The Victorian Netball League (VNL) is a

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a rectangular court by two teams of seven players. The primary objective is to shoot a ball through the defender's goal ring while preventing the opposing team from shooting through their own. It is one of a ...

league featuring teams from

Victoria, Australia Victoria, commonly abbreviated as Vic, is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state (after Tasmania), with a land area of ; the second-most-populated state (after New South Wales), with a population of over 7 million; ...

. The league is organised by

Netball Victoria Netball Victoria is the governing body for netball in Victoria, Australia. It is affiliated to Netball Australia. It is responsible for organising and managing the elite level team, Melbourne Vixens, who compete in the Suncorp Super Netball. It i ...

, with the modern league beginning in 2009. It replaced an earlier state league as the top level netball competition in Victoria. On a national level, the VNL is effectively a third-tier league, below

Suncorp Super Netball The Super Netball League (known predominantly by its sponsored name Suncorp Group, Suncorp Super Netball (SSN)) is a professional netball league in Netball in Australia, Australia. It superseded the trans-Tasman ANZ Championship, which also inc ...

and the

Australian Netball Championships 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 Net ...

. From 2009-2011, due to

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and

naming rights Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization where a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event (most often sports venues), typical ...

arrangements, the VNL was known as the Holden Cruze Cup. Between 2018-2020, the league was sponsored by Bupa and was known as the Bupa Victorian Netball League. A change at the end of the 2023 season saw three divisions (Championship, Division 1 and 19 & Under) become two - with Division 1 and 19 & Under replaced with a 23 & Under division. It also saw the inclusion of new club
Bendigo Strikers, Gippsland Stars and Western Warriors
The Stars will initially field a 23 & Under team, before entering the Championship division by 2027. Nine existing clubs (Boroondara, Casey, City West, Geelong, Hawks, Lightning, Blaze, Waves and Saints) had their licenses renewed, with foundation club Ariels a casualty of the restructure. The league's most successful team, City West Falcons (originally known as Hume City Falcons), have won seven Championship titles and 17 premierships in total, to the end of 2023.

History

Foundation

The modern league began in 2009, replacing an earlier

state league as the top level netball competition in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

. The earlier league featured eighteen teams but, after restructuring, the number was reduced to ten. The founding ten members of the new league were Ballarat Pride, Boroondara Genesis, Geelong Cougars, Hume City Falcons, Monash University Central, North East Blaze, Peninsula Waves, Southern Saints, VU Western Lightning and Yarra Valley Grammar Ariels. The league featured three divisions – Championship, Division 1 and 19 & Under. The ten teams entered a team in each of the three divisions. The new structure was designed to encourage player development.

City West Falcons

The league's most successful team has been City West Falcons, who have won seven Championship titles and 17 premierships in total, across three divisions. As Hume City Falcons, they won the inaugural Championship in 2009 and claimed it again the following year With a team that included Kathleen Knott, they won their first Championship as City West Falcons in 2012 and again in 2013. In 2018, Falcons won their fifth Championship title. Falcons won their sixth Championship title in 2022, also winning the 19 & Under Grand Final.

Victorian Fury

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 Net ...

team

Victorian Fury Victorian Fury are an Australian netball team that represents Netball Victoria in the Australian Netball Championships. In 2008 they were both founding members and the inaugural champions of the league. They retained the title in 2009 and compl ...

is effectively the representative team of the VNL. In turn, Fury is the reserve team of

Melbourne Vixens Melbourne Vixens is an netball in Australia, Australian professional netball team based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Victoria. Since 2017 Suncorp Super Netball season, 2017 they have represented Netball Victoria in Suncorp Super Netball. B ...

Teams

2023 teams

;Notes * Ariels VCNA previously played as Yarra Valley Grammar Ariels. * Boroondara Express previously played as Boroondara Genesis. * Casey Demons are affiliated to both the VFL

Casey Demons The Casey Football Club, nicknamed the Demons, is an Australian rules football club based in the Melbourne suburb of Cranbourne East, Victoria, Cranbourne East. The club, which was previously known as the Springvale Football Club (1903–2005) ...

and

Melbourne Football Club The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Demons or colloquially the Dees, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier comp ...

. * City West Falcons previously played as Hume City Falcons. * Hawks Netball previously played as Melbourne Central, Monash University Central, Monash University Storm. In 2018 they adopted their current name after forming a partnership with

Hawthorn Football Club The Hawthorn Football Club, nicknamed the Hawks, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Mulgrave, Victoria, that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL). The club was founded in 1902 in the inner-east suburb of Hawth ...

. * Between 2009 and 2014, Melbourne University Lightning had a partnership with

Victoria University Victoria University may refer to: * Victoria University (Australia), a public research university in Melbourne, Australia * Victoria University, Toronto, a constituent college of the federal University of Toronto in Canada * Victoria University of ...

and played as VU-Western Lightning.

Former teams

Championship Grand Finals

Notable players

The VNL is effectively a feeder league for the

teams

and

Collingwood Magpies The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed the Magpies or colloquially the Pies, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. ...

. VNL players have also played for the

Australia national netball team The Australia national netball team, also known as the Australian Diamonds, represent Netball Australia in international netball tournaments such as the Netball World Cup, the Commonwealth Games, the Constellation Cup, the Netball Quad Se ...

and other international teams.

Internationals

; ; *

Mwai Kumwenda Mwai Kumwenda (born 27 September 1989) is a Malawi netball international player. She represented Malawi at the 2010, 2014 and 2018 Commonwealth Games and at the 2011 and 2015 Netball World Cups. Kumwenda was the top goal scorer at three succe ...

; *

Fiona Themann Fiona Themann (born 18 April 1990), also known as Fiona Fowler, is a Scotland netball international. She represented Scotland at the 2014 and 2018 Commonwealth Games and at the 2015 Netball World Cup. At club level, she has played for Melbourn ...

; *

Tharjini Sivalingam Tharjini Sivalingam (born 30 December 1978) is a former Sri Lankan veteran netball player and former skipper of the Sri Lanka national netball team, Sri Lankan national netball team. With her staggering height of 210 cm or 6 ft 10.5in ...

Melbourne Vixens

Collingwood Magpies

Award winners

;Margaret Caldow Trophy The Championship MVP award is named after

Margaret Caldow Margaret Elaine Caldow (born 28 November 1941), also known as Marg Caldow, is a former Australia netball international and a former England head coach. She represented Australia at the 1963, 1975 and the 1979 World Netball Championships, winni ...

. ;Notes * 2012 award was shared. * 2013 award was shared. * 2021 award was shared. ;Player of the Championship Grand Final

Main sponsors

References

{{Netball leagues 2009 establishments in Australia Sports leagues established in 2009 Victorian Fury