The Victorian Netball League is a

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...

league featuring teams from

Victoria, Australia Victoria is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state with a land area of , the second most populated state (after New South Wales) with a population of over 6.5 million, and the most densely populated state in Au ...

. 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 ...

. The modern league was first played for during the 2009 season. It replaced an earlier state league as the top level netball competition in Victoria. On a national level, the VNL is effectively a third level league, below

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 ...

and 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 Netb ...

. Between 2009 and 2011, due to

sponsorship Sponsoring something (or someone) is the act of supporting an event, activity, person, or organization financially or through the provision of products or services. The individual or group that provides the support, similar to a benefactor, is k ...

and

naming rights Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization whereby a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event, typically for a defined period of t ...

arrangements, the VNL was also known as the Holden Cruze Cup. Since 2018, the league has been sponsored by

Bupa Bupa , legally British United Provident Association Limited, is an international health insurance and healthcare group with over 38 million customers worldwide. Bupa's origins and global headquarters are in the United Kingdom. Its main countrie ...

and, as a result, it is also known as the Bupa Victorian Netball League. The league features ten teams who enter teams in three divisions – the Championship, Division 1 and an Under-19 division. Historically, the league's most successful team has been City West Falcons. Originally known as Hume City Falcons, they have won five Championships and fourteen premierships across all three divisions.

History

Foundation

The modern league was first played for during the 2009 season. It replaced an earlier

state league as the top level netball competition in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. The earlier state league featured eighteen teams but, after restructuring, this 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 new league featured three divisions – the Championship, Division 1 and an Under-19 division. The ten teams enter a team in each division. The new structure was designed to encourage player development.

City West Falcons

Historically, the league's most successful team has been City West Falcons who have won six Championships and 16 premierships across all three divisions. As Hume City Falcons they won the inaugural Championship in 2009 and then retained it in 2010. With a team that included

Kathleen Knott Kathleen Knott (born 19 September 1987) is an Australian netball player in the ANZ Championship, playing for the Melbourne Vixens. Knott previously played with the Melbourne Kestrels (2007) in the Commonwealth Bank Trophy. Knott was a part of t ...

they won their first Championship as City West Falcons in 2012 and then retained it in 2013. In 2018, Falcons won their fifth Championship title. Falcons won their sixth Championship title in 2022, also winning the U-19 grand final.

Victorian Fury

The

team

Victorian Fury Victorian Fury are an 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 2009 and completed a t ...

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

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 ...

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" and formerly the "Scorpions", is an Australian rules football club based in Cranbourne East, Victoria. The club, which was known until 2005 as the Springvale Football Club and the Casey Scorpions ( ...

and

Melbourne Football Club The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Demons, is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. It is based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, ...

. * 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 Hawt ...

. * Between 2009 and 2014, Melbourne University Lightning had a partnership with Victoria University and played as VU-Western Lightning.

Former teams

Championship grand finals

Notable players

The VNL is a 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 that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. The club w ...

. VNL players have also played for the Australia national netball team 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 s ...

; *

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 Melbour ...

; *

Tharjini Sivalingam Tharjini Sivalingam (born 30 December 1978) is a former Sri Lankan veteran netball player and former skipper of the Sri Lankan national netball team. With her staggering height of 206 cm or a fraction under 6 ft 9in, she has been reco ...

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, winn ...

. ;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