2008 ANZ Championship season
The 2008 ANZ Championship season was the inaugural season of the ANZ Championship, a new trans-Tasman netball competition replacing Australia's Commonwealth Bank Trophy and New Zealand's National Bank Cup. The 2008 season began on 5 April, with competing franchises playing each other once, and playing each franchise from their home country a second time. Four teams progressed to the finals stage, played over three weeks. The grand final was played on 28 July at Acer Arena in Sydney, with the New South Wales Swifts emerging victorious over minor premiers the Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic. Overall, 6792 goals were scored during the season, averaging 98.44 per match.
Teams
The inaugural season featured five teams from both Australia and New Zealand. In Australia, one team represented each participating state. In New Zealand, each team represented one or more regions.| Team | Representative area | Former team |
| New South Wales Swifts | New South Wales | Sydney Swifts, Hunter Jaegers |
| Melbourne Vixens | Melbourne | Melbourne Phoenix, Melbourne Kestrels |
| Queensland Firebirds | Queensland | Queensland Firebirds |
| West Coast Fever | Western Australia | Perth Orioles |
| Adelaide Thunderbirds | South Australia | Adelaide Thunderbirds |
| Northern Mystics | Northland, Auckland | Auckland Diamonds, Northern Force |
| Central Pulse | Central North, Wellington, Tasman | Wellington Shakers, Western Flyers |
| Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic | Waikato, Bay of Plenty | Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic |
| Canterbury Tactix | Canterbury | Canterbury Flames |
| Southern Steel | Southland, Otago | Southern Sting, Otago Rebels |
The Central Pulse, Northern Mystics, Southern Steel, Melbourne Vixens and NSW Swifts were formed as amalgamations of previous teams in their respective national competitions. The West Coast Fever were the renamed Perth Orioles and the Tactix were the renamed Canterbury Flames. The Firebirds, Thunderbirds and Magic retained their names from the national competitions.
Franchise map
Transfer season
See the 2008 Transfer SeasonCompetition ladder
- Pld = Games played
- W = Win
- D = Draw
- L = Loss
- GF = Goals For
- GA = Goals Against
- G% = Goal percentage
- Pts = Progressive points tally
Round-robin games
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5
Round 6
Round 7
Round 8
Round 9
Round 10
Round 11
Round 12
Round 13
Round 14
Finals
The top four teams from the round-robin stages qualified for the finals series, played over a three-week period. These teams were the Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic, New South Wales Swifts, Adelaide Thunderbirds and Melbourne Vixens.----