1
ANZ Championship Finals 2015
EVERY CENTRE PASS COMPETITION IN
2015 FOR FINALS SERIES SPOTS WILL BECOME FIERCER THAN EVER. >>
2
ANZ Championship Finals 2015
INNOVATIONS The ANZ Championship, one of the greatest female sports leagues in the world, is entering a new era. In 2015 the league will move to an exciting new Conference League structure and Finals Series model. The transformed ANZ Championships will bring fans more action, more finals and more to cheer about, with a guaranteed six opportunities for teams to progress through to the Finals Series. Challenge Trophy o What is the Challenge Trophy? o How will the first holder be decided?
4
ANZ Championship Conference Season
6
Conference Finals o How does it work? o Who qualifies? o Who makes it through to the ANZ Championship Finals Series?
9
ANZ Championship Finals Series o Semi Finals o Grand Final
11
3
ANZ Championship Finals 2015
DEFENCE IS EVERYTHING 4
ANZ Championship Finals 2015
UNDERSTANDING THE NEW ANZ CHAMPIONSHIP
THE CHALLENGE TROPHY A formidable home court advantage can be an additional psychological element to overcome for any visiting team; the introduction of a Trophy will highlight the challenges of playing in enemy territory.
What is the Challenge Trophy?
How will the first holder be decided?
No longer will only competition points be on the line during the regular season of the ANZ Championship. The introduction of this new and exciting concept will provide additional incentive to a select number of games from 2015 with the holders of the Challenge Trophy to defend the title on home court from opposition raids. The trophy will be up for grabs every time the holder plays at home. Once a visiting team defeats the trophy holders, it’s theirs to defend against all challengers in every home game during the ANZ Championship regular season. Any team, no matter of their ladder position, has the chance to claim the Challenge Trophy and then defend it at their next home match. The better the home court record, the longer the title defence will last.
The inaugural holders of the Challenge Trophy will be determined by a ballot system leading up to the 2015 ANZ Championship season. The exciting concept deserves a fitting introduction so a draw will determine the team that starts with the Trophy at the beginning of the season. One team a week will be eliminated from a lottery-style draw until the last team remaining is declared the inaugural holder of the Challenge Trophy and will defend the title at their first home game of the season.
5
ANZ Championship Finals 2015
UNDERSTANDING THE NEW ANZ CHAMPIONSHIP
CONFERENCE MODEL EXPLAINED More games than ever before will have an impact on the finals series, bringing more meaning to every home derby and traditional trans-Tasman rivalry. The ANZ Championship is undergoing a transformation. This transformation will give fans of every team more to cheer about and more opportunities to be inspired by the stars of our league. No longer will standings be displayed as one league ladder, instead the Australian and New Zealand Conferences will have their own ladders. Points accumulated during the season will contribute towards individual Conference ladders. The model which has been in place for the past seven seasons, where each team’s points have been calculated in one league ladder, will be discontinued.
6
ANZ Championship Finals 2015
Every win, loss or draw will have an impact on the Conference standings. From 2015, a guaranteed three teams from Australian and New Zealand Conferences will progress through to a restructured finals series. Despite the move towards Conferences, the 2015 season format will remain the same as in the previous seven seasons. Each team will play every other team within their Conference both home and away; along with one game against the five Tasman rivals either at home or away, alternating each year. Each team will play 13 games, 8 games within their own Conference; 5 games against the other Conference.
UNDERSTANDING THE NEW ANZ CHAMPIONSHIP
HOW THE NEW LADDER WILL WORK OFFICIAL LADDER 2014 Pos TEAM P Won Lost GF GA GD % Pts 1 Melbourne Vixens 13 9 4 746 592 154 126.0%
18
2 Queensland Firebirds 13 9 4 694 623 71 111.4% 18 3 NSW Swifts 13 9 4 707 652 55 108.4% 18 4 Waikato BOP Magic 13 8 5 727 672 55 108.2% 16 5 Southern Steel 13 7 9 792 809 -17 97.9% 14 6 Central Pulse 13 7 6 658 675 -17 97.5% 14 7 Northern Mystics 13 6 7 706 752 -46 93.9% 12 8 Adelaide Thunderbirds 13 5 8 663 706 -43 93.9% 10 9 West Coast Fever 13 4 9 689 724 -35 95.2% 8 10 Mainland Tactix 13 1 12 694 871 -177 79.7% 2
HOW THE SAME LADDER WOULD LOOK IN 2015 UNDER THE NEW CONFERENCE MODEL AUSTRALIAN CONFERENCE LADDER
NEW ZEALAND CONFERENCE LADDER
Pos
TEAM P Won Lost Pts
Pos
TEAM P Won Lost Pts
1
Melbourne Vixens 13 9 4 18
1
Waikato BOP Magic
2
Queensland Firebirds 13 9 4 18
2
Southern Steel 13 7 6 14
3
NSW Swifts 13 9 4 18
3
Central Pulse 13 7 6 14
13
8
5
16
4 Adelaide Thunderbirds 13 5 8 10
4 Northern Mystics 13 6 7 12
5 West Coast Fever 13 4 9 8
5 Mainland Tactix 13 1 12 2
7
ANZ Championship Finals 2015
YOUR TEAM YOUR STARS
UNDERSTANDING THE NEW ANZ CHAMPIONSHIP
CONFERENCE FINALS EXPLAINED Fans will see more finals action than ever before with the introduction of Conference Finals to determine which teams will be crowned champions of the ANZ Championship. Conference Finals A guaranteed six teams, three each from the Australian and New Zealand Conferences, will progress to a restructured post-season competition where a Conference Champion will be crowned before the ANZ Championship Finals Series begins.
The top three teams from each Conference will qualify to contest Conference Finals. In the first week, second and third place in each Conference will contest the Conference Elimination Final for a spot in the Conference Final away to the top ranked team. The side that finishes in second spot on their Conference ladder will host the knock-out Conference Elimination Final on their home court.
HOME
AWAY
Who qualifies?
WINNER ELIMINATION FINAL
NEW ZEALAND CONFERENCE ELIMINATION FINAL NEW ZEALAND TEAM 2
AWAY
AUSTRALIAN TEAM 2
AWAY
HOME
AUSTRALIAN CONFERENCE ELIMINATION FINAL
HOME
AUSTRALIAN TEAM 1
NEW ZEALAND CONFERENCE FINAL AWAY
HOME
AUSTRALIAN CONFERENCE FINAL
Who makes it to the ANZ Championship Finals Series? Two Conference Finalists from the Australian and New Zealand Conferences will qualify automatically for the ANZ Championship Semi Finals. The two Conference Champions will host an ANZ Championship Semi Final against the loser of the opposite Conference Final. This format will ensure both an Australia and New Zealand based Semi Final.
9
ANZ Championship Finals 2015
UNDERSTANDING THE NEW ANZ CHAMPIONSHIP
THE NEW CONFERENCE AND FINALS MODEL ANZ CHAMPIONSHIP GRAND FINAL WINNER SEMI-FINAL 1
WINNER SEMI-FINAL 2
NEW ZEALAND CONFERENCE CHAMPION
AWAY
AWAY
10
AUSTRALIAN TEAM 2
WINNER ELIMINATION FINAL
HOME
AWAY AWAY
HOME
AUSTRALIAN CONFERENCE ELIMINATION FINAL
NEW ZEALAND CONFERENCE ELIMINATION FINAL HOME
AUSTRALIAN TEAM 1
NEW ZEALAND CONFERENCE FINAL AWAY
HOME
AUSTRALIAN CONFERENCE FINAL
NEW ZEALAND TEAM 2
AWAY
HOME
AUSTRALIAN CONFERENCE CHAMPION
HOME
ANZ CHAMPIONSHIP SEMI-FINAL 2
ANZ CHAMPIONSHIP SEMI-FINAL 1
AUSTRALIAN CONFERENCE LADDER
NEW ZEALAND CONFERENCE LADDER
AUSTRALIAN TEAM 1
NEW ZEALAND TEAM 1
AUSTRALIAN TEAM 2
NEW ZEALAND TEAM 2
AUSTRALIAN TEAM 3
NEW ZEALAND TEAM 3
AUSTRALIAN TEAM 4
NEW ZEALAND TEAM 4
AUSTRALIAN TEAM 5
NEW ZEALAND TEAM 5
ANZ Championship Finals 2015
INSPIRING CHAMPIONS >> 11
ANZ Championship Finals 2015
UNDERSTANDING THE NEW ANZ CHAMPIONSHIP
ANZ CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS SERIES EXPLAINED The best from across Australia and New Zealand battle it out to claim the ANZ Championship trophy.
ANZ Championship Grand Final The pinnacle event of the ANZ Championship season, the two ANZ Championship Semi-Final winners will meet in the ANZ Championship Grand Final. The host of the ANZ Championship Grand Final will be determined by two scenarios: •
If two teams from the same Conference qualify for the Grand Final, the Conference Champion will earn the right to host the decider. • If the Grand Finalists are from both the Australian and New Zealand Conferences, the host will be determined by the team that accumulated the most points during the ANZ Championship regular season. In the event that both Grand Finalists are equal on points, the team with the higher goal percentage will host the Grand Final.
WINNER SEMI-FINAL 2
WINNER SEMI-FINAL 1
The winner will be crowned champions of the ANZ Championship.
AWAY
AWAY
HOME
AUSTRALIAN CONFERENCE CHAMPION
LOSER AUSTRALIAN CONFERENCE FINAL
NEW ZEALAND CONFERENCE CHAMPION
ANZ Championship Semi-Finals The Australia and New Zealand Conference Champions will play host to the ANZ Championship Semi-Finals. The losers of the Conference Finals will be required to travel trans-Tasman to play their Semi Final against the opposing Conference Champion. This format will ensure a Semi-Final is contested in both Australia and New Zealand. 12
ANZ Championship Finals 2015
HOME
ANZ CHAMPIONSHIP SEMI-FINAL 2
ANZ CHAMPIONSHIP SEMI-FINAL 1
anz-championship.com
13
ANZ Championship Finals 2015