Melbourne Vixens is an Australian professional netball team based in Melbourne, Victoria. Since 2017 they have represented Netball Victoria in Super Netball. Between 2008 and 2016, they played in the ANZ Championship. The team was formed in 2007 when Netball Victoria merged its two former Commonwealth Bank Trophy league teams, Melbourne Phoenix and Melbourne Kestrels. Vixens have won four premierships, in 2009, 2014, 2020, and 2025.
History ANZ Championship Between 2008 and 2016, Vixens played in the ANZ Championship. Vixens were formed in late 2007 when Netball Victoria merged its two former Commonwealth Bank Trophy league teams, Melbourne Phoenix and Melbourne Kestrels, in order to enter a single team in the 2008 ANZ Championship. During the ANZ Championship era, Vixens won two premierships, in 2009 and 2014. In 2009, with a team co-captained by Bianca Chatfield and Sharelle McMahon, Vixens won 12 of their 13 matches during the regular season and finished as minor premiers. Vixens subsequently defeated Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic 58–43 in the major semi-final and Adelaide Thunderbirds 54–46 in the grand final to finish as overall champions.
In 2012, with a team captained by Bianca Chatfield, and featuring Madison Browne, Julie Corletto and Geva Mentor, Vixens finished the season as minor premiers. In the major semi-final they defeated Northern Mystics 56–50. This was the first ever netball match held at Rod Laver Arena. However they lost the grand final 41–38 to Magic and finished the season as runners-up.
In 2014, with a team coached by Simone McKinnis, captained by Bianca Chatfield and also featuring Tegan Caldwell, Geva Mentor, Madison Browne and the veteran Catherine Cox, Vixens won both the minor premiership and the overall championship. Vixens defeated Queensland Firebirds in both the major semi-final and the grand final as they won their second premiership.
+ Regular season statistics Season Position Won Drawn Lost4th9041st12017th607 5th8051st10032nd9041st904 5th706 4th805
Super Netball Since 2017, Vixens have represented Netball Victoria in Super Netball. With a team coached by Simone McKinnis and captained by Kate Moloney, Vixens finished the inaugural season as minor premiers. However they subsequently lost both the major semi-final and preliminary final during the Finals Series and finished third overall. Four Vixens players—Mwai Kumwenda, Tegan Philip, Liz Watson and Jo Weston—were named in the 2017 Team of the Year.
In 2020, with a team coached again by Simone McKinnis and co-captained by Kate Moloney and Liz Watson, Vixens finished the season as both minor premiers and overall champions. In the Grand Final they defeated West Coast Fever 66–64.
Following its championship win in 2020, the Vixens struggled in 2021, finishing last and claiming the wooden spoon for the first time in club history.
Vixens dominated the 2022 regular season before a shock defeat in the major semi-final by the West Coast Fever forced them to reach the Grand Final by winning the preliminary final, winning against GIANTS Netball 55-54. The club was unable to beat the Fever in the Grand Final, losing 70-59 and walking away runners-up.
Vixens began the 2023 season well, sitting in 2nd position on the ladder after Round 10 with a 7–3 record. They then lost 3 of their next 4 matches to finish the regular season with an 8–6 record, qualifying for the finals series as the 4th seed. They lost the minor semi-final to the West Coast Fever 57-64, eliminating them from the finals.
The Vixens sat inside the top 2 of the Suncorp Super Netball ladder for the majority of the 2024 regular season, spending a few weeks as the number 1 seed before finishing the season with an 11–3 record, in second place. They lost the major semi-final to the Adelaide Thunderbirds by 25 goals, 43–68, in what was the second largest defeat for a team in a major semi-final. Vixens then beat the Fever 73–72 in the preliminary final, advancing to the Grand Final. The club was unable to beat the Thunderbirds in the Grand Final, losing 57–59 and walking away as the runners-up for the second time in three seasons.
The Vixens had a slow start to the 2025 season, sitting in 6th position with a 2–4 record at the conclusion of their Round 6 match against the Sunshine Coast Lightning, where they lost 50-62. After this match, coach Simone McKinnis announced she would be stepping down as coach of the Vixens at the conclusion of the season. When asked how her side could turn their season around, McKinnis famously stated in her post-match press conference that the Vixens needed to "go to the pub". After this remark, the Vixens went on a 6–2 run to finish the season, including a five match winning streak, to qualify for the finals series as the 4th seed, with an 8–6 record. They beat the Thunderbirds 58–56 in Adelaide, breaking a streak of 5 consecutive losses against the Thunderbirds in Adelaide. They then beat the 2nd placed New South Wales Swifts 66–65 in Sydney, erasing a 10 point deficit at three quarter time to advance to the Grand Final at Rod Laver Arena. In the Grand Final, the Vixens defeated the West Coast Fever 59-58, in front of a record crowd of 15,013 spectators. The Vixens claimed their second Suncorp Super Netball premiership and their 4th national league title overall, becoming only the second team to win a SSN premiership from 4th on the ladder.
+ Regular season statistics Season Position Won Drawn Lost1st1112 5th8063rd8151st1112 8th 2 0 121st12024th8062nd11034th8062nd1004
Grand finals ANZ Championship Season Winners Score Runners up Venue2009Melbourne Vixens54–46Adelaide ThunderbirdsHisense Arena2012Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic41–38Melbourne VixensHisense Arena2014Melbourne Vixens53–42Queensland Firebirds Hisense Arena Super Netball Season Winners Score Runners up Venue2020Melbourne Vixens66–64West Coast FeverNissan Arena2022West Coast Fever70–59Melbourne VixensRAC Arena2024Adelaide Thunderbirds59–57Melbourne VixensAdelaide Entertainment Centre2025Melbourne Vixens59–58West Coast FeverRod Laver Arena2026Adelaide Thunderbirds61-40Melbourne VixensJohn Cain Arena
Home venues Since its inception in 2008, the Vixens' main home venue has been John Cain Arena at Melbourne Park.
The club has previously played intermittent home matches at Margaret Court Arena and Rod Laver Arena. Between 2008 and 2011, the club played occasional home games at the State Netball & Hockey Centre in Parkville, which now serves as their administrative home and training venue, shared with the offices of Netball Victoria.
Notable players 2026 squad
Internationals
Kiera Austin Kate Beveridge Kelsey Browne Madison Browne Bianca Chatfield Natasha Chokljat Julie Corletto Catherine Cox Rudi Ellis Demelza Fellowes Sophie Garbin Renae Hallinan Wendy Jones Sharni Layton Emily Mannix Sharelle McMahon Kate Moloney Caitlyn Nevins Tegan Philip Caitlin Thwaites Chelsey Tregear Liz Watson Jo Weston
Karyn Bailey Johannah Curran Carla Dziwoki Amy Steel Hannah Mundy
Ama Agbeze Geva Mentor Abby Sargent
Kadie-Ann Dehaney
Mwai Kumwenda
Ine-Marí Venter
Captains Name Years Sharelle McMahon2008–2011 (co-captain)Bianca Chatfield2008–2011 (co-captain)2012-2015 (sole captain)Madison Robinson 2016Kate Moloney2017–2019, 2024-present (sole captain)2020, 2022–2023 (co-captain) Liz Watson2020, 2022–2023 (co-captain)
Club Award winners Sharelle McMahon Medal Since 2014, the Vixens' most valuable player of season award has been known as the Sharelle McMahon Medal.
Season Winner Runner(s) up2008Natasha ChokljatBianca Chatfield2009Sharelle McMahonJulie PrendergastCaitlin Thwaites2010Sharelle McMahon (2)Bianca Chatfield2011Bianca ChatfieldMadison Browne2012Geva MentorMadison Browne2013Madison BrowneGeva Mentor2014Geva Mentor (2)Madison Robinson2015Geva Mentor (3)Karyn BaileyMadison RobinsonTegan Philip2016Madison Robinson (2)Geva Mentor2017Liz WatsonEmily Mannix2018Liz Watson (2)Kate Moloney2019Emily MannixKate Moloney2020Kate MoloneyJo WestonKate Eddy2021Kate Moloney (2)Mwai Kumwenda2022Liz Watson (3)Kate Moloney2023Liz Watson (4)Emily Mannix2024Kiera AustinKate Moloney2025Jo WestonKate Moloney2026Sophie GarbinKate Moloney Players' Player A players' player award was introduced in 2026.
Season Player2026Kate Eddy Elite Behaviours' Award This award was renamed from the Coaches' Award in 2026.
Season Player2008Caitlin Thwaites2009Bianca Chatfield2010Bianca Chatfield2011Julie Corletto2012Chelsey Tregear2013Erin Hoare2014Kate Moloney2015Kate Moloney2016Emily Mannix 2017Khao Watts2018Emily Mannix2019Renae Ingles2020Caitlin Thwaites2021Kate Moloney 2022Ruby Barkmeyer2023Kate Eddy2024Zara Walters2025Tara Watson2026Kate Moloney Player of the Finals
+SeasonPlayer2009Bianca Chatfield2012Madison Browne2013Bianca Chatfield2014Geva Mentor2017Jo Weston2019Emily Mannix2020Jo Weston2022Jo Weston2024Kiera Austin2025Sophie Garbin2026Kate Moloney Rookie of the Year
Season Player2008not awarded2009Chelsey Tregear2010Tegan Caldwell2011not awarded2012Karyn Howarth2013not awarded2014Liz Watson2015Jo Weston2016Alice Teague-Neeld 2017not awarded2018Kadie-Ann Dehaney2019not awarded2020Allie Smith2021Hannah Mundy 2022not awarded2023not awarded2024Zara Walters2025not awarded2026not awarded Excellence in Sport and Life Award
Season Player2008Bianca Chatfield2009Renae Hallinan2010Natasha Chokljat2011Chelsey Tregear2012Bianca Chatfield2013not awarded2014Amy Steel2015Bianca Chatfield 2016Jo Weston2017Chloe Watson2018not awarded2019Renae Ingles 2020Jo Weston2021Allie Smith2022Sharni Lambden2023Kiera Austin2024Jo Weston2025Kate Eddy2026Zara Walters
Competition Award winners ANZ Championship MVP Season Player2016Madison Robinson (joint winner)
ANZ Championship Australian Player of the Year Season Player 2012Madison Browne
Super Netball Rookie of the Year Season Player 2017Liz Watson
ANZ Championship Grand Final MVP Season Player2009Sharelle McMahon2014Tegan Caldwell
Super Netball Grand Final MVP Season Player2020Mwai Kumwenda2025Kiera Austin
ANZ Championship All Star Team Season PlayerPosition2011Sharelle McMahonGA2012Madison BrowneWA2012Julie CorlettoWD2012Geva MentorGK2013Madison BrowneWA2013Geva MentorGK2014Madison RobinsonWA2014Geva MentorGK
Super Netball Team of the Year Season PlayerPosition2017Mwai KumwendaGS2017Tegan PhilipGA2017Liz WatsonWA2017Jo WestonGD2018Liz WatsonWA2019Liz WatsonWA2019Kate MoloneyC2019Renae InglesWD2019Emily MannixGK2020Liz WatsonWA2020Kate MoloneyC2022Liz WatsonWA2023Liz WatsonReserve2024Kiera AustinGA2024Kate MoloneyC2024Sophie GarbinReserve2025Kiera AustinGA
Head coaches Coach YearsJulie Hoornweg2008–2012 Simone McKinnis2012–2025 Di Honey2025–present ANZ Championship Australian Coach of the Year SeasonCoach2009Julie Hoornweg2012Julie Hoornweg2014Simone McKinnis Joyce Brown Coach of the Year +SeasonCoach2017Simone McKinnis2020Simone McKinnis2025Simone McKinnis
Vixens Academy
The reserve team of the Melbourne Vixens is known as the Vixens Academy, and previously played as the Victorian Fury. This team currently plays in the Super Netball Reserves competition, which began in 2024, after rebranding from the Australian Netball Championships and prior to that, the Australian Netball League. The Vixens Academy/Victorian Fury are the most successful team in the second-tier competition, having won eight premierships, most recently in 2019.
Premierships
ANZ Championship Winners: 2009, 2014 Runners Up: 2012 Minor Premierships: 2009, 2012, 2014 Super Netball Winners: 2020, 2025 Runners Up: 2022, 2024, 2026 Minor Premierships: 2017, 2020, 2022 Super Netball Reserves / Australian Netball Championships / Australian Netball League Winners: 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2019 Runners Up: 2011, 2017
References
External links Official website Instagram TikTok