2015 ANZ Championship season

The 2015 ANZ Championship season was the eighth season of the ANZ Championship. The season began on 28 February and concluded on 21 June.^[1] The 2015 season saw the introduction of several major format changes and initiatives, including a Conference system, a six-team Finals Series, drawn games and a new Ranfurly Shield-style competition, the Challenge Trophy.^[2][3] With a team coached by Roselee Jencke, captained by Laura Geitz and featuring Romelda Aiken, Clare McMeniman and Kim Ravaillion, Queensland 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.^{[4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13]}

2015 ANZ Championship season
League	ANZ Championship
Sport	Netball
Duration	28 February – 21 June 2015
Number of teams	10
TV partner(s)	Fox Sports (Australia) Sky Sport (New Zealand) One Te Reo Prime TV
Champions	Queensland Firebirds
Winners	Australian Conference Queensland Firebirds New Zealand Conference Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic Challenge Trophy Queensland Firebirds
Runners-up	New South Wales Swifts
Minor premiers	Queensland Firebirds
Season MVP	Romelda Aiken (Firebirds) Jhaniele Fowler-Reid (Steel)
Top scorer	Romelda Aiken (Firebirds)

New format

The 2015 season saw some major format changes. The league introduced separate Australian and New Zealand conferences, a restructured six-team Finals Series and a new competition, the Challenge Trophy. Teams continued to play 13 games – eight home-and-away matches against teams in their own conference and five alternating home or away games against teams in the other conference.^[2][14][15]

The ANZ Championship also introduced draws for the first time. During the regular season, drawn games would see both teams get a point each. Extra time will only be played during the Finals Series.^[3] On 15 March, the Round 3 match between New South Wales Swifts and Queensland Firebirds finished 47–47. It was the first official draw in the eight seasons of the league.^[16]

Transfers

Player	2014 team	2015 team
Eboni Beckford-Chambers	West Coast Fever	Adelaide Thunderbirds
Kristina Brice	NNSW Waratahs[17]	Adelaide Thunderbirds
Hannah Petty	Southern Force[18]	Adelaide Thunderbirds
Amy Steel	Melbourne Vixens	Adelaide Thunderbirds
Kelsey Browne	Victorian Fury[19]	Melbourne Vixens
Emily Mannix	Victorian Flames[19]	Melbourne Vixens
Alice Teague-Neeld	Victorian Fury[19]	Melbourne Vixens
Carla Dziwoki	New South Wales Swifts	Melbourne Vixens
Jade Clarke[20][21]	Mainland Tactix	New South Wales Swifts
Julie Corletto[22]	Northern Mystics	New South Wales Swifts
Erin Hoare	Melbourne Vixens	New South Wales Swifts
Stephanie Wood[23][24]	Queensland Fusion	New South Wales Swifts
Rebecca Bulley[25][26]	Adelaide Thunderbirds	Queensland Firebirds
Beryl Friday[27]	Queensland Fusion[24]	Queensland Firebirds
Caitlyn Strachan[28]	Melbourne Vixens	Queensland Firebirds
Gretel Tippett	New South Wales Swifts	Queensland Firebirds
April Letton	New South Wales Swifts	West Coast Fever
Erena Mikaere[29][30]	Southern Steel	West Coast Fever
Chelsea Pitman[31][32]	West Coast Fever	Manchester Thunder
Jodi Brown[33]	Southern Steel	Central Pulse
Ameliaranne Wells[34][35]	Queensland Firebirds	Central Pulse
Demelza Fellowes	Queensland Firebirds	Mainland Tactix
Erikana Pedersen	Northern Mystics	Mainland Tactix
Bailey Mes	Northern Mystics	Mainland Tactix
Paula Griffin	Central Pulse	Northern Mystics
Serena Guthrie[36][37]	Team Bath	Northern Mystics
Camilla Lees	Central Pulse	Northern Mystics
Sulu Tone-Fitzpatrick		Northern Mystics
Sophia Fenwick	Mainland Tactix	Southern Steel
Jane Watson	Mainland Tactix	Southern Steel
Kelly Jury		Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic

Sources:^{[4][5][6][38][39][40]}

Head coaches and captains

Team	Head coach	Captain
Adelaide Thunderbirds[39]	Jane Woodlands-Thompson	Renae Hallinan
Melbourne Vixens[40]	Simone McKinnis	Bianca Chatfield
New South Wales Swifts[5][6]	Rob Wright	Kimberlee Green
Queensland Firebirds[4]	Roselee Jencke	Laura Geitz
West Coast Fever	Stacey Rosman[41][42][43]	Ashleigh Brazill
Central Pulse	Robyn Broughton[44]	Katrina Grant[45]
Mainland Tactix	Sue Hawkins[46]	Anna Thompson
Northern Mystics[47]	Debbie Fuller	Maria Tutaia
Southern Steel[48]	Janine Southby	Wendy Frew[49][50]
Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic	Julie Fitzgerald	Leana De Bruin

Summer Shootout

Between 6 and 8 February, New South Wales Swifts hosted the Summer Shootout at Netball Central, Sydney Olympic Park. This was the first major netball tournament to be held at the venue. 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.^{[6][51][52][53]}

Regular season

Round 1

Sat 28 February	Adelaide Thunderbirds	44–45	Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic	Netball SA Stadium
1:48 PM (ACDT)	Carla Borrego  23/32 (72%) Erin Bell  21/25 (84%)	Report Stats	Joanne Harten  25/34 (74%) Malia Paseka  14/18 (78%) Ellen Halpenny  6/13 (46%)

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  ?

Sun 1 March	Melbourne Vixens	64–40	Central Pulse	Margaret Court Arena
2:18 PM (AEDT)	Tegan Philip  35/41 (85%) Karyn Bailey  29/35 (83%)	Report Stats	Jodi Brown  24/29 (83%) Irene van Dyk  13/14 (93%) Ameliaranne Wells  3/7 (43%)

Sun 1 March	Southern Steel	62–68	New South Wales Swifts	Stadium Southland
7.10 PM (NZDT)	Jhaniele Fowler-Reid  46/55 (84%) Te Paea Selby-Rickit  16/19 (84%)	Report	Susan Pettitt  29/32 (91%) Caitlin Thwaites  39/43 (91%)

Mon 2 March	Mainland Tactix	53–59	Northern Mystics	Horncastle Arena
7.40 PM (NZDT)	Mwai Kumwenda  36/40 (90%) Bailey Mes  12/16 (75%) ??  ?	Report	Maria Tutaia  23/28 (82%) Cathrine Latu  32/35 (91%) Elsa Brown  4/7 (57%)

Round 2

Sat 7 March	Southern Steel	68–54	Mainland Tactix	Stadium Southland
4:10 PM (NZDT)	Jhaniele Fowler-Reid  56/60 (93%) Te Paea Selby-Rickit  8/11 (73%) Sophia Fenwick  4/11 (36%)	Report	Mwai Kumwenda  34/38 (89%) Bailey Mes  17/24 (71%) Gemma Hazeldine  3/5 (60%)

Sun 8 March	Melbourne Vixens	48–39	Adelaide Thunderbirds	Hisense Arena
12:18 PM (AEDT)	Tegan Philip  13/21 (62%) Karyn Bailey  30 Carla Dziwoki  5/5 (100%)	Report Stats	Carla Borrego  13/25 (52%) Erin Bell  17/25 (68%) Kristina Brice  9/14 (64%)

Sun 8 March	West Coast Fever	67–51	Northern Mystics	HBF Stadium
11:18 AM (AWST)	Caitlin Bassett  51/61 (84%) Natalie Medhurst  16/17 (94%)	Report	Maria Tutaia  22/30 (73%) Catherine Latu  18 Paula Griffin  11/14 (79%)

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

Mon 9 March	Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic	43–48	New South Wales Swifts	ASB Arena
7:40 PM (NZDT)	Joanne Harten  15 Malia Paseka  10/17 (59%) Ellen Halpenny  18/25 (72%)	Report	Susan Pettitt  7/10 (70%) Caitlin Thwaites  34/42 (81%) Stephanie Wood  7/10 (70%)

Round 3

Sat 14 March	West Coast Fever	67–60	Southern Steel	HBF Stadium
7.18 PM (AWST)	Caitlin Bassett  50/57 (88%) Natalie Medhurst  17/18 (94%)	Report Stats	Jhaniele Fowler-Reid  47/51 (92%) Te Paea Selby-Rickit  11/17 (65%) Sophia Fenwick  ?

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%)

Sun 15 March	Adelaide Thunderbirds	51–51	Northern Mystics	Netball SA Stadium
1:48 PM (ACDT)	Carla Borrego  34/41 (83%) Erin Bell  17	Report	Maria Tutaia  23 Catherine Latu  28/29 (97%)

Sun 15 March	Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic	48–51	Melbourne Vixens	ASB Arena
7.10 PM (NZDT)	Malia Paseka  23/34 (68%) Ellen Halpenny  25/34 (74%)	Report	Tegan Philip  17/25 (68%) Karyn Bailey  34/38  (89%)

Mon 16 March	Mainland Tactix	41–48	Central Pulse	Horncastle Arena
7:40 PM (NZDT)	Mwai Kumwenda  26/29 (90%) Bailey Mes  15/26 (58%) Gemma Hazeldine  0/1 (0%)	Report	Jodi Brown  18/27 (67%) Irene van Dyk  16/21 (76%) Ameliaranne Wells  14/17 (82%)

Round 4

Sun 22 March	Adelaide Thunderbirds	47–45	Melbourne Vixens	Netball SA Stadium
11.48 AM (ACDT)	Carla Borrego  24 Erin Bell  23	Report	Tegan Philip  18 Karyn Bailey  23 Carla Dziwoki  4

Sun 22 March	Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic	52–49	Mainland Tactix	Claudelands Arena
7.10 PM (NZDT)	Joanne Harten  30/32 (94%) Malia Paseka  11/16 (69%) Ellen Halpenny  11/14 (79%)	Report	Mwai Kumwenda  36/41 (88%) Bailey Mes  0/1 (0%) Gemma Hazeldine  13/17 (76%)

Mon 23 March	Northern Mystics	49–44	Central Pulse	The Trusts Arena
7.40 PM (NZDT)	Maria Tutaia  21 Catherine Latu  28	Report	Jodi Brown  28 Irene van Dyk  5 Ameliaranne Wells  11

Mon 23 March	New South Wales Swifts	59–59	West Coast Fever	Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre
7.18 PM (AEDT)	Susan Pettitt  23 Caitlin Thwaites  36	Report	Caitlin Bassett  51 Natalie Medhurst  8

BYES:  Queensland Firebirds and Southern Steel

Round 5

Sun 29 March	West Coast Fever	55–50	Adelaide Thunderbirds	HBF Stadium
9:18 PM (AWST)	Caitlin Bassett  40/44 (91%) Natalie Medhurst  15/17 (88%)	Report	Carla Borrego  35/45 (78%) Erin Bell  15/23 (65%)

Sun 29 March	Northern Mystics	57–52	Southern Steel	The Trusts Arena
7:10 PM (NZDT)	Maria Tutaia  23/25 (92%) Catherine Latu  34/37 (92%)	Report	Jhaniele Fowler-Reid  38/48 (79%) Te Paea Selby-Rickit  14/17 (82%)

Mon 30 March	Central Pulse	49–38	Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic	TSB Bank Arena
7:40 PM (NZDT)	Jodi Brown  25/30 (83%) Irene van Dyk  24/30 (80%)	Report	Joanne Harten  25/30 (83%) Malia Paseka  2/3 (67%) Ellen Halpenny  11/13 (85%)

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  ?

BYES:  Melbourne Vixens and Mainland Tactix

Round 6 Easter Round

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

Sun 5 April	Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic	45–45	Northern Mystics	Energy Events Centre
7:10 PM (NZST)	Joanne Harten  23/27 (85%) Ellen Halpenny  21/26 (81%) Malia Paseka  ?	Report	Maria Tutaia  ? Catherine Latu  15/15 (100%) Paula Griffin  ?

Mon 6 April	West Coast Fever	53–47	Melbourne Vixens	HBF Stadium
2:18 PM (AWST)	Caitlin Bassett  34/42 (81%) Natalie Medhurst  19/20 (95%)	Report	Tegan Philip  23/28 (82%) Karyn Bailey  24/28 (86%)

Mon 6 April	Mainland Tactix	58–84	Southern Steel	Horncastle Arena
7:40 PM (NZST)	Mwai Kumwenda  38/41 (93%) Gemma Hazeldine  11/14 (79%) Bailey Mes  9/15 (60%)	Report	Jhaniele Fowler-Reid  58/66 (88%) Te Paea Selby-Rickit  15/17 (88%) Sophia Fenwick  9/12 (75%) Brooke Leaver  2/3 (67%)

BYES:  New South Wales Swifts and Central Pulse

Round 7

Sat 11 April	Southern Steel	57–63	Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic	Stadium Southland
4:10 PM (NZST)	Jhaniele Fowler-Reid  42/51 (82%) Te Paea Selby-Rickit  15/20 (75%)	Report	Joanne Harten  42/47 (89%) Ellen Halpenny  21/26 (81%)

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%)

Sun 12 April	Adelaide Thunderbirds	56–49	New South Wales Swifts	Netball SA Stadium
1:48 PM (ACST)	Carla Borrego  39/46 (85%) Erin Bell  ?	Report Stats	Susan Pettitt  ? Caitlin Thwaites  ? Erin Hoare  ?

Sun 12 April	Mainland Tactix	51–66	West Coast Fever	Marlborough Lines Stadium, Blenheim
7:10 PM (NZST)	Mwai Kumwenda  34/36 (94%) Bailey Mes  13/20 (65%) Gemma Hazeldine  4/8 (50%)	Report Stats	Caitlin Bassett  49/57 (86%) Natalie Medhurst  17/19 (89%)

Mon 13 April	Central Pulse	45–47	Northern Mystics	TSB Bank Arena
7:40 PM (NZST)	Jodi Brown  28/32 (88%) Irene van Dyk  6/10 (60%) Ameliaranne Wells  11/15 (73%)	Report	Maria Tutaia  22/30 (73%) Catherine Latu  13/13 (100%) Paula Griffin  12/13 (92%)

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%)

Sun 19 April	New South Wales Swifts	66–50	Northern Mystics	Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre
12:18 PM (AEST)	Susan Pettitt  ? Caitlin Thwaites  30/33 (91%)	Report Stats	Maria Tutaia  ? Catherine Latu  ? Paula Griffin  10/16 (63%)

Sun 19 April	Melbourne Vixens	63–54	Southern Steel	Hisense Arena
2:18 PM (AEST)	Tegan Philip  22/25 (88%) Karyn Bailey  41/49 (84%)	Report	Jhaniele Fowler-Reid  37/41 (90%) Te Paea Selby-Rickit  17/21 (81%)

Sun 19 April	Central Pulse	48–51	West Coast Fever	TSB Bank Arena
7:10 PM (NZST)	Jodi Brown  31/37 (84%) Ameliaranne Wells  17/26 (65%)	Report	Caitlin Bassett  41/45 (91%) Natalie Medhurst  10/13 (77%)

Mon 20 April	Mainland Tactix	51–63	Adelaide Thunderbirds	Horncastle Arena
7:40 PM (NZST)	Mwai Kumwenda  25/27 (93%) Bailey Mes  26/36 (72%)	Report	Carla Borrego  37/46 (80%) Erin Bell  25/27 (93%)

Round 9 ANZAC Round

Sat 25 April	Central Pulse	47–47	New South Wales Swifts	TSB Bank Arena
4:10 PM (NZST)	Jodi Brown  21/25 (84%) Ameliaranne Wells  26/33 (79%)	Report	Susan Pettitt  22/26 (85%) Caitlin Thwaites  25/29 (86%)

Sun 26 April	West Coast Fever	54–49	Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic	HBF Stadium
10:18 PM (AWST)	Caitlin Bassett  39/54 (72%) Natalie Medhurst  15/20 (75%) ?	Report	Joanne Harten  35/40 (88%) Ellen Halpenny  2 ? Malia Paseka  12/12 (100%)

Sun 26 April	Melbourne Vixens	56–52	Mainland Tactix	Hisense Arena
2:18 PM (AEST)	Tegan Philip  26/33 (79%) Karyn Bailey  30/33 (91%)	Report	Mwai Kumwenda  17/20 (85%) Bailey Mes  32/35 (91%) Gemma Hazeldine  3/5 (60%)

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%)

Mon 27 April	Southern Steel	53–53	Adelaide Thunderbirds	More FM Arena
7:40 PM (NZST)	Jhaniele Fowler-Reid  40/45 (89%) Te Paea Selby-Rickit  5/7 (71%) Brooke Leaver  8/11 (73%)	Report	Carla Borrego  38/45 (84%) Erin Bell  15/21 (71%)

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%)

Sat 2 May	Southern Steel	50–49	Central Pulse	More FM Arena
4:10 PM (NZST)	Jhaniele Fowler-Reid  35/44 (80%) Te Paea Selby-Rickit  15/18 (83%)	Report	Jodi Brown  31/33 (94%) Ameliaranne Wells  11/15 (73%) Irene van Dyk  7/9 (78%)

Sun 3 May	New South Wales Swifts	67–43	Melbourne Vixens	Allphones Arena
12:18 PM (AEST)	Susan Pettitt  28/30 (93%) Caitlin Thwaites  39/41 (95%)	Report	Tegan Philip  ? Karyn Bailey  ?	Attendance: 10,370

Sun 3 May	Northern Mystics	61–53	Mainland Tactix	The Trusts Arena
7:10 PM (NZST)	Maria Tutaia  24/30 (80%) Cathrine Latu   37/41 (90%)	Report	Mwai Kumwenda  40/43 (93%) Bailey Mes  9/14 (64%) Gemma Hazeldine  4/8 (50%)

BYES:  Adelaide Thunderbirds and Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic

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

Sun 10 May	New South Wales Swifts	65–54	Adelaide Thunderbirds	Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre
2:18 PM (AEST)	Susan Pettitt  27/31 (87%) Caitlin Thwaites  38/42 (90%)	Report	Carla Borrego  39/47 (83%) Erin Bell  15/17 (88%)

Sun 10 May	Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic	59–53	Southern Steel	Claudelands Arena
7:10 PM (NZST)	Joanne Harten  46/53 (87%) Ellen Halpenny  4/4 (100%) Malia Paseka  9/12 (75%)	Report	Jhaniele Fowler-Reid  38/44 (86%) Te Paea Selby-Rickit  15/16 (94%)

Mon 11 May	Central Pulse	51–48	Mainland Tactix	Te Rauparaha Arena
7:40 PM (NZST)	Jodi Brown  18/22 (82%) Ameliaranne Wells  33/40 (83%)	Report	Mwai Kumwenda  30/31 (97%) Bailey Mes  16/23 (70%) Gemma Hazeldine  2/3 (67%)

BYES:  West Coast Fever and Northern Mystics

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

Sun 17 May	Melbourne Vixens	56–48	West Coast Fever	Margaret Court Arena
12:18 PM (AEST)	Tegan Philip  17/24 (71%) Karyn Bailey  39/42 (93%)	Report	Caitlin Bassett  35/38 (92%) Natalie Medhurst  13/17 (76%)	Attendance: 5,380

Sun 17 May	New South Wales Swifts	68–49	Mainland Tactix	Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre
2:18 PM (AEST)	Susan Pettitt  32/34 (94%) Caitlin Thwaites  31/35 (89%) Stephanie Wood  5/6 (83%)	Report	Mwai Kumwenda  33/35 (94%) Bailey Mes  16/21 (76%)

Sun 17 May	Central Pulse	55–55	Southern Steel	Arena Manawatu
7:10 PM (NZST)	Jodi Brown  20/22 (91%) Ameliaranne Wells  35/41 (85%)	Report	Jhaniele Fowler-Reid  40/46 (87%) Te Paea Selby-Rickit  12/16 (75%) Brooke Leaver  3/3 (100%)

Mon 18 May	Northern Mystics	54–49	Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic	The Trusts Arena
7:40 PM (NZST)	Maria Tutaia  24/31 (77%) Catherine Latu  30/31 (97%)	Report	Joanne Harten  35/45 (78%) Malia Paseka  14/19 (74%)

Round 13

Sat 23 May	Southern Steel	61–63	Northern Mystics	Stadium Southland
4:10 PM (NZST)	Jhaniele Fowler-Reid  43/45 (96%) Te Paea Selby-Rickit  15/17 (88%) Brooke Leaver  3/5 (60%)	Report	Maria Tutaia  19/24 (79%) Catherine Latu  44/49 (90%)

Sun 24 May	Adelaide Thunderbirds	61–63	West Coast Fever	Netball SA Stadium
11:48 AM (ACST)	Carla Borrego  44/50 (88%) Erin Bell  ?	Report	Caitlin Bassett  52/56 (93%) Natalie Medhurst  ?

Sun 24 May	Melbourne Vixens	48–52	New South Wales Swifts	Margaret Court Arena
2:18 PM (AEST)	Tegan Philip  21/27 (78%) Karyn Bailey  27/32 (84%)	Report	Susan Pettitt  23/27 (85%) Caitlin Thwaites  29/38 (76%)

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%)

Mon 25 May	Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic	52–47	Central Pulse	Claudelands Arena
7:40 PM (NZST)	Joanne Harten  39/39 (100%) Malia Paseka  13/15 (87%) Ellen Halpenny  0/2 (0%)	Report	Jodi Brown  18/20 (90%) Ameliaranne Wells  29/35 (83%)

Round 14

Sat 30 May	West Coast Fever	56–63	New South Wales Swifts	Perth Arena
10:18 AM (AWST)	Caitlin Bassett  44/51 (86%) Natalie Medhurst  12/15 (80%)	Report	Susan Pettitt  28/32 (88%) Caitlin Thwaites  35/37 (95%)	Attendance: 9,703

Sun 31 May	Adelaide Thunderbirds	62–51	Central Pulse	Netball SA Stadium
11:48 AM (ACST)	Carla Borrego  42/47 (89%) Erin Bell  20/25 (80%)	Report Stats	Jodi Brown  22/31 (71%) Ameliaranne Wells  16/16 (100%) Irene van Dyk  13/15 (87%)

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%)

Sun 31 May	Mainland Tactix	62–58	Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic	Horncastle Arena
7:10 PM (NZST)	Mwai Kumwenda  39/44 (89%) Bailey Mes  22/24 (92%)	Report	Joanne Harten  52/58 (90%) Malia Paseka  2/3 (67%) Ellen Halpenny  4/6 (67%)

Mon 1 June	Northern Mystics	48–56	Melbourne Vixens	The Trusts Arena
7:40 PM (NZST)	Maria Tutaia  16/30 (53%) Cathrine Latu  9/10 (90%) Paula Griffin  23/28 (82%)	Report Stats	Tegan Philip  ? Karyn Bailey  ?

Source:^[1]

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:^[54]

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.^[2][14][15] A pre-season draw saw West Coast Fever declared the inaugural holder and they defended the trophy for first time on 8 March in Round 2 against Northern Mystics.^[55][56] 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.^[57][58][59] Firebirds defended the trophy in Round 11 against Melbourne Vixens and in Round 14 against Southern Steel, finishing the season as trophy holders.^{[4][7][57][60]}

27 June 2015; Romelda Aiken (Queensland Firebirds) with the ANZ Championship Challenge Trophy.

Round	Holders	Score	Challengers
Round 2	West Coast Fever	67–51	Northern Mystics
Round 3	West Coast Fever	67–60	Southern Steel
Round 5	West Coast Fever	55–50	Adelaide Thunderbirds
Round 6	West Coast Fever	53–47	Melbourne Vixens
Round 9	West Coast Fever	54–49	Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic
Round 10 [58][59]	West Coast Fever	48–56	Queensland Firebirds
Round 11	Queensland Firebirds	54–45	Melbourne Vixens
Round 14	Queensland Firebirds	66–50	Southern Steel

Source:^[57]

Finals series

The new Conference format saw the top three teams from each Conference qualify for the Finals Series. The second and third placed teams from each Conference played off in the Elimination Final. The winner then took on the first placed team in the Conference Final. The four Conference finalists will then progress to the semi-finals where the Conference Champions hosted the runner up of the other conference for a chance to compete in the ANZ Championship Grand Final.^[14][15][2]

Australian Conference

Elimination Final

Fri 5 June 7:18 PM (AEST)	Stats	New South Wales Swifts	60–53	West Coast Fever		Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre
		Caitlin Thwaites  32/34 (94%) Susan Pettitt  28/29 (97%)		Caitlin Bassett  37/40 (93%) Natalie Medhurst  16/18 (89%)

Source:^[61]

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:^[62][63]

New Zealand Conference

Elimination Final

Sat 6 June 3:10 PM (NZST)	Stats	Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic	71–69	Southern Steel		Claudelands Arena
		Joanne Harten  53/60 (88%) Malia Paseka  ? Ellen Halpenny  ?		Jhaniele Fowler-Reid  58/64 (91%) Te Paea Selby-Rickit  ?

Source:^[64]

Conference Final

Mon 8 June 7:40 PM (NZST)	Stats	Northern Mystics	54–57	Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic		The Trusts Arena
		Maria Tutaia  28/32 (88%) Cathrine Latu  26/27 (96%)		Joanne Harten  35/38 (92%) Malia Paseka  22/26 (85%)

Source:^[65]

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:^[66][67][68]

Sun 14 June 7:10 PM (NZST)	Stats	Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic	52–60	New South Wales Swifts		Claudelands Arena Attendance: 4,200
		Joanne Harten  39/44 (89%) Malia Paseka  ? Ellen Halpenny  ?		Susan Pettitt  27/29 (93%) Caitlin Thwaites  33/36 (92%)

Source:^[69][70]

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:^{[8][9][10][11][12][13]}

Award winners

ANZ Championship awards

Award	Winner	Team
ANZ Championship MVP	Romelda Aiken (Note 1) [71][72][73]	Queensland Firebirds
ANZ Championship MVP	Jhaniele Fowler-Reid (Note 1) [72][73]	Southern Steel
ANZ Championship Finals Series MVP	Sharni Layton[74]	New South Wales Swifts
ANZ Championship Best New Talent	Serena Guthrie[75][76]	Northern Mystics

Notes

^1 Romelda Aiken was the MVP player in the Australian Conference and Jhaniele Fowler-Reid was the MVP player in the New Zealand Conference.

All Star Team

Position	Player	Team
GS	Caitlin Bassett	West Coast Fever
GA	Susan Pettitt	New South Wales Swifts
WA	Kimberlee Green	New South Wales Swifts
C	Kim Ravaillion	Queensland Firebirds
WD	Serena Guthrie	Northern Mystics
GD	Julie Corletto	New South Wales Swifts
GK	Sharni Layton	New South Wales Swifts
Coach	Stacey Rosman	West Coast Fever

Sources:^{[7][42][43][77]}

Australian Netball Awards

Award	Winner	Team
Australian ANZ Championship Player of the Year	Sharni Layton	New South Wales Swifts
Liz Ellis Diamond	Caitlin Bassett	West Coast Fever
Australian ANZ Championship Coach of the Year	Roselee Jencke	Queensland Firebirds

Sources:^{[78][79][80][81]}

New Zealand Netball Awards

Award	Winner	Team
New Zealand ANZ Championship Player of the Year	Laura Langman	Northern Mystics
New Zealand ANZ Championship Coach of the Year	Julie Fitzgerald	Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic

Source:^[82][83][84]

Statistics

Top scorers

Player	Team	GS/GA/G%
Romelda Aiken[85]	Queensland Firebirds	648/779 (83%)
Jhaniele Fowler-Reid[85]	Southern Steel	607/697 (87%)
Caitlin Bassett	West Coast Fever	600/687 (87%)
Caitlin Thwaites	New South Wales Swifts	506/574 (88%)
Carla Borrego	Adelaide Thunderbirds	425/523 (81%)
Susan Pettitt	New South Wales Swifts	422/481 (88%)
Karyn Bailey	Melbourne Vixens	384/444 (86%)
Mwai Kumwenda	Mainland Tactix	371/405 (92%)
Cathrine Latu	Northern Mystics	360/384 (94%)
Maria Tutaia	Northern Mystics	345/363 (95%)

Top rebounds

Player	Team	Rebounds
Romelda Aiken	Queensland Firebirds	110
Jhaniele Fowler-Reid	Southern Steel	60
Carla Borrego	Adelaide Thunderbirds	57
Sharni Layton	New South Wales Swifts	39
Caitlin Bassett	West Coast Fever	35
Jodi Brown	Central Pulse	35
Laura Geitz	Queensland Firebirds	33
Karyn Bailey	Melbourne Vixens	28
Mwai Kumwenda	Mainland Tactix	26

Sources:^[86]

Media coverage

All 72 games were broadcast live on Fox Sports (Australia). Their commentary team included Liz Ellis, Sharelle McMahon, Catherine Cox and Kelli Underwood. Sunday afternoon's Match Of The Round were also broadcast live on One.^[87][88] Sky Sport (New Zealand) remained as the principal broadcast partner in New Zealand. Māori Television broadcast one full match replay on Te Reo while Prime TV showed highlights.^[89]