New South Wales Swifts are an Australian netball team based in Sydney,

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. Since

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

they have represented

Netball New South Wales Netball New South Wales is the governing body for netball in New South Wales. It is affiliated to Netball Australia. It is responsible for organizing and managing two elite level teams, New South Wales Swifts and Giants Netball, who compete in Su ...

Suncorp Super Netball Suncorp Super Netball is the top level netball league featuring teams from Australia. In 2017 it replaced the ANZ Championship, which also included teams from New Zealand, as the top level netball league in Australia. Since 2019, the league has ...

. Between

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

and

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

, they played in the

ANZ Championship The ANZ Championship, also known as the Trans-Tasman Netball League, is a former netball league featuring teams from both Australia and New Zealand. Between 2008 and 2016, it was the top-level league in both countries. The competition was owned ...

. The team was formed in 2007 when Netball New South Wales merged its two former

Commonwealth Bank Trophy The Commonwealth Bank Trophy, also referred to as the National Netball League, was the top level national Australian netball league between 1997 and 2007. The league was organized by Netball Australia. Its main sponsor was the Commonwealth Ba ...

league teams,

Sydney Swifts Sydney Swifts were an Australian netball team based in Sydney. Between 1997 and 2007, they represented Netball New South Wales in the Commonwealth Bank Trophy league. Together with Sydney Sandpipers and Hunter Jaegers, they were one of three t ...

and

Hunter Jaegers Hunter Jaegers were an Australian netball team based in Newcastle, New South Wales. Together with Sydney Swifts and Sydney Sandpipers, they were one of three teams to represent Netball New South Wales in the Commonwealth Bank Trophy league. H ...

. In 2008, Swifts were the inaugural ANZ Championship winners. Swifts were also grand finalists in 2015 and

. They won their second and third premierships in

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

and

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

History

ANZ Championship

Between

and

, Swifts played in the

. Swifts were formed in late 2007 when

merged its two former

league teams,

and

, in order to enter a single team in the 2008 ANZ Championship. During the 2008 regular season Swifts won 10 of their 13 matches and finished second behind

Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic are a New Zealand netball team based in Hamilton. Between 1999 and 2007, they played in the Coca-Cola Cup/National Bank Cup league. Between 2008 and 2016, they played in the ANZ Championship. Since 2017, Magic have ...

. With a team coached by

Julie Fitzgerald Julie Fitzgerald is a veteran Australian netball coach. Between 1997 and 2007, Fitzgerald served as head coach of Sydney Swifts in the Commonwealth Bank Trophy league. She guided Swifts to List of Australian netball premiers, premierships in ...

and captained by Catherine Cox, Swifts subsequently defeated Magic in both the major semi–final and the grand final to become the inaugural ANZ Championship winners. Swifts went through the entire 2010 regular season home and away undefeated, winning 13 consecutive matches and finishing as minor premiers. They were the first team in the history of the ANZ Championship to do this. However they subsequently lost both the major semi-final and the preliminary final to

Adelaide Thunderbirds Adelaide Thunderbirds are an Australian netball team based in Adelaide, South Australia. 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 pla ...

and Magic respectively and finished the season in third place. The 2011,

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

and

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

seasons proved to be a turbulent time for Swifts. After fifteen seasons as

/New South Wales Swifts head coach, 2011 was the last season that Julie Fitzgerald served as head coach. Following a controversial "internal review", Fitzgerald was replaced as head coach by Lisa Beehag. The review was conducted during the 2011 season. Catherine Cox and

Liz Ellis Elizabeth Margaret Ellis, (born 17 January 1973) is a retired Australian netball player, a member of the national team from 1992 until 2007 and captain for the last four of those years. She is the most capped international player for Australian ...

publicly criticized

for distracting players with the review and even alleged that it was responsible for Swifts losing the 2011 minor semi-final. Beehag subsequently informed Cox that she would not be needed as a captain or player the following season. Cox subsequently departed for

West Coast Fever West Coast Fever is an Australian netball team based in Perth, Western Australia. Since 2017 they have played in Suncorp Super Netball. Between 2008 and 2016, they competed in the ANZ Championship. Between 1997 and 2007, as Perth Orioles, t ...

. Other senior and emerging players including

Rebecca Bulley Rebecca Bulley (born 18 August 1982), also known as Rebecca Strachan, is a former Australia netball international. Between 2008 and 2015 she made 42 senior appearances for Australia. Bulley was a member of the Australia teams that won the gold ...

Courtney Tairi Courtney Tairi (born 15 July 1988) is a former New Zealand netball international. She also represented Australia at under-21 level. She was a member of the Australia team that won the 2009 World Youth Netball Championships. During the ANZ Ch ...

and Ashleigh Brazill also left. It was also alleged that the controversy led to some emerging New South Wales players, including

Verity Simmons Verity Anne Simmons; born 19 May 1991 in Grafton, New South Wales) is an Australian netball player. In 2012, Charles played her first season in the ANZ Championship with West Coast Fever. In 2014, she transferred to the Queensland Firebirds, an ...

, Gabi Simpson and Kim Ravaillion, taking up contracts with rival teams. Under the leadership of Fitzgerald and Fox, New South Wales Swifts had been champions in 2008 and had reached the final series/play-offs in 2010 and 2011. Under Beehag's two-year reign, the team failed to make the finals. In 2013, the Swifts finished eighth. At the end of 2013 Beehag's contract was not renewed. Beehag was subsequently replaced by Rob Wright. Wright guided Swifts to two successive grand finals in 2015 and

. However, on both occasions they lost out to

Queensland Firebirds Queensland Firebirds are an Australian 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 ...

. ;Regular season statistics

Suncorp Super Netball

Since

, Swifts have played in

. In addition to Swifts, the new league featured a second

team,

Giants Netball Giants Netball (stylised as GIANTS Netball) are an Australian netball team based in Greater Western Sydney, New South Wales. Since 2017 they have played in Suncorp Super Netball. The team was formed in 2016 as a joint venture between Netball N ...

. Two veteran members of the 2016 Swifts roster,

Kimberlee Green Kimberlee Green (born 5 March 1986 in Sydney, Australia) is a former Australian international netball player. Green was the captain of the Giants Netball team in the Suncorp Super Netball league and represented the Australian national netball ...

and Susan Pettitt, subsequently switched to the Giants, who were coached by former Swifts head coach,

. The 2018 season saw Rob Wright replaced by

Briony Akle Briony Akle is a former Australia netball player and current netball coach. Between 1999 and 2004, Akle played for Sydney Swifts in the Commonwealth Bank Trophy league. Akle was a member of the Sydney Swifts teams that won premierships in 2 ...

. In

, Akle guided Swifts to their second premiership when they won the Suncorp Super Netball title. Despite losing their new captain,

Maddy Proud Maddy Proud (born 4 December 1993), also known as Madeleine Proud, is an Australian netball player. Between 2011 and 2016, Proud played for Adelaide Thunderbirds in the ANZ Championship. Since 2017, she has played for New South Wales Swifts in ...

, to injury early in the season, Swifts finished the regular season in second place. In the major semi-final, they lost to Sunshine Coast Lightning. However, they then defeated

Melbourne Vixens Melbourne Vixens is an Australian netball team based in Melbourne, Victoria. Since 2017 they have represented Netball Victoria in Suncorp Super Netball. Between 2008 and 2016, they played in the ANZ Championship. The team was formed in 2007 wh ...

in the preliminary final. In the

grand final Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final (sometimes colloquially abbreviated to "grannie") is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. S ...

they faced Lightning again but time defeated them 64–47 to emerge as champions. In

with a team coached by Briony Akle and co-captained by Maddy Proud and Paige Hadley, Swifts won their second Suncorp Super Netball title. In the

they defeated

63–59. ;Regular season statistics

Grand finals

;

Home venues

Between

and

, Swifts played the majority of their home games at the Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre. In

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

, together with

, Swifts were due to start to playing their home games at the

Ken Rosewall Arena The Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre is a tennis and multi-purpose sports facility located within the Olympic Park in Parramatta, near Sydney, Australia. The centre was built in 1999 and hosted the tennis events for the 2000 Summer Olympics. Th ...

. However these plans were put on hold until

due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

;Notes * Also referred to as the

State Sports Centre The State Sports Centre (known commercially as the Quaycentre) is a multi-use indoor arena in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia and was opened in November 1984. With a total of 3,854 fixed and retractable seats the main arena is a focal point o ...

and the QuayCentre. * Also referred to as the

Acer Arena The Sydney SuperDome (currently known as the Qudos Bank Arena) is a large multipurpose arena located in Sydney, Australia. It is situated in Sydney Olympic Park, and was completed in 1999 as part of the facilities for the 2000 Summer Olympics. ...

, the

Allphones Arena The Sydney SuperDome (currently known as the Qudos Bank Arena) is a large multipurpose arena located in Sydney, Australia. It is situated in Sydney Olympic Park, and was completed in 1999 as part of the facilities for the 2000 Summer Olympics ...

or the

Qudos Bank Arena The Sydney SuperDome (currently known as the Qudos Bank Arena) is a large multipurpose arena located in Sydney, Australia. It is situated in Sydney Olympic Park, and was completed in 1999 as part of the facilities for the 2000 Summer Olympics ...

Notable players

2023 squad

Internationals

; ; ; *

Jade Clarke Jade Bridget Clarke (born 17 October 1983 in Manchester, England) is an English netball player. Primarily a midcourt defender, Clarke was selected for the England national netball team in 2002, making her senior debut the following year agains ...

* Natalie Metcalf *

Helen Housby Helen Housby (born 19 January 1995 in Stockport, Manchester) is a professional English netball player.anchester_Evening_News_-_13_May_2014_-"> Housby_played_for_the_Superleague_side_Manchester_Thunder_from_2013_to_2016,_helping_them_to_win_the_ ...

Sonia Mkoloma Sonia Mkoloma (born 17 January 1979) is a former English international netball player. Mkoloma made her international debut for the English national team in 1999, and during her career has competed at three Netball World Championships, three Co ...

; *

Kayla Johnson Kayla Brady Johnson is a fictional character from ''Days of Our Lives'', a soap opera on the NBC network. She made her first appearance in 1982. Kayla was created by Pat Falken Smith as one of the original members of the Brady family. She is know ...

Laura Langman Laura Robyn Langman (born 16 April 1986) is a retired New Zealand international netball player, who last played domestic netball for the Sunshine Coast Lightning in the Australian Super Netball league. Primarily a midcourt player, Langman is ...

* Katrina Rore *

; * Samantha Wallace

Captains

Award winners

; ANZ Championship MVP ;Notes * Award was shared with Joanne Harten (

). ;ANZ Championship Player of the Year ; ANZ Finals Series MVP ; Australian ANZ Championship Player of the Year ; Holden Cruze ANZ Championship Player of the Year ; QBE NSW Swifts Most Valued Player ;NSW Swifts Members' Player of the Year ;NSW Swifts Players' Player of the Year ;NSW Swifts Coaches' Award

AFLW players

Several Swifts player have also played

women's Australian rules football Women's Australian rules football (in areas where it is popular, known simply as women's football or women's footy or women's AFL), is the female-only form of Australian rules football, generally with some modification to the laws of the game. ...

in the AFLW * Elle Bennetts * Ashleigh Brazill *

Taylah Davies Taylah Davies (born 3 October 1994 in Wollongong, Australia) is an Australian netballer. Primarily a wing attack and centre player, Davies was a member of the NSW Swifts in the ANZ Championship and the Giants in the Suncorp Super League. Caree ...

Erin Hoare Erin Hoare (born 17 July 1989) is an Australian netballer. At , Hoare is primarily a goal shooter, but can also play goal attack. Hoare is a member of the NSW Swifts and plays in the ANZ Championship. Netball career Beginning her career with ...

* Sharni Layton

Coaches

;Head Coaches ;Assistant coaches

Main sponsors

Premierships

**''Winners'':

**''Runners Up'': 2015,

**''Minor Premiership'': 2010

NNSW Waratahs

Netball New South Wales Waratahs Netball New South Wales Waratahs is an Australian netball team that represents Netball New South Wales in the Australian Netball League. In 2008 they were founder members of the ANL. They were ANL champions in 2011 and have been grand finalist ...

are the

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players under contract to a club but who do not normally play in matches for the first team. Reserve teams often include back-up players from the first team, young players who need playing time to i ...

of New South Wales Swifts. They play in the Australian Netball League. In 2011 Waratahs became the first team other than

Victorian Fury Victorian Fury are an netball in Australia, Australian netball team that represents Netball Victoria in the Australian Netball League. In 2008 they were both founder members and the inaugural champions of the league. They retained the title in 20 ...

to win the ANL title. In the grand final they defeated Fury 55–46.

References

External links

NSW Swifts on Facebook

NSW Swifts on Twitter
{{Sydney Sports Teams Suncorp Super Netball teams Netball teams in Sydney Netball teams in Australia ANZ Championship teams Swifts 2007 establishments in Australia Sports clubs established in 2007