The Commonwealth Bank Trophy, also referred to as the National Netball League, was the top level national Australian netball league between

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

and

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...

. The league was organized by

Netball Australia Netball Australia is the main governing body for netball in Australia. It is affiliated to World Netball. It is responsible for organising and administrating the Australia national netball team, Suncorp Super Netball and the Australian Na ...

. Its main sponsor was the

Commonwealth Bank The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), or CommBank, is an Australian multinational bank with businesses across New Zealand, Asia, the United States and the United Kingdom. It provides a variety of financial services including retail, b ...

Melbourne Phoenix Melbourne Phoenix were an Australian netball team that represented Netball Victoria in the Commonwealth Bank Trophy. Between 1997 and 2007, together with Melbourne Kestrels, they were one of two teams to represent Netball Victoria in the Comm ...

were the competition's most successful team, winning five premierships.

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 thr ...

were the second most successful team, winning four premierships. Between them, Phoenix and Swifts played in every grand final, except in 1999 when

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 played ...

won the second of their two premierships. In

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 ...

, the Commonwealth Bank Trophy league was replaced by 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 ...

Teams

The founding members of the Commonwealth Bank Trophy league included

Adelaide Ravens Adelaide Ravens were an Australian netball team that, together with Adelaide Thunderbirds, represented Netball South Australia in the Commonwealth Bank Trophy league. In 1997 Ravens were founder members of the league. In 1999 they were grand ...

Melbourne Kestrels Melbourne Kestrels were an Australian netball team that represented Netball Victoria in the Commonwealth Bank Trophy. Between 1997 and 2007, together with Melbourne Phoenix, they were one of two teams to represent Netball Victoria in the Com ...

Perth Orioles Perth Orioles were an Australian netball team that, between 1997 and 2007, represented Netball Western Australia in the Commonwealth Bank Trophy. Orioles were one of the founding teams of the competition. They never finished higher than sixth i ...

, Sydney Sandpipers,

and

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 ...

. The majority of the teams were named after native Australian birds including

ravens Ravens may refer to: * Raven, a species of the genus ''Corvus'' Sports * Anderson Ravens, the intercollegiate athletic program of Anderson University in Indiana * Baltimore Ravens, a professional American football franchise * Benedictine Ravens, ...

, kestrels, orioles and

sandpiper Sandpipers are a large family, Scolopacidae, of waders. They include many species called sandpipers, as well as those called by names such as curlew and snipe. The majority of these species eat small invertebrates picked out of the mud or soil. ...

s. Adelaide Thunderbirds were initially going to be named Adelaide Falcons but the name was changed at the request of the rugby union team. In 2003 Ravens were replaced by AIS Canberra Darters and in 2004 Sandpipers were replaced by Hunter Jaegers. In

, when the Commonwealth Bank Trophy league was replaced by the

, Thunderbirds and Firebirds became founders of the new league. Several other Commonwealth Bank Trophy teams were transformed to form ANZ Championship teams. Swifts and Jaegers merged to become

New South Wales Swifts New South Wales Swifts are an Australian netball team based in Sydney, New South Wales. Since 2017 they have represented Netball New South Wales in Suncorp Super Netball. Between 2008 and 2016, they played in the ANZ Championship. The team ...

, Kestrels and Phoenix merged to become

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 ...

and Orioles were rebranded as

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 ...

. Meanwhile the

Australian Institute of Sport The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The Institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of th ...

and Canberra Darters ended their partnership and in 2008 entered two separate team in the

Australian Netball League 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 and later below Suncorp Super Ne ...

2007 teams

Earlier teams

Grand finals

Minor premierships

Awards

Most Valuable Player

Players' Player of the Year

Grand final MVP

Best New Talent

Coach of the Year

Margaret Pewtress Team of the Year

Television

ABC were the Commonwealth Bank Trophy league's official broadcast partner.

References

{{Netball leagues Defunct netball leagues in Australia Defunct professional sports leagues in Australia 1997 establishments in Australia 2007 disestablishments in Australia Sports leagues established in 1997 Sports leagues disestablished in 2007

Trophy A trophy is a tangible, durable reminder of a specific achievement, and serves as a recognition or evidence of merit. Trophies are often awarded for sporting events, from youth sports to professional level athletics. In many sports medals (or, i ...