaites  ?

Round 6

Sun 5 April	Queensland Firebirds	48 - 46	Adelaide Thunderbirds	Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre
12:18 PM (AEST)	Romelda Aiken  26/32 (81%) Gretel Tippett  22	Report Stats	Carla Borrego  30/32 (94%) Erin Bell  16	Attendance: 3,150

Round 7

Sun 12 April	Melbourne Vixens	48 - 55	Queensland Firebirds	Hisense Arena
12:18 PM (AEST)	Tegan Philip  27/30 (90%) Karyn Bailey  21/24 (88%)	Report	Romelda Aiken  37/46 (80%) Gretel Tippett  18/26 (69%)

Round 8

Sat 18 April	Queensland Firebirds	50 - 42	Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic	Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre
2:18 PM (AEST)	Romelda Aiken  40/49 (82%) Gretel Tippett  10/17 (59%)	Report	Joanne Harten  29/34 (85%) Ellen Halpenny  10/15 (67%) Malia Paseka  3/6 (50%)

Round 9

Sun 26 April	Northern Mystics	47 - 53	Queensland Firebirds	The Trusts Arena
7:10 PM (NZST)	Maria Tutaia  28/30 (93%) Cathrine Latu  15/15 (100%) Paula Griffin  4 ?	Report	Romelda Aiken  42/53 (79%) Gretel Tippett  11/19 (58%)

Round 10

Fri 1 May	West Coast Fever	48 - 56	Queensland Firebirds	Perth Arena
7:18 PM (AWST)	Caitlin Bassett  35/39 (90%) Natalie Medhurst  13/15 (87%)	Report	Romelda Aiken  47/57 (82%) Gretel Tippett  9/18 (50%)

Round 11

Sun 10 May	Queensland Firebirds	54 - 45	Melbourne Vixens	Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre
12:18 PM (AEST)	Romelda Aiken  38/44 (86%) Gretel Tippett  16/25 (64%)	Report	Tegan Philip  21/25 (84%) Karyn Bailey  24/30 (80%)	Attendance: 4,444

Round 12

Sat 16 May	Adelaide Thunderbirds	42 - 58	Queensland Firebirds	Adelaide Arena
7:18 PM (ACST)	Carla Borrego  40 Erin Bell  18	Report	Romelda Aiken  26 Gretel Tippett  16	Attendance: 5,000

Round 13

Sun 24 May	Mainland Tactix	43 - 68	Queensland Firebirds	Marlborough Lines Stadium, Blenheim
7:10 PM (NZST)	Mwai Kumwenda  22/25 (88%) Bailey Mes  21/25 (84%)	Report	Romelda Aiken  52/67 (78%) Gretel Tippett  10/17 (59%) Amy Wild  6/9 (67%)

Round 14

Sun 31 May	Queensland Firebirds	66 - 50	Southern Steel	Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre
2:18 PM (AEST)	Romelda Aiken  49/60 (82%) Gretel Tippett  17/29 (59%)	Report	Jhaniele Fowler-Reid  29/36 (81%) Te Paea Selby-Rickit  17/24 (71%) Brooke Leaver  4/4 (100%)

Source:^[29]

Final standings

2015 Australian Conference v t e
Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	G%	Pts
1	Queensland Firebirds	13	11	1	1	708	608	116.4%	23
2	New South Wales Swifts	13	8	3	2	746	665	112.2%	19
3	West Coast Fever	13	9	1	3	744	701	106.1%	19
4	Melbourne Vixens	13	7	0	6	670	657	102.0%	14
5	Adelaide Thunderbirds	13	4	2	7	667	682	97.8%	10
2015 New Zealand Conference v t e
Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	G%	Pts
1	Northern Mystics	13	7	2	4	682	695	98.1%	16
2	Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic	13	5	1	7	643	663	97.0%	11
3	Southern Steel	13	3	2	8	759	775	97.9%	8
4	Central Pulse	13	3	2	8	620	656	94.5%	8
5	Mainland Tactix	13	1	0	12	664	801	82.9%	2

  Qualified for Conference finals
  Qualified for Elimination finals

• Pld = Games played
• W = Win (2 points)
• D = Draw (1 points)
• L = Loss (0 points)
• GF = Goals For
• GA = Goals Against
• G% = Goal percentage (= 100 × GF/GA)
• Pts = Points

Sources:^[30]

Challenge Trophy

The 2015 season saw the introduction of the Ranfurly Shield-style, Challenge Trophy. The trophy was available to win every time the holder played at home. Once a visiting team defeats the title holders, the trophy is theirs to protect and hold against all challengers in every home game during the regular season until they are beaten. A pre-season draw saw West Coast Fever declared the inaugural holder. Fever subsequently enjoyed a nine-game unbeaten run in the league. They retained the Challenge Trophy until Round 10 when they were defeated 56–48 by Queensland Firebirds.^[20][31][32] Firebirds defended the trophy in Round 11 against Melbourne Vixens and in Round 14 against Southern Steel, finishing the season as trophy holders.^{[1][2][31][33]}

Round	Holders	Score	Challengers
Round 10[20][32]	West Coast Fever	48–56	Queensland Firebirds
Round 11	Queensland Firebirds	54–45	Melbourne Vixens
Round 14	Queensland Firebirds	66–50	Southern Steel

Source:^[31]

Finals

Conference Final

Sun 7 June 12:18 PM (AEST)	Stats	Queensland Firebirds	55–44	New South Wales Swifts		Brisbane Entertainment Centre Attendance: 5,175
		Romelda Aiken  36/39 (92%) Gretel Tippett  ?		Susan Pettitt  ? Caitlin Thwaites  17/21 (81%) Stephanie Wood  ?

Source:^[34][35]

Semi-finals

Sun 14 June 12:18 PM (AEST)	Stats	Queensland Firebirds	60–44	Northern Mystics		Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre Attendance: 3,200
		Romelda Aiken  42/48 (88%) Gretel Tippett  18/27 (67%)		Maria Tutaia  24/33 (73%) Cathrine Latu  17/18 (94%) Paula Griffin  3 ?

Source:^[36][37][38]

Grand Final

Sun 21 June 12:10 PM (AEST)	Stats	Queensland Firebirds	57–56	New South Wales Swifts		Brisbane Entertainment Centre	Fox Sports Sky Sport
		Romelda Aiken  47/51 (92%) Gretel Tippett  10/17 (59%)		Susan Pettitt  26/28 (93%) Caitlin Thwaites  30/34 (88%)

Source:^{[3][4][5][6][7][8]}

Award winners

Mission Queensland Firebirds Awards

Award	Winner
Mission Foods Player of the Year	Romelda Aiken (Note 1)
Mission Foods Player of the Year	Kim Ravaillion (Note 1)
Firebirds Players' Player	Clare McMeniman
Firebirds Spirit Award	Laura Clemesha
Firebirds Members Award	Gabi Simpson

Notes

• ^1 Romelda Aiken and Kim Ravaillion shared the award.

Sources:^[1][39]

ANZ Championship awards

Award	Winner
ANZ Championship MVP Australian Conference	Romelda Aiken[40][41]

All Star Team

Position	Player
C	Kim Ravaillion[2][42][43][44]

Australian Netball Awards

Award	Winner
Australian ANZ Championship Coach of the Year	Roselee Jencke[45][46][47][48]

Gallery

• 
  27 June 2015; Romelda Aiken with the ANZ Championship Challenge Trophy.
• 
  27 June 2015; Laura Geitz captained Queensland Firebirds to the 2015 ANZ Championship
• 
  27 June 2015; Roselee Jencke guided Queensland Firebirds to the 2015 ANZ Championship

References

1. "2015 Netball Queensland Annual Report" (PDF). Netball Queensland. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 October 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
2. "Firebirds fine with All-Star netball snub". www.sbs.com.au. 18 June 2015. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
3. "Queensland Firebirds crowned ANZ Champions in a last minute thriller". www.theroar.com.au. 21 June 2015. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
4. "Netball: Firebirds win thrilling grand final". www.nzherald.co.nz. 21 June 2015. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
5. "Firebirds' stunning ANZ Championship win". www.brisbanetimes.com.au. 21 June 2015. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
6. "Netball Grand Final: Firebirds deliver gut-wrenching defeat to super Swifts". www.theguardian.com. 21 June 2015. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
7. "ANZ Championship Grand Final: Queensland Firebirds defeat NSW Swifts, crowned 2015 champions". www.foxsports.com.au. 21 June 2015. Archived from the original on 15 April 2019. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
8. "Memorable Matches: Firebirds defeat Swifts in 2015 ANZ Championship Grand Final". netball.draftcentral.com.au. 29 June 2020. Archived from the original on 18 September 2020. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
9. "Queensland Firebirds sign Australian defender Rebecca Bulley to add muscle to a strong backcourt". www.perthnow.com.au. 21 August 2014. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
10. "ANZ Championship: Rebecca Bulley brings the 'animal' to Queensland Firebirds". www.couriermail.com.au. 12 December 2014. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
11. "Beryl Friday joins Queensland Firebirds from Ingham". www.adelaidenow.com.au. 22 August 2014. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
12. "Strachan becomes a Firebird". www.bendigoadvertiser.com.au. 23 July 2014. Archived from the original on 18 May 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
13. "Central Pulse import Jacinta Messer loving life her new team". www.stuff.co.nz. 1 April 2016. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
14. "Netball Victoria – Annual Report 2015" (PDF). vic.netball.com.au. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
15. "Ameliaranne Wells leaves Queensland Firebirds to join Central Pulse for next netball season". www.abc.net.au. 11 August 2014. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
16. "Shift across the ditch pays off for Ameliaranne Wells". www.couriermail.com.au. 23 October 2014. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
17. "ANZ Championships: Key player transfers in the Trans-Tasman league". www.skysports.com. 10 September 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
18. "Netball Queensland – Annual Report 2014" (PDF). Netball Queensland. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 October 2020. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
19. "Queensland Firebirds beat NSW Swifts 51-47 to mark Laura Geitz's 100th game in trans-Tasman netball". www.abc.net.au. 30 March 2015. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
20. "Netball: Romelda Aiken scores 4000th league goal as Firebirds take control of title race". www.adelaidenow.com.au. 1 May 2015. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
21. "Women Netball XIV World Championship 2015 Sydney". www.todor66.com. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
22. "Australia at the Netball World Cup" (PDF). Netball Australia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 October 2020. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
23. "Constellation Cup: Diamonds take 2-0 series lead after downing New Zealand in Auckland". www.dailytelegraph.com.au. 22 October 2015. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
24. "Pre-Season". www.anz-championship.com. Archived from the original on 30 June 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
25. "Sydney to host ANZ Championship Summer Shootout". www.netballnz.co.nz. 26 November 2014. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
26. "Trans-Tasman shootout at new netball venue". www.sbs.com.au. 6 February 2015. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
27. "Southern Steel edge Adelaide Thunderbirds in pre-season Summer Shootout in Sydney". www.stuff.co.nz. 7 February 2015. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
28. "Swifts end summer shootout on a high". www.womensportreport.com. 8 February 2015. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
29. "ANZ Championship 2015 – Results". www.flashscore.com. Archived from the original on 6 May 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
30. "ANZ Championship 2015 – Standings". www.flashscore.com. Archived from the original on 6 May 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
31. "Challenge Trophy". www.anz-championship.com. Archived from the original on 29 June 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
32. "Fever Suffers First Defeat for 2015". wais.org.au. 7 May 2015. Archived from the original on 15 March 2016. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
33. "Netball: Queensland Firebirds to unleash double trouble on Melbourne Vixens in Challenge Cup". www.couriermail.com.au. 8 May 2015. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
34. "Queensland Firebirds beat NSW Swifts 55-44 in trans-Tasman netball Australian conference final". www.abc.net.au. 7 June 2015. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
35. "ANZ Championship: Firebirds crowned best in Australia as Swifts prove no match". www.perthnow.com.au. 7 June 2015. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
36. "Queensland Firebirds beat Northern Mystics in trans-Tasman netball to secure Boondall grand final". www.abc.net.au. 14 June 2015. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
37. "Queensland Firebirds thump Northern Mystics to book trans-Tasman netball final berth". www.stuff.co.nz. 14 June 2015. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
38. "Queensland Firebirds beat Northern Mystics in ANZ Championship semi-final in Brisbane". www.adelaidenow.com.au. 17 June 2015. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
39. "Brisbane parade caps an amazing week for Firebirds". www.dailymercury.com.au. 28 June 2015. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
40. "Queensland Firebirds' Romelda Aiken claims third MVP award". www.smh.com.au. 5 June 2015. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
41. "Aiken, Fowler-Reid named winners of Conference MVP awards". www.scoop.co.nz. 5 June 2015. Archived from the original on 11 February 2016. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
42. "ANZ Championship All-Star Team announced". www.netballnz.co.nz. 18 June 2015. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
43. "West Coast Fever's Stacey Rosman named All-Star team coach". www.perthnow.com.au. 18 June 2015. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
44. "(2015) All-Star". www.anz-championship.com. Archived from the original on 29 June 2015. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
45. "Caitlin Bassett wins Liz Ellis Diamond as Australian netballer of the year". www.abc.net.au. 7 November 2015. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
46. "Shooter Caitlin Bassett wins Liz Ellis Diamond". www.smh.com.au. 8 November 2015. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
47. "Australian Netball Awards". netball.com.au. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
48. "Netball Australia – Directors Report 2015" (PDF). netball.com.au. Retrieved 6 September 2021.