2015 ANZ Championship Coaches & Captains Survey Results   27 Feb 2015

Media Release
Friday 27 February 2015

2015 ANZ Championship Coaches & Captains Survey Results

The NSW Swifts have been tipped to be crowned Australian Conference champions while the SKYCITY Mystics and Mojo Pulse will battle it out for the New Zealand honour according to the ANZ Championship’s coaches and captains.

The annual ANZ Championship Coach and Captains Survey, which anonymously compiles responses from all ten teams, saw the Swifts (40%) predicted to edge out grand finalists, Mission Queensland Firebirds (25%), to claim the inaugural Australian Conference championship.

The winner of the New Zealand Conference Championship is expected to come down to the wire with the Mystics and Pulse both receiving 40 per cent of the votes.

The Swifts, who were upset by the Kia Magic in last year’s ANZ Championship Minor Semi-Final, have been widely tipped as the team to beat in the 2015 ANZ Championship with 35 per cent of votes thanks to their off-season recruitment.

The key signings of Australian Diamonds defender Julie Corletto and England international Jade Clarke during the summer sees the Swifts named the league’s most successful recruiting team according to 60 per cent of the league’s coaches and captains.

The defending champions Melbourne Vixens have been tipped to be the second team in the history of the ANZ Championship to contest the league’s Finals Series after winning the championship - joined by the Swifts in the ANZ Championship Semi-Finals. The Vixens have also been nominated as the ANZ Championship’s most feared team.

The Mystics and Pulse have been universally picked to be the New Zealand representatives in the ANZ Championship Semi-Finals with 50 and 40 per cent of votes, respectively.

The West Coast Fever, who went through the pre-season Summer Shootout undefeated in five matches, will be the ANZ Championship’s most improved team according to their counterparts.

The warm and welcoming climate of Brisbane makes the Firebirds (25%) the league’s favourite away destination, while the Fever and Steel didn’t get a vote.

The Vixens, who become the ANZ Championship’s first premiers to retain their championship starting seven, better keep a close eye on their players with midcourter Madi Robinson and defender Geva Mentor the league’s most sought after players.

The 2015 ANZ Championship gets underway on Saturday 28 February when the Thunderbirds host the Magic at Netball SA Stadium. Catch all the action from the first game of the season live on FOX SPORTS in Australia and SKY Sport in New Zealand.

Survey Results:

1. Apart from your own, who will be the team to beat in the 2015 ANZ Championship?

2. Who will be crowed the inaugural Australian Conference Champion?

3. Who will be crowed inaugural New Zealand Conference Champion?

4. What four teams will contest the ANZ Championship semi-finals?

5. What team will be the biggest improver in 2015?

6. What team has recruited the best during the off-season?

7. What team do you fear playing the most?

8. What team do you enjoy playing away the most?

9. If a team could recruit one player from the opposition, who would it be?

Round One Fixtures:

Adelaide Thunderbirds v Kia Magic
Saturday 28 February, 1.48pm
Netball SA Stadium, Adelaide

Mission Queensland Firebirds v West Coast Fever
Sunday 1 March, 11.18am
BCEC, Brisbane

Melbourne Vixens v Mojo Pulse
Sunday 1 March, 2.18pm
Margaret Court Arena, Melbourne

Ascot Park Hotel Southern Steel v NSW Swifts
Sunday 1 March, 7.10pm
ILT Stadium Southland, Invercargill

Tactix v Northern Mystics
Monday 2 March, 7.40pm
Horncastle Arena, Christchurch

END

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