Melissa Rowland (born 18 May 1989) is a former Australian netball player. In 2007 Rowland was included in the

Melbourne Phoenix Melbourne Phoenix were an netball in Australia, Australian netball team that represented Netball Victoria in the Commonwealth Bank Trophy. Between 1997 in Australia, 1997 and 2007 in Australia, 2007, together with Melbourne Kestrels, they were o ...

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 ...

squad. She was also a member of the

Adelaide Thunderbirds Adelaide Thunderbirds are an netball in Australia, Australian professional netball team based in Adelaide, South Australia. Since 2017 Suncorp Super Netball season, 2017 they have played in Suncorp Super Netball. Between 2008 ANZ Championship s ...

senior team during the

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

and

2012 ANZ Championship season The 2012 ANZ Championship season was the fifth season of the ANZ Championship. The 2012 season began on 31 March and concluded on 22 July. With a team coached by Noeline Taurua, captained by Laura Langman and featuring Leana de Bruin, Irene va ...

s. Rowland was a member of both the

Contax Contax (stylised as CONTAX in the Yashica/Kyocera era) began as a German camera model in the Zeiss Ikon line in 1932, and later became a brand name. The early cameras were among the finest in the world, typically featuring high quality Carl Zeis ...

team that won the 2008 South Australia state league title and of the Southern Force team that won the 2012

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 ...

Playing career

Early years

Rowland is originally from

Mildura Mildura ( ) is a regional city in north-west Victoria, Australia. Located on the Victorian side of the Murray River, Mildura had a population of 34,565 at the 2021 census. When nearby Wentworth, Irymple, Nichols Point, Merbein and Red ...

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 ...

. In 2005, while representing

at under-17 level in the

Australian National Netball Championships The Australian National Netball Championships are a series of annual netball tournaments, organised by Netball Australia and featuring representative teams from the states and territories of Australia. The earliest tournaments took place during ...

, she was spotted by Australia netball international,

Eloise Southby-Halbish Eloise Southby-Halbish (born 6 July 1976) is an Australian sports commentator and former netball player. She was co-captain of the Melbourne Phoenix with fellow goaler, Sharelle McMahon, and also played for the Australia national netball team. ...

. Southby-Halbish noted Rowland's height, athleticism and speed. Southby-Halbish helped Rowland gain a scholarship for her VCE years at

Penleigh and Essendon Grammar School Penleigh and Essendon Grammar School (abbreviated as PEGS) is a multi-campus Independent school, independent Uniting Church in Australia, Uniting Church Comprehensive School#Australia, comprehensive Mixed-sex education, co-educational Pre-school ...

, where the former served as a netball coach. While attending PEGS, Rowland also boarded at the

Keilor Keilor () is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Brimbank and Hume local government areas. Keilor recorded a population of 5,906 at the 2021 census. ...

home of Southby-Halbish's parents,

Geoff Southby Geoff Southby (born 27 October 1950) is a former Australian rules footballer in the (then) Victorian Football League (VFL). An attacking full-back who ran hard from defence and stopped the best full-forwards, Southby was a key contributor to ...

and his wife Lorraine. In 2007 Rowland was included in the

squad.

Australian National Netball Championships

Rowland represented both

and

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

at the

. In 2005 she played for Victoria in the under-17 tournament. In 2010 she was a member of the South Australia team that were runners up in the under-21 tournament.

Adelaide Thunderbirds

Between

and

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, Rowland was a squad member and/or training partner with

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 ...

. In 2008 she a member of the inaugural Thunderbirds squad. During the

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

and

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

seasons she served as a Thunderbirds training partner. She was recalled to the senior Thunderbirds team for the 2012 season.

Southern Force

Between 2008 and 2012, Rowland played for Southern Force in the

. In 2012, along with Kelly Altmann, Georgia Beaton,

Cody Lange Cody Lange (born 24 October 1994) is an Australian netball player in the Suncorp Super Netball league, playing for the Adelaide Thunderbirds. Lange began her career at the Thunderbirds in 2011 and played at the club for six of the next seven sea ...

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 ...

Kate Shimmin Kate Walsh (née Shimmin; born in 1992) is an Australian netball player, most recently in the Suncorp Super Netball league, playing for the Sunshine Coast Lightning. In August 2019, Jess Thirlby the new England Roses Coach announced Shimmin w ...

and

Sheree Wingard Sheree Wingard (born 18 August 1988) is an Australian netball player in the ANZ Championship, playing for the Adelaide Thunderbirds Adelaide Thunderbirds are an netball in Australia, Australian professional netball team based in Adelaide, S ...

, she was a member of the Southern Force team that finished as ANL Champions.

South Australia state league

Between 2008 and 2012, Rowland played for several teams in the South Australia state league, including

, the

South Australian Sports Institute Sport plays an important role in the business, community, social and cultural life in the state of South Australia. Sport as entertainment plays an important role with South Australia, in 2007 having the second highest rate of event attendance ...

, Oakdale and Woods Panthers. In 2008, together with

Bianca Reddy Bianca Reddy (born 1982) is a former Australian netball player who played for the Adelaide Thunderbirds. In 2010, Reddy did not play in the ANZ Championship, but played for the West Coast Fever replacing the injured Josie Janz. Biography Her ...

and Kirby Mutton, she was a member of the Contax team that were state league champions. Between 2009 and 2011 she was a SASI scholarship holder. In both 2010 and 2011, while playing for Oakdale and Woods Panthers respectively, she was named in the leagues team of the year.

Victoria leagues

In 2014 Rowland played for South Bendigo in the

Bendigo Football Netball League The Bendigo Football Netball League (previously known as the Bendigo and District Football Association, Bendigo Football Association and Bendigo Football League) is an Australian rules football and netball competition based in the Bendigo regio ...

and in 2018 she played for Watsonia in the

Northern Football Netball League The Northern Football Netball League (NFNL), formerly known as the Diamond Valley Football League (DVFL) and later the Northern Football League (NFL), is an Australian rules football and netball competition based in the Diamond Creek, Victori ...

Honours

;

**''Winners'':

**''Runners Up'':

; Southern Force *

**''Winners'': 2012: 1 ;

* South Australia state league **''Winners'': 2008 ;

**''Runners Up'': 2010

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rowland, Melissa 1989 births Living people Australian netball players 21st-century Australian sportswomen Netball players from South Australia Netball players from Victoria (state) Melbourne Phoenix players Adelaide Thunderbirds players Southern Force (netball) players Contax Netball Club players South Australian Sports Institute netball players ANZ Championship players Australian Netball League players South Australia state netball league players People educated at Penleigh and Essendon Grammar School Sportspeople from Mildura