The Mobil Superleague, originally known as the Esso Superleague, was the top level national Australian netball league between

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

and

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

. The league was Australia's first national netball league. It was organized by the All Australia Netball Association and featured the state league champions from

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

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 ...

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 ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

and

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

plus a team from 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 the ...

. Between 1990 and 1996, the winners of the league were also awarded the Prime Minister's Cup and this is sometimes used as an alternative name for the competition. Its main

sponsors Sponsor or sponsorship may refer to a person or organization with some role (especially one of responsibility) regarding another person or organisation: *Sponsor (commercial), supporter of an event, activity, or person *Sponsor (legislative), a per ...

were

Esso Esso () is a trading name for ExxonMobil. Originally, the name was primarily used by its predecessor Standard Oil of New Jersey after the breakup of the original Standard Oil company in 1911. The company adopted the name "Esso" (from the phon ...

and

Mobil Mobil Oil Corporation, now known as just Mobil, is a petroleum brand owned and operated by American oil and gas corporation ExxonMobil, formerly known as Exxon, which took its current name after history of ExxonMobil#merger, it and Mobil merge ...

. In 1997 it was replaced by the

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 ...

History

Format

The league initially featured the state league champions from

and

plus an

team. However on several occasions composite teams, including Sydney Tigers and Melbourne City were entered. Teams were permitted to "import" up to two players for the duration of the tournaments. This saw

Shelley O'Donnell Shelley O'Donnell is a former Australia netball international. Between 1990 and 1999, O'Donnell made 84 senior appearances for Australia. She was a member of the Australia teams that won gold medals at the 1991, 1995 and 1999 World Netball Cham ...

and

Vicki Wilson Vicki Wilson, , (born 11 February 1965 in Brisbane, Queensland) is an Australian netball coach and retired international player. She is the current head coach of the Netball Fiji side. Vicki Wilson is also an executive with the Brisbane Bronco ...

play for

Adelaide Contax Contax Netball Club are an Australian netball team based in Adelaide, South Australia. Their senior team currently plays in the Netball South Australia Premier League. Between 1989 and 1996, Contax represented Netball South Australia in the Esso ...

and

Simone McKinnis Simone McKinnis is a former Australia netball international and the current head coach of Melbourne Vixens in Suncorp Super Netball. As a player she was a member of the Australia teams that won gold medals at the 1991 and 1995 World Netball Ch ...

play for

Adelaide Garville Garville Netball Club is an Australian netball team based in Woodville, Adelaide, South Australia. Their senior team currently plays in the Netball South Australia Premier League. During the 1990s they played at a national level, representing ...

. During the history of the league, several formats were used. The 1985 and 1986 tournaments featured eight teams, divided into two groups or zones. Two teams from each group then qualified for semi-finals. The 1989 and 1990 seasons both featured six teams playing a single round of matches. The top two then qualified for the final. The 1991 and 1992 seasons each featured two divisions with three teams, both playing two rounds of matches. The three teams from Division 1 and the winners from Division 2 qualified for the semi-finals. By 1993 the competition had evolved into an eight team league with the top four qualifying for the semi-finals. This format remained in place for the final three seasons.

Esso Superleague

The Esso Superleague was formed in

as a partnership between the All Australia Netball Association and the

. The league was

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

's first national netball league. With a team coached by

Wilma Shakespear Wilma Joyce Shakespear (born 4 March 1943), previously known as Wilma Ritchie, is a former Australia netball international, Australia head coach and sports administrator. As a player, she represented Australia at the 1963 World Netball Champ ...

and featuring

Shelley Oates-Wilding Shelley Oates-Wilding (born 4 July 1965) is an Australian sprint canoeist and waterman who competed for Australia in canoeing from 1989 to 2008. Competing in two Summer Olympics, she earned her best finish of eighth in the K-4 500 m event at Atl ...

and

, AIS subsequently won the first two tournaments in 1985 and 1986. AIS also played in the 1987 and 1989 finals, losing to Melbourne Blues and Sydney Tigers respectively. Other AIS players from this era included

Natalie Avellino Natalie Avellino (born 15 December 1970) is a former Australian netball international and current netball coach. Between 1994 and 2006 she made 20 senior appearances for Australia. Avellino was a member of the Australia teams that won the gol ...

Sharon Finnan Sharon Louise Finnan-White ( Finnan, born 7 September 1967) is a former Australian netball player and a two-time winner of the INF Netball World Cup with the Australian national netball team. Finnan was born in the inner-Sydney suburb of Surr ...

and

Contax Garville rivalry

During the early 1990s, two of the most prominent teams in the league were

and

. Between 1986 and 1996, Contax and Garville contested every South Australia state league grand final. The rivalry saw the two clubs compete in nine consecutive state league grand finals, plus one controversial Mobil Super League grand final. With teams that included

Kathryn Harby Kathryn Harby-Williams (born 16 July 1969) is an Australian netball player and television presenter, who captained the Australian netball team. She is the Chief Executive Officer, Secretary and Treasurer of the Australian Netball Players’ Ass ...

Michelle Fielke Michelle den Dekker , also known as Michelle Fielke, is an Australian netballer from South Australia. den Dekker represented Australia in 84 tests between 1988 and 1995, including a record 71 as captain. She received the Medal of the Order of A ...

and

Julie Nykiel Julie Dawn Nykiel (born 13 December 1958) is a former Australian women's basketball player. Biography Basketball Nykiel played for the national team between 1979 and 1990, competing at two Olympic Games; 1984 and 1988.

, a former Australia women's basketball international, Contax played in three successive grand finals between 1990 and 1992. In 1990 they lost to 52–42 to Melbourne City. Contax then lost out to Sydney Pulsars in both 1991 and 1992. Then in 1993 Garville, in their debut season, with a team coached by

Patricia Mickan Patricia "Pat" Mickan (born 12 March 1957) is an Australian former basketball player. Biography Mickan played 150 games for the national team between 1979 and 1989, competing at two Olympic Games; 1984 and 1988.Natalie Avellino Natalie Avellino (born 15 December 1970) is a former Australian netball international and current netball coach. Between 1994 and 2006 she made 20 senior appearances for Australia. Avellino was a member of the Australia teams that won the gol ...

Jenny Borlase Jenny Borlase , also known as Jenny Kennett, is a former Australia netball international. Between 1989 and 1999 she made 70 senior appearances for Australia. She was a member of the Australia teams that won gold medals at the 1991, 1995 and 19 ...

and Michelle Fielke defeated Sydney Electricity 56–49 in the grand final and finished as champions. In 1994 the two South Australia rivals met in the Mobil Super League grand final, with Contax winning the title after defeating Garville in controversial circumstances. A Contax team captained by Kathryn Harby and featuring

and Tania Obst, took on a Garville team that again featured Avellino, Borlase and Fielke. Wilson was the top scorer and the closely fought match finish 47–47 at full time. However, Garville claimed they had actually won the match 48–46. It was alleged that during the third quarter, the official scorer accidentally gave one of Garville's goals to Contax. Despite protests from Garville, extra time was played and resulted in a 61–58 win for Contax.

Sydney dominance

Teams from

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

and

won four titles. With a team coached by

Anne Sargeant Anne Sargeant, OAM (born 28 December 1957) is a retired Australian netball player and current sports commentator. Sargeant played in the Australian national team from 1978 to 1988, captaining the side for six years. After her retirement from ...

and featuring five

internationals – Nicole Cusack, Keeley Devery, Sue Kenny, Catriona Wagg and Lisa Wilson – Sydney Tigers won the 1989 title after defeating the

57–36 in the grand final. The final was attended by

Bob Hawke Robert James Lee Hawke (9 December 1929 – 16 May 2019) was an Australian politician and trade unionist who served as the 23rd prime minister of Australia from 1983 to 1991. He held office as the Australian Labor Party, leader of the La ...

, the

Prime Minister of Australia The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister is the chair of the Cabinet of Australia and thus the head of the Australian Government, federal executive government. Under the pr ...

. Tigers subsequently played the 1990 season as Sydney Panthers and finished in third place. During the 1991 and 1992 seasons they played as Sydney Pulsars and finished as champions after defeating

in two successive grand finals. The 1993 season featured two Sydney teams, Sydney Pulsars and Sydney Electricity. With a team featuring Nicole Cusack, Keeley Devery,

and Sue Kenny, Sydney Electricity finished as minor premiers and grand finalists. The 1994 season again saw two Sydney teams, this time Sydney Electricity and Sydney Cenovis Ku-ring-gai. The latter team featured a young

Liz Ellis Elizabeth Margaret Ellis, (born 17 January 1973) is a retired Australian netball player and television presenter who was a member of the national netball team from 1992 until 2007 and captain for the last four of those years. She is the most ca ...

and were coached by

Julie Fitzgerald Julie Fitzgerald is a veteran Australian netball coach. Between 1997 and 2007, Fitzgerald served as head coach of Sydney Swifts in the Commonwealth Bank Trophy league. She guided Swifts to premierships in 2001, 2004, 2006 and 2007. Between ...

. They later evolved into

Sydney Swifts Sydney Swifts were an netball in Australia, 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 ...

. With a team featuring Sharon Finnan and Joanne Morgan, Sydney Electricity were 1995 champions, defeating Melbourne Pumas 53–37 in the grand final. For the 1996 season Sydney Electricity became Sydney Energy and finished as minor premiers and grand finalists.

Melbourne

After

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

were the league's most successful city, producing three winners. In 1987 Melbourne Blues won the title after defeating

in the final. In 1990 Melbourne City, a composite team coached by

Norma Plummer Norma Margaret Plummer AM (born 24 November 1944) is a former Australian national player who also served as netball coach for both Australia and South Africa. She was coach of Australia from 2003 to 2011, ending her coaching career with the D ...

and featuring

Roselee Jencke Roselee Jencke is a former Australia netball international and netball coach. As a player, Jencke was a member of the Australia teams that won the gold medal at the 1991 World Netball Championships and the silver medals at the 1985 World Game ...

and

defeated

52–42 in the grand final. Melbourne City were also the first winners to receive the Prime Minister's Cup. Melbourne Pumas played in the final two grand finals, losing the first to Sydney Electricity and winning the second against Sydney Energy. In both finals, their starting seven included McKinnis,

Janine Ilitch Janine Claire Ilitch (née Lynch; born 27 January 1972) is an Australian netball player. She was an Australian Institute of Sport scholarship holder in 1993. Ilitch was born in Mordialloc, Victoria. She has been a frequent member of the Aust ...

, Eloise Southby and

Ingrid Dick Ingrid Dick (born 14 January 1972, in Melbourne, Australia) is an Australian netball player. Playing career She played 141 matches in the Commonwealth Bank Trophy for the Melbourne Phoenix from 1997 to 2007. She is one of only 3 players to pa ...

1996 teams

Grand finals

;Esso Superleague ;Mobil Superleague

Minor premierships

Premiership winning coaches

Australian Institute of Sport Coaches - Wilma Shakespear

Main sponsors

Notes

played in the New South Wales State League. * Melbourne Pumas also known as Melbourne Waverley Pumas. * Queensland Mac-Attacks played the 1994 and 1995 seasons as Brisbane Downey Park. * Sydney Energy played the 1993, 1994 and 1995 seasons as Sydney Electricity.

References

{{Netball leagues Defunct netball leagues in Australia 1985 establishments in Australia 1996 disestablishments in Australia Sports leagues established in 1985 Sports leagues disestablished in 1996