Sydney Swifts
 | ||
| Founded | 1997 | |
|---|---|---|
| Disbanded | 2007 | |
| Based in | Sydney | |
| Home venues |
State Sports Centre Acer Arena | |
| Head coach | Julie Fitzgerald | |
| Captain | Liz Ellis | |
| League | Commonwealth Bank Trophy | |
| 2007 placing | Champions | |
| ||
The Sydney Swifts were an Australian netball team, playing in the national Commonwealth Bank Trophy. They were based out of Acer Arena and Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre in the suburb of Homebush. Following the 2003 demise of the Sydney Sandpipers, the Swifts were the only team representing the city of Sydney. The Swifts were coached by Julie Fitzgerald and captained by Catriona Wagg (1997–99) and Liz Ellis (2000-07).[1] The team was merged with the Hunter Jaegers at the end of 2007 and renamed New South Wales Swifts to play in the newly created trans-Tasman netball league, ANZ Championship.
History
In 2006, the Swifts achieved a feat unsurpassed in Australian sport for 47 years - an undefeated season in the national league. Captain Liz Ellis recovered from a knee reconstruction to lead a group of tough athletes, and take out the MVP award for the third time.
The Swifts were among the most perennially successfully teams in the Commonwealth Bank Trophy, which they first won in 2001 and subsequently in four out of the eleven years during which the event was held. The Swifts were in losing Grand Finalists on several other occasions and made the finals series every year.
The team were particularly successful the final years of the competition, winning a memorable Grand Final game against the Melbourne Phoenix in 2004 by a single goal. In 2006, they were undefeated in both the home-and-away series and the finals, and trounced the Adelaide Thunderbirds by 29 goals in the Grand Final.
In 2007, the Swifts defeated the minor premiers, the Melbourne Phoenix, by eight goals in 2007 in the Grand Final to take out the last ever Commonwealth Bank Trophy title. But they now wear red not yellow.
2008 NSW Swifts Team
- Erin Bell
- Rebecca Bulley
- Catherine Cox (captain)
- Selina Gilsenan
- Kimberlee Green
- Adelaide Johnson
- Emma Koster
- Tiffany Lincoln
- Susan Pratley
- Kimberley Purcell
- Leah Shoard
- Vanessa Ware
- Ashlee Weir
Former players
- Megan Anderson
- Alison Broadbent
- Liz Ellis
Final placings
- 1997: 3rd
- 1998: 2nd
- 1999: 3rd
- 2000: 3rd
- 2001: 1st
- 2002: 3rd
- 2003: 2nd
- 2004: 1st
- 2005: 2nd
- 2006: 1st
- 2007: 1st
References
- ↑ "The NSW Swifts". The NSW Swifts. Retrieved 2012-01-16.
External links
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Melbourne Phoenix |
Commonwealth Bank Trophy Champions 2001 2004 |
Succeeded by Melbourne Phoenix |
| Commonwealth Bank Trophy Champions 2006–2007 |
Replaced by ANZ Championship First Champions: New South Wales Swifts | |
| ||||||||||