Collingwood Magpies Netball
Collingwood Magpies Netball is an Australian netball team in Melbourne which competes in the premier domestic league, Suncorp Super Netball. The team was founded in 2016, during the disbanding of the ANZ Championship. The Magpies are owned by the professional Australian Football League entity, the Collingwood Football Club. Home games are usually played at John Cain Arena.
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Founded | 2016 | |
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Based in | Melbourne | |
Regions | Victoria | |
Home venue | John Cain Arena (10,500) Silverdome (4,000) | |
Head coach | Nicole Richardson | |
Captain | Geva Mentor | |
League | Suncorp Super Netball | |
2020 placing | 8th | |
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History
Following the dissolving of the trans-Tasman ANZ Championship competition in 2016, Netball Australia announced the creation of a new national Netball league, which would feature the five original Australian teams and three additional teams. In May 2016, Netball Australia confirmed that the Collingwood Football Club was one of three preferred license holders for the new teams.[1]
Collingwood Magpies Netball was launched in September 2016 at the headquarters of the Collingwood Football Club, the Melbourne Sports and Entertainment Centre. The new team had a distinct logo, different from the football team, though a few years later the club elected to unify the logo with the football team.[2] Speaking at the launch, club President Eddie McGuire stated "this team is not an add on to our [football] program by any stretch. It has its own identity, its own high performance unit in its own right and our strategy is to get the best people and best players possible."[3]
2017-20: Early years
The Magpies debuted in the 2017 Super Netball season. For the inaugural season, Madi Browne was appointed team captain under head coach Kristy Keppich-Birrell.[3] The Magpies entered the league with a star-studded squad of former and existing Australia national team players, thanks mainly due to significant financial weight backing the team. Consequently, the Magpies were widely tipped by pundits to win the league.[4] However, the team finished the regular season fourth (out of eight teams) on the ladder and lost their elimination final to Giants Netball by one goal.[5] In the following season the Magpies struggled for wins and consistency. Prominent defender Sharni Layton announced her retirement and the club elected not to extend the contract of coach Kristy Keppich-Birrell, replacing her with former Swifts coach Rob Wright at the end of the season.[6] Wright oversaw the signing of new players Kelsey Browne and Geva Mentor among others, and the Magpies returned to finals, though were defeated by local rivals the Vixens in the elimination final. The following year the Magpies won only one of their fourteen games in the COVID-19-impacted season. Co-captain Madi Browne departed from the club and Rob Wright's tenure as coach ended.[7] Wright was replaced by former Diamond and Magpies assistant Nicole Richardson as the new head coach.[8]
Franchise
Venues
The Magpies primary home court is the 10,500-capacity Melbourne Arena. The club also plays one home game a year at the Silverdome in Launceston as part of an agreement with the government of Tasmania.[9] Other venues the club has played (or are scheduled to play) home matches at in the past are Margaret Court Arena, the State Netball and Hockey Centre and Bendigo Stadium.
List of captains
Collingwood's inaugural captain was Madi Browne, who led the team to a finals place in the inaugural season. The club became the first in the league's history to appoint co-captains, when English international Geva Mentor was appointed alongside Browne in 2019.[10]
- Madison Browne (2017–2020)
- Geva Mentor (2019–present)
Current players
2021 Collingwood Magpies roster | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Players | Coaching staff | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Manager: Jane Woodlands-Thompson
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Player profiles: Team website | Last updated: 11 November 2020 |
Competitive record
Season | Standings | Regular season | Finals | Head coach | ||
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W | D | L | ||||
Collingwood Magpies | ||||||
2017 | 4th | 9 | 0 | 5 | Lost Elimination Final (Giants, 51–52) | Kristy Keppich-Birrell |
2018 | 7th | 3 | 1 | 10 | DNQ | Kristy Keppich-Birrell |
2019 | 4th | 7 | 2 | 5 | Lost Elimination Final (Vixens, 49–62) | Rob Wright |
2020 | 8th | 1 | 0 | 13 | DNQ | Rob Wright |
Regular season | 20 | 3 | 33 | 0 Minor Premierships | ||
Finals | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 Super Netball titles |
Tasmanian Magpies
Tasmanian Magpies are the reserve team of Collingwood Magpies. They play in the Australian Netball League. They were ANL champions in 2018. [11][12]
Honours
Club achievements
- Premierships (0): Nil
- Minor Premierships (0): Nil
- Pre-Season Premierships (1): 2019
- Reserve Grade Premierships (1): 2018
- NZ Super Club Titles (1): 2019
Best and fairests
Player | Year won | Years active | Ref |
---|---|---|---|
Geva Mentor | 2019, 2020 | 2005–present | [13][14] |
Caitlin Thwaites | 2017 | 2002–2020 | [15] |
Ash Brazill | 2018 | 2010–present | [16] |
References
- "Netball Australia confirms new eight-team division and bumper broadcasting deal". ABC News. 19 May 2016.
- "It's more than one team, one sport, or one individual. It's our club, and your club. It thrives off our passion and commitment. Through highs and lows, we are one community, where everyone belongs. New Year. New Logo". Collingwood. Twitter. 13 January 2020.
- "Collingwood unveil all-star contract list headed by Sharni Layton for new netball national league". Herald Sun. 21 September 2016.
- "Super Netball: Collingwood lifts bar and tipped to dominate competition". ABC News. 18 February 2017.
- "Super Netball: Giants roll Collingwood Magpies in nailbiting one-goal win". 3 June 2017.
- "Collingwood Magpies Netball appoint Rob Wright as new coach". News.com.au. 7 August 2018.
- "Collingwood Farewells Rob Wright". Collingwood Magpies. 29 September 2020.
- "Richardson named Magpies coach". Super Netball. 20 November 2020.
- "Magpies head to Launceston". Collingwood Magpies. 1 February 2017. Archived from the original on 15 March 2019.
- "Co-captains Robinson and Mentor lead the Magpies in 2019". Magpies Netball. 27 February 2019.
- "Tasmanian Magpies". tas.netball.com.au. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
- "Tassie Magpies celebrate first DUANL title". netball.com.au. 1 July 2018. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
- "Mentor claims best and fairest in debut season with Pies". Collingwood Magpies. 4 October 2019.
- "Mentor goes back-to-back". Collingwood Magpies. 28 September 2020.
- "Brazill Crowned Best And Fairest". Collingwood Magpies. 7 October 2018.
The 28-year-old finished on 51 votes, nine ahead of last season’s best and fairest winner (2017), Caitlin Thwaites.
- "Brazill Crowned Best And Fairest". Collingwood Magpies. 7 October 2018.