The Australian Netball Championships, formerly the Australian Netball League, is an Australian netball competition. Since 2008 it has served as a second level competition, initially below 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 own ...

and later below Suncorp Super Netball. It is organised by Netball Australia. The teams in the competition are effectively the reserve teams of Suncorp Super Netball teams and/or the representative teams of state netball leagues, such as the

South Australia state netball league South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*su ...

, the Victorian Netball League and the West Australian Netball League. Victorian Fury were the inaugural ANL champions. Fury are also the competition's most successful team, having won eight premierships. The 2020 ANL season was cancelled 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 identified ...

and the competition was subsequently re-branded as the Australian Netball Championships.

History

Australian Netball League

Foundation

The Australian Netball League was first played for during the 2008 season. Netball Australia wanted to organise a second level national league to bridge the gap between states leagues, like the

, the Victorian Netball League and the West Australian Netball League, and the new

. It was also designed to provide a national competition for the

states and territories of Australia The states and territories are federated state, federated administrative divisions in Australia, ruled by regional governments that constitute the second level of governance between the Australian Government, federal government and local gov ...

, such the

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding townships. ...

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Au ...

and

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, who did not have an ANZ Championship franchise.

Victorian Fury dominance

Victorian Fury were the inaugural champions, defeating the Australian Institute of Sport 56–41 in the first grand final. In 2009 Fury retained the title and in 2010 they completed a three in a row. In 2011 NNSW Waratahs became the first team other than Fury to win the ANL title. In the grand final they defeated Fury 55–46. Between 2013 and 2016 Fury completed a four in a row of ANL titles. In 2016 Fury won their seventh title and in 2019 they won their eighth.

Australian Netball Championships

In June 2020, Netball Australia announced that the 2020 ANL season would be cancelled due to the

. In October 2020, it was announced that the ANL was to be rebranded as the Australian Netball Championships, featuring a new tournament style format with expanded team entry parameters. Suncorp Super Netball teams and Netball Australia member organisations would all be invited to enter teams. In July 2021, Netball Australia announced details of the planned inaugural ANC tournament due to be played in September and hosted by Latrobe City Council and Collingwood Magpies in Traralgon. However, in August 2021 this tournament was also cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Teams

2021 teams

The teams in the competition are effectively the reserve teams of Suncorp Super Netball teams and/or the representative teams of state netball leagues, such as the

, the Victorian Netball League and the West Australian Netball League.

Former teams

Grand Finals

;Notes * The 2020 and 2021 competitions were cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in Australia The COVID-19 pandemic in Australia is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The first confirmed case in Australia was identified on 25 January ...

Winners

MVP

Sponsorship

References

{{Netball leagues ! 2008 establishments in Australia Sports leagues established in 2008