The Melbourne Phoenix are an Australiannetball team. They are one of two teams representing the city of Melbourne, Victoria in the national Commonwealth Bank Trophy. They are based out of the State Netball and Hockey Centre, along with the Melbourne Kestrels. The Phoenix are currently coached by Julie Hoornweg and captained by Sharelle McMahon and Bianca Chatfield. Their team colours are purple, green, orange and black. The Phoenix were one of the inaugural teams in the Commonwealth Bank Trophy, having formed out of the ashes of the Melbourne-Waverley Pumas, Melbourne's only team in the Mobil League, the competition's predecessor. As a result, the Phoenix had a marked advantage from the beginning, taking on many players from the former Pumas, who had won the final season of the old competition. In all, the Phoenix won five of the eleven seasons contested of the trophy, amking them the most successful team over the history of the competition. They finished in the finals in all years except 1998. They secured a naming rights deal in 2005 with First National Real Estate, which provided vital revenue in what is a traditionally cash-strapped sport. In 2006 after the loss of Eloise Southby-Halbish and the surprise inclusion of Cynna Kydd, the group had lost some of its spark in both attack and defence, and were only just able to hold off previous easy-beats Queensland Firebirds, before being beaten convincingly by the Adelaide Thunderbirds in the preliminary final. 2007 proved to be an even tougher year as Kydd departed for overseas and Australian team member Julie Prendergast moved to the Kestrels. After the 2007 season, in which The Phoenix won the minor premiership but lost the final to Sydney Swifts, the Melbourne Phoenix will have to merge with rival team Melbourne Kestrels because of the new trans Tasman competition. A squad of twelve will be chosen from the two teams which leaves less chance for the younger players to develop as players at an elite level.
