It’s another packed weekend of Vitality Superleague action with five matches spread across four days, starting with a double header on Friday night.
With half-term this week teams across the league organised workshops and training sessions to inspire and develop young emerging talent.
Conversations were dominated on social media by the demand for a Netball emoji and the announcement of Fast5’s return for 2019 – but now it’s back to the day job with Superleague points at stake.
Not from lack of trying/asking/begging ?????????♀️ https://t.co/ZQ48uTCYWK
Wasps maintained their winning streak, the battle for the top-four places has opened up and more surprise defeats set shockwaves through the Superleague.
- Tamsin Greenway’s Round Six talking points
- Vitality Superleague table
Strathclyde Sirens v Severn Stars, Friday, 7pm
A well-deserved win against Pulse meant Sirens took all three points back to Scotland on Monday evening.
With a couple of days to recover, CEO Claire Nelson urged her team to “take this momentum into Fridays game where you will have our awesome home crowd behind you. What a result”.
Sirens will also be supporting Tesco Parkhead’s Food Drive this weekend by collecting food donations in support of the local community.
? | Coming along to our match on Friday? We're supporting Tesco Parkhead's Food Drive this weekend by collecting food donations on the third floor concourse at the @EmiratesArena.
You can read more about the food drive here: https://t.co/5Hwl5pvIxE
Thank you in advance? pic.twitter.com/f8DiLyoRus
As has often been the case, Stars were in the contest before eventually falling away and losing to Surrey Storm with Iona Darroch taking the positives.
“We responded really well and have put in some hard sessions…we need to be more consistent.”
Team Bath v Wasps Netball, Friday, 7.30pm
Injuries again disrupted Bath as key Roses starters Serena Guthrie and Eboni Usoro-Brown were missing from a 68-45 defeat to Mavericks.
The battle for the top four looks wide open behind the top three who are starting to pull away and, according to Tamsin Greenway, have the stronger squad.
Anna Stembridge know the leaders will provide another tough test: “Wasps have made a strong start to the season but both Mavericks and London Pulse had really good games against them and put them under real pressure.
“This league is extremely close and competitive, and the results so far have shown that anyone can beat anyone.”
Wasps kept hold of the league’s only 100 per cent record with victory over Celtic Dragons, Mel Mansfield was quick to pay tribute to each member of the roster that have played their part in a perfect five from five.
“The strength of this team is the depth of our squad, so I think we’re using that strength brilliantly,” said the champion’s head coach.
Surrey Storm v Loughborough Lightning, Saturday, 6pm (Sky Sports Mix)
Sky Sports will be live at Surrey Sports Park where fifth and sixth go head to head in the battle to break into the top four.
Surrey picked up another impressive win, coming through down the stretch to take maximum points away from home against Stars.
After a mixed start to the season Loughborough finally clicked to stun Manchester Thunder and end Karen Greig’s perfect start to the season, they’ll now be looking for back-to-back wins for the first time this season.
“Hopefully we’ve sent a message out and showed what we’re capable of and what we can do,” said Lightning captain Nat Panagarry.
Saracens Mavericks v London Pulse, Monday, 7pm
Georgia Lees not only celebrated her birthday with a win on court but was also awarded Sky Sports Vitality Player of the Match as Saracens Mavericks chalked up an impressive win over top-four rivals Bath
Sasha Corbin has been busy off court promoting body image, managing injuries and performing coaching masterclasses this week but will look to link up with George Fisher as Mavs look to maintain the pressure at the top.
Pulse remain on the lookout for a second win of the season as they struggle for consistency but head coach Te Aroha Keenan is starting to see the positives.
“I was pleased they put out a better performance than last, they showed class on the court. Disappointed we didn’t take the win, it was an achievable one I think for us,” she said.
Celtic Dragons v Manchester Thunder Monday, 7pm
Thunder failed to find their rhythm against Lightening and a surprise defeat left them third albeit with a game in hand on Mavericks and that game in hand is against Wasps.
Four wins from their five games so far is evidence of where Thunder find themselves but Karen Greig is keen to see how her team bounce back from their first setback
“Over all the performance wasn’t good enough but, if you don’t lose you don’t learn, we can take a lot from that,” she said.
Dragons have taken a couple of surprise scalps already this season and threatened to stun the champions. Nia Jones was a force to be reckoned with as she led Dragons to a confident start in front of a sell-out home crowd, but Wasps proved too strong.
“We were competitive against a Wasps team who are very experienced, they really showed some grit today” said head coach Tania Hoffman.
Watch more Vitality Netball Superleague action when Surrey Storm take on Loughborough Lightning on Saturday, February 23, live on Sky Sports Mix from 5.45pm. Also, Sky Sports will be showing every game of the 2019 Vitality Netball World Cup in July.
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