2015 Queensland Firebirds season
# 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.

## Players

### Player movements

Gains and losses :

| Gains | Losses |
| - | - |
| Rebecca Bulley (Adelaide Thunderbirds) Mahalia Cassidy (Queensland Fusion) Beryl Friday (Queensland Fusion) Caitlyn Nevins (Melbourne Vixens) Laura Scherian (Queensland Fusion) Gretel Tippett (New South Wales Swifts) | Demelza Fellowes (Mainland Tactix) Nicola Gray (Adelaide Thunderbirds) Jacinta Messer (Year out) Stephanie Puopolo (Victorian Fury) Ameliaranne Wells (Central Pulse) |

Sources:

### 2015 roster

**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:

### Debutants

* Mahalia Cassidy made her ANZ Championship debut in the Round 8 match against Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic.

### 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.
* Romelda Aiken scored her 4,000 ANZ Championship goal in the Round 10 match against West Coast Fever.

Sources:

### 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.

### 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.

## 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.

## Regular season

### Fixtures and results

**Round 4**

Queensland Firebirds received a bye.

**Round 14**

Source:

### Final standings

2015 Australian Conferencevte :

| 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 Conferencevte ||||||||||
| 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:

### 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. Firebirds defended the trophy in Round 11 against Melbourne Vixens and in Round 14 against Southern Steel, finishing the season as trophy holders.

| Round | Holders | Score | Challengers |
| - | - | - | - |
| Round 10 | West Coast Fever | 48–56 | Queensland Firebirds |
| Round 11 | Queensland Firebirds | 54–45 | Melbourne Vixens |
| Round 14 | Queensland Firebirds | 66–50 | Southern Steel |

Source:

## 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 |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Sun 7 June 12:18 PM (AEST) | Stats | Romelda Aiken 36/39 (92%) Gretel Tippett ? | | Susan Pettitt ? Caitlin Thwaites 17/21 (81%) Stephanie Wood ? | Brisbane Entertainment Centre Attendance: 5,175 |

Source:

### Semi-finals

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

Source:

### 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 |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Sun 21 June 12:10 PM (AEST) | Stats | Romelda Aiken 47/51 (92%) Gretel Tippett 10/17 (59%) | | Susan Pettitt 26/28 (93%) Caitlin Thwaites 30/34 (88%) | Brisbane Entertainment Centre | Fox Sports Sky Sport |

Source:

## Award winners

### Mission Queensland Firebirds Awards

| Award | Winner |
| - | - |
| Mission Foods Player of the Year | Romelda Aiken |
| Mission Foods Player of the Year | Kim Ravaillion |
| 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:

### ANZ Championship awards

| Award | Winner |
| - | - |
| ANZ Championship MVP Australian Conference | Romelda Aiken |

### All Star Team

| Position | Player |
| - | - |
| C | Kim Ravaillion |

### Australian Netball Awards

| Award | Winner |
| - | - |
| Australian ANZ Championship Coach of the Year | Roselee Jencke |

## 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
