Vixens Academy 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 completed a three in row in 2010. They then won it four times in a row between 2013 and 2016. In 2019 they won their eighth ANL title. They are the most successful team in the ANL. The Team are effectively the representative team of the Victorian Netball League and the reserve team of Melbourne Vixens.
History Netball Victoria Victorian Fury is effectively the representative team of the Victorian Netball League. They are also one of two teams that represent Netball Victoria in senior or national leagues. Their senior team, Melbourne Vixens, have represented Netball Victoria in both the ANZ Championship and Suncorp Super Netball. In 2013 and 2014 Netball Victoria also entered a second team known as Victorian Flames in the Australian Netball League.
In 2016 Fury and Vixens began to host double headers against other ANL and ANZ Championship teams. This was part of a process where the relationship between the two leagues became more formalized. As part of this arrangement, a limited number of Vixens players were also eligible to play for Fury.
Three in a row In 2008 Victorian Fury were both founder members and the inaugural champions of the Australian Netball League. Chelsey Nash captained Fury to their first title. In 2009 Fury retained the title and in 2010 they completed a three in a row. Other members of the Fury team from this era included Kathleen Knott and Karyn Bailey.
Four in a row Between 2013 and 2016 Fury completed a four in a row of ANL titles. Mwai Kumwenda was the top goalscorer for Fury during 2013, finishing the season with a record 461 goals. In the grand final against NSW Waratahs she scored 38 goals with a 97% strike rate. She was subsequently named the ANL's MVP. In 2015 Jo Weston, Kelsey Browne, Alice Teague-Neeld and Elle Bennetts were all members of the Fury team captained by Fiona Themann that won the ANL title for a sixth time. In 2016 Themann, again captain, and Bennetts were joined by Tayla Honey, Lara Dunkley and Shannon Eagland as Fury won their seventh title.
ANL Grand finals Season Winners Score Runners up Venue2008Victorian Fury56–41Australian Institute of SportSydney2009Victorian Fury46–32Australian Institute of SportBCEC2010Victorian Fury54–47NNSW WaratahsWaverley Netball Centre2011NNSW Waratahs55–46Victorian FuryWaverley Netball Centre2013Victorian Fury56–51NNSW WaratahsNetball SA Stadium2014Victorian Fury51–49Queensland FusionWaverley Netball Centre2015Victorian Fury58–46Southern ForceWaverley Netball Centre2016Victorian Fury53–46NNSW WaratahsNetball Central2017Western Sting63–47Victorian FuryPerth State Netball Centre2019Victorian Fury54–53NNSW WaratahsSNHC
Home venues Vixens Academy play the majority of their home games at the State Netball and Hockey Centre. They have also played home games at Melbourne Arena and the Margaret Court Arena.
Notable players Internationals
Kelsey Browne Kate Moloney Caitlyn Nevins Tegan Philip Jo Weston
Mwai Kumwenda
Fiona Themann
Melbourne Vixens Karyn Bailey Kelsey Browne Lara Dunkley Shannon Eagland Kate Eddy Tayla Honey Kathleen Knott Mwai Kumwenda Kate Moloney Chelsey Nash Caitlyn Nevins Alice Teague-Neeld Brooke Thompson Jo Weston
Collingwood Magpies Melissa Bragg Kelsey Browne Molly Jovic Kelsie Rainbow Alice Teague-Neeld
MVPs ANL MVP The following Victorian Fury players were named MVP in the Australian Netball League. Season Player 2009Kathleen Knott2011Karyn Bailey2013Mwai Kumwenda2018Rahni Samason2019Emma Ryde
Victorian Fury MVP
Season Player 2010Kathleen Knott2011Karyn Bailey2012Kathleen Knott2013Mwai Kumwenda2014Jo Weston2015Kelsey Browne2016Ella Bayliss2017Kate Thompson2018Rahni Samason2019Emma Ryde
Head coaches Coach YearsCathy Fellows2011–2012 Stacey West2013Kristy Keppich-Birrell2014–2015Cathy Fellows2016Leesa Gallard2017–2018Di Honey2019–
Premierships Australian Netball League Winners: 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2019: 8 Runners up: 2011, 2017: 2
References