The Queensland Firebirds are an Australian netball team based in Brisbane which compete in the Suncorp Super Netball league. The team previously competed in the trans-Tasman ANZ Championship. The Firebirds were formed as one of the foundation teams of the Commonwealth Bank Trophy, previously the premier netball league in Australia, which was contested from 1997–2007. After the retirement of the CBT and ANZ Championship, the Firebirds were one of five Australian franchises to transfer to the Super Netball league. The Firebirds are currently coached by Roselee Jencke, who was appointed in 2010 replacing Vicki Wilson, and are captained by wing defender Gabi Simpson. The Firebirds current home court is the 5,000 seat arena at the Queensland State Netball Centre and which the club moved to in 2019.
History
The Queensland Firebirds are one of the founding teams of the Commonwealth Bank Trophy, which they played their first season in 1997. The league ran from 1997–2007. In their first nine years of the league, Queensland finished no higher than sixth place. For the 2006 season, former Firebirds player Vicki Wilson was appointed as head coach for the team. Her appointment saw a sudden improvement in the team's standing in the league, with the Firebirds finishing 4th during Wilson's inaugural coaching year, and 5th in 2007. After 2007, the Commonwealth Bank Trophy was retired and replaced by a new trans-Tasman netball league, the ANZ Championship. The Firebirds were one of five Australian franchises to join the new league. For the new competition, the Firebirds changed their strip from maroon to purple and orange. They also secured the signing of rising Jamaicanshooting starRomelda Aiken. In their first three years competing in the ANZ Championship, the Firebirds finished fifth, narrowly missing out on the finals on each occasion. Wilson was replaced after the 2009 season by Roselee Jencke. During the 2011 ANZ Championship Season, the Queensland Firebirds went through the regular season undefeated, with 13 wins. Winning their Major Semi Final against the Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic, the Firebirds became the first team to win 14 games straight. Having won this game, the Firebirds went straight through to the 2011 ANZ Championship Grand Final to play the Northern Mystics. The Queensland Firebirds again prevailed, becoming the first ANZ Championship side to not drop a game in the course of the regular season and the finals series. The Firebirds would go onto to enjoy a golden period in the ANZ Championship, winning two further premierships in heart-stopping fashion over their rivals the New South Wales Swifts, in 2015 and 2016. They then returned to the finals series in the new Super Netball league in 2018, though were eliminated by their rivals the Sunshine Coast Lightning. Laura Geitz announced her retirement from international netball in July 2018. She has played only for the Firebirds in her 10 year career, and in August 2018 she announced her retirement from domestic netball.
The Queensland Fusion is the feeder team in the Australian Netball League in a direct alignment with the Firebirds, having been in this position since 2016. Players such as Tippah Dwan have played for the Fusion and later been elevated into the Firebirds' permanent squad. The Fusion squad is composed of a mixture of Firebirds training partners and some of Queensland’s most promising young and emerging players.
