News & Events

Bath bring back the trophy

The final score was 51-44 and a delighted TeamBath captain Pamela Cookey got to lift the trophy. “Whoop whoop!” she laughed, “Yay, we came out on top. So proud of the girls, so pleased, awesome.”
“Considering where we started at the start of the season and we just built it and built it and this is just like, er the end thing at the end of the season and we’ve won… I can’t speak.” Pamela was left even more speechless later when she was named Player of the Year for the three time in a row.
Naturally it was a very different feeling for the Hertfordshire Mavericks captain Louisa Brownfield; “Gutting! That’s the easy way to put it.”
She said, “after the first quarter I thought we were in with a really good shot and to be fair we were for most of the game, but our performance was too inconsistent to pull ahead and stay ahead. Fair play to them and well done Bath.”
Her head coach Maggie Jackson was rueful “We don’t like losing” she admitted. “In patches we did really well, we just did not keep doing the things that were working and I think that’s what’s frustrating the squad.”
“The game was perhaps a little bit more competitive than the scoreline. All credit to Bath and congratulations to them they did well.”

Jess Garland’s success also won her the Coach of the Year Honour. “I’m just really pleased for the team, I know it’s a cliche but the players have to go out and do it, our job’s done by the time they take to the court and it’s really just relief that the team dug in when the attention was elsewhere.”

http://www.netballsuperleague.com/news/

Congratulations to Northern Thunder - NTL Champions 2009/2010

The league creates a competitive environment in which young netballers aged from 14-19 can experience high pressure games on a weekly basis throughout the year. England’s most promising young netballers will have an opportunity to hone their skills and impress the national selectors en route to the senior game.

This season, Northern Thunder finished top of the table with 45 points ahead of Hertfordshire Mavericks on 37. The Northern Thunder squad will be presented with their winners’ medals and trophy at half time during The Co-operative Netball Superleague Grand Final.  England Coach Sue Hawkins will be joined on court by Cheryl Danson, England Netball’s Chairman, to present the trophy and medals.

Northern Thunder finished with a 100% record over the 9 games, beating Leeds Carnegie 54-43 in their final game to finish the season unbeaten.

Congratulations to the staff and players of Northern Thunder NTL for this fantastic achievement.

http://www.englandnetball.co.uk/news/Current_News.php?articleId=1014

Mavericks move into the Grand Final

Tamsin Greenway got the scoring underway and it was followed a Mavericks miss at the other end to take the home 2-nil up and they kept that two goal gap for another 50 minutes or so of the match. Storm had learned a lesson from the week before and got straight down to business. Mavericks were launching their trademark fast, flat passes down court and into skipper Louisa Brownfield. Their hosts were having a bit of trouble with the precision needed to lob goalkeeper Amanda Newton while giving shooter Rachel Dunn a decent punt at goal. This was real tussle and on a day when the netball refused to drop first time. Clearly, Amanda Newton had her game face on.
For fans of the fine art of defending this match was as good as any, with Newton especially displaying Bobby Moore-like skill in dispossessing her opponent and turning the ball round. When the ball headed towards the Storm circle in anything less than a controlled manner, the former England international was there to halt it with velcro fingertips and gather it safely in. Rachel Dunn was determined to get to the ball first, so much so in one case that a sprint for the ball off court almost saw the pre-fab TV studio demolished.
First centre was to Mavericks in the second quarter, but an interception from Janet Coulbourne circle-side allowed Storm the chance to extend their lead which they took. The players on both sides picked up from where they left off and that meant a battle for every ball. Every pass was hotly contested; the teams may have only been 20 minutes into the match but anyone just starting to watch could have been forgiven for thinking the clock was counting down. Everyone was being forced to work hard with the ball to find space and the pass, Rachel Dunn was still having an off-day by her high-standards. The quarter ebbed and flowed with first the home side, then their visitors edging it. Nothing much decided in that one.
There was some clever play in the third quarter. Netball can be a thinking game, as well as being instinctive and physical. The whistle started a bit of a mind match in the second half. In one play Natasha Hampshire outwitted the Mavericks defence to find Tamsin Greenway under the post, only to have the wily Mavericks keeper snaffle back the turnover. Storm had blasted out of the break and pushed another two goals in front, but failed to push home advantage and it was Mavericks who bagged the quarter win.
And so to the final countdown. Surrey Storm were defending their lead and only needed to stay in control and stay goal for goal with the team renowned for upping the ante in a knockout competition. Mental toughness is needed for pressure situations like that. Hertfordshire Mavericks have been there before, several times and prevailed; the previous week’s game against Thunder the most recent example .
With ten minutes on the clock and Mavericks landed two goals one after the other to pull level with Storm for the first time since the first whistle. This was now high-octane netball. No flinching from Louisa Brownfield, who netted all her shots in the quarter. The visitors then went ahead, Storm were playing catch up now. With six minutes on the watch they needed a turnover but it was not forthcoming in fact it went the other way and more precious seconds ticked by.
After such an outstanding season it was difficult to watch Rachel Dunn suffer agonies under the post, as she undershot three attempts to move the team back within one goal - every effort fell short and the hesitancy seemed to briefly infected her shooting partner , as Tamsin Greenway went on to also miss the kind of ‘sitter’ either usually could land with eyes closed. That sealed the result Storm ran out of puff with two and a half minutes to play and Mavericks were able to add three more and book a place in the Grand Final with a five goal win.
“It was a really good game tonight, but I think Mavericks always do it the hard way round.” said captain Louisa Brownfield who denied suggestions that a last quarter push is how they choose to grab the win. “It’s not a plan, definitely not a plan but what works for us works for us if we come out with the win I don’t think we’re that fussed about how we’ve done it.”
“We were dominating for about 55 minutes,” admitted Storm coach Mary Beardwood, “and the last five we didn’t play too well under pressure, basically.”
Hertfordshire Mavericks head coach Maggie Jackson is not the biggest fan of the ‘leave it late” tactic. She said “I can honestly say I do not want any more heart attacks on the bench”.
“I’m just very very proud of them today, I was proud of them last week and just think that gradually they’re coming together more and more.”
Hertfordshire Mavericks progress the Grand Final at Nottingham’s Trent FM Arena on 15th, May, 2010, where they will take on the reigning champions TeamBath.

http://www.netballsuperleague.com/match/93/report

TeamBath are through to CNSL Grand Final 2010

Last season’s champions took the lead in the first quarter of tonight’s game at Surrey Sports Park and finished on 57 goals to Surrey Storm’s 42.
Next weekend, Surrey Storm will host the third Play-Off and will challenge last night’s winners, Hertfordshire Mavericks for the remaining place in the Grand Final which this year will be held on Saturday 15th May at Nottingham’s Trent FM Arena.
For details and tickets for next weekend’s game visit Surrey Storm’s website and to get your ticket for this year’s Grand Final click here.
Don’t forget you can catch all the action from this weekend’s games on SKY Sports 4, Wednesday 5th May, 6pm.
You’ll be able to keep up with all the Play-Off scores via our Twitter page so click here and start following all the CNSLonSkySports action.

http://www.netballsuperleague.com/news/

Hertfordshire Mavericks return South victorious!

Hertfordshire Mavericks made the journey North and will return home to Hatfield having won by one point. The final score was Northern Thunder 45, Hertfordshire Mavericks 46 and throughout the final minutes of the game the crowd were on their feet, biting nails and screaming support for their favourite team.
A full match report will be posted shortly and following tomorrow’s Surrey Storm v TeamBath game, details for next weekend’s final Play-Off fixture will be confirmed.
Watch all the Play-Off action this coming Wednesday, 5th May at 6pm on SKY Sports 4.
You can catch updates from each Play-Off by following CNSLonSkySports on Twitter

http://www.netballsuperleague.com/news/hertfordshire-mavericks-return-south-victorious

England complete sweep to defend title

A slow start but England stoked up the engine to deliver a comprehensive defence of their Netball Europe Open title with a 60-30 victory over Scotland in Cardiff.  Wales finished second with the Scots third ahead of Northern Ireland.

England started their final match with more purpose than they had shown in the other two. Vicklyn Joseph had her eye in, during her one and only quarter on court.  The eight-from-eight helped England outscore their hesitant opponents two to one in that 15 minutes, and ultimately in the game.  It was a good opening session with the team machine finally purring after spluttering a bit in the first two games.

It got even better in the second period, won 17-2 by England.  Joseph made way for Harten whose place at GA was filled by Asha Tett, Katy Rose took over at WA. The defence was outstanding, doubling up possession and shooting opportunities for the team with tips and turnovers aplenty.  Scotland’s shooters were starving, forced to survive on just four or five attempts, while Harten and Tett gorged themselves with 17 goals from 21.

Quarter three and another change for England with Camilla Buchanan on at C. The Scots upped their game, no doubt after a few rousing comments from coach Denise Holland, and contested the quarter more than they had managed in the second.  But England kept hold of their advantage, despite allowing their opponents to lift their heads, and kicked on for 14-10 win in that 15 minutes.

In the final period of play there were defensive changes for England, Buchanan moved to WD and Lindsay Keable stuck on the GK bib.  It was another highly accurate session for the shooters as 17 from 18 were put up and put in. Ball began to flow more smoothly through the court, and after a solid start England finished strong.

QUARTER SCORES
Q1: 12-6
Q2: 29-8   (17-2)
Q3: 43-18 (14-10)
Q4: 60-30 (17-12)

England line-up:

GS:    Vicklyn Joseph   Q1: 8/8
GA:  Jo Harten     Q1: 4/5 Q2: 12/15 Q3: 7/8 Q4: 12/13
WA:  Asha Tett
C:    Sascha Corbin
WD:    Serena Guthrie
GD:    Stacie Francis
GK: Eboni Beckford-Chambers

Subs:

Q2: Jo Harten to GS, Asha Tett to GA, Katy Rose to WA
Q3: Camilla Buchanan to C, Serena Guthrie to WD
Q4:Sascha Corbin to C, Camilla Buchanan to WD, Lindsay Keable to GK

http://www.englandnetball.co.uk/news/Current_News.php?articleId=1000

England beat Wales in Netball Europe Opener

England got underway to a bright start establishing a four–one lead in the opening minutes.  Wales responded with four goals of their own and the score moved onto 5 all. After the slight stumble England got into their stride and got the ball flying through the court.  There were some great interceptions in the mid court area and with the quarter whistle they were 15 to 9.

No changes for England at quarter time and the side picked up where they left off by stretching their lead to nine goals in the first five minutes of the quarter.  But then the wheel tried to come off but as the errors slipped into game. Having upped the tempo, England sometime struggled with the speed through the court as the pace almost ran away with them. Wales playing the steadier netball closed the gap back to six goals keeping the pressure on all through the court but England won the quarter 13-11 and the half 28-20.

For the third quarter coach Anna Mayes swapped Camilla Buchanan and Serena Guthrie and the resulting early run of goals from looked to have justified the change.  But England seemed to lose focus and made unforced mistakes, gifting possession to Wales. Shooters Becky James and Cara-lea Moseley had a near faultless quarter converting what they were given and taking Wales to a 15-11 quarter win.  It pulled them back into the game with 15 minutes to play England only led by four at 39-35.

England reverted to the starting line-up for the final quarter. Wales were dogged and pulled back to within 2 goals on several occasions as they continued to score relentlessly from all shooting opportunities. An erratic England backed up moments of superb netball with less impressive and uncharacteristic blunders.  Wales were happy to take the offered possession and turning it into goals.

In the end final surge from England outscoring their opponents seven goals to three saw them home with a win.  It was not always pretty but the team completed the job.

On Saturday England beat Northern Ireland 64-39, a full match report will be posted when it is available. England play Scotland on Sunday at 11am.

GS - Jo Harten         Q1:8-11 Q2: 8-9 Q3: 9-11 Q4: 11-13
GA - Asha Tett         Q1:7-8   Q2: 5-7 Q3: 2-3   Q4:  4-5
WA - Sasha Corbin
C   - Serena Guthrie
WD - Camilla Buchanan
GD - Stacey Francis
GK -Eboni Beckford Chambers

Subs: Monique Wood

Q1: 15-9
Q2: 28-20 (14-11)
Q3: 39-35 (11-15)
Q4: 54-48 (15-13)             

http://www.englandnetball.co.uk/news/Current_News.php?articleId=998

Northern Thunder clash with Hertfordshire Mavericks

Northern Thunder played their last scheduled fixture against Hertfordshire Mavericks, winning 61-39, resulting in the Hatfield based team finishing in fourth place. Play-Off 2 will see the two teams meet again in the next stage of the competition.
Hertfordshire Mavericks will travel north to Castle Leisure Centre in Bury on Friday 30th April to play the 7.30pm match in the hope that they can reverse the previous result. However Northern Thunder are hungry for the opportunity to play in the Grand Final which takes place on May 15th at Nottingham’s Trent FM Arena. Jade Clarke, Northern Thunder’s Centre and Wing Defence said, ‘We’ve worked so hard to get to this stage of the competition and having not finished in the top four last season we’re determined to stake our claim on the trophy and fight for our place in the Grand Final.’
The Co-operative’s Head of Sponsorship, Liz Matkin, commented; “It’s been an action packed season so far and the fight for a place in the Grand Final has been tougher than ever. On behalf of The Co-operative I’d like to wish both teams good luck and well done for getting to the Play-Off rounds.”
The winning team from Play-Off 1, which is between the top two teams in the table, secures a place in the Grand Final. The loser of Play-Off 1will host Play-Off 3 and challenge the winning team from Play-Off 2 for the remaining place in the Grand Final. Play-Off 1 has yet to be confirmed but will be played on Saturday 1st May. Play-Off 3 will take place over the weekend of 7th May with further details confirmed once the teams are determined.
Tickets for Northern Thunder v Hertfordshire Mavericks are now on sale and details can be found at http://www.thundernetball.com. The match will be televised on SKY Sports.

http://www.netballsuperleague.com/news

Surrey Storm challenge last year’s Champions TeamBath

The winning team is guaranteed a place in the Grand Final; taking place on Saturday May 15th at Nottingham’s Trent FM Arena. TeamBath have 26 points, with one game in hand against Glasgow Wildcats which could give them a two point win. Calculations show that it is unlikely that they will be able to secure a higher Goal Average than Surrey Storm which determines the home team, should teams draw on league table points.
Tamsin Greenway, Surrey Storm Captain commented, ‘We’re thrilled to be hosting the Play-Off round and we’ve definitely got our eye on the trophy; we just need to remain focused and confident that we can beat the reigning champions.’
Surrey Storm will be facing TeamBath on court at 6pm, Saturday 1st May and the match will be televised on SKY Sports. Tickets can be purchased via Surrey Storm’s box office, http://www.surreystormnetball.co.uk
The Co-operative’s Head of Sponsorship, Liz Matkin, commented; “This will be a tense match to watch and I wish both teams good luck. It’s been an unpredictable season this year and I can’t wait to see who makes it through to the Grand Final in Nottingham.”
The losing team from Play-Off 1 will host Play-Off 3 and challenge the winning team from Play-Off 2 for the remaining place in the Grand Final. Play-Off 3 will take place over the weekend of 7th May with further details confirmed once the teams are determined.

http://www.netballsuperleague.com/news/surrey-storm-challenge-last-years-champions-teambath

The Co-operative Netball Superleague Grand Final – LIVE ON SKY SPORTS

The confirmation was made following recent discussions between England Netball and SKY Sports. England Netball’s newly appointed Head of Marketing, Joanna Adams commented; “We’re thrilled that the season is going to finish with a live broadcast, and to be going out immediately after the FA Cup Final is fantastic – it’s brilliant to see female sport get a piece of the live action!”

Nottingham Trent FM Arena will host the event on Saturday 15th May and with doors opening at 3.30pm, coverage will start from 4.45pm. It has yet to be determined which two teams will be this year’s finalists.

Liz Matkin, Head of Sponsorship for The Co-operative, said, “We’re delighted that the Co-operative Netball Superleague will be broadcast live this year and the game will closely follow the FA Cup Final.  The league has been extremely competitive this year and with a number of teams battling it out for a place in the Final, we’re proud to be part of the excitement.”

The penultimate 18th Round has begun and Surrey Storm are currently top of the table with one game left to play. They are followed by TeamBath who were due to play their final match at the weekend; however they were unable to travel to play against Glasgow Wildcats due to flight cancellations and the rearranged match has yet to be confirmed. These matches will determine the team’s league positions ahead of the Play-Off rounds.

Following their win over Hertfordshire Mavericks at the weekend, Northern Thunder are now in third place. The two teams played each other in their final match of Round 18 at the weekend, meaning Hertfordshire Mavericks are fourth.

Once the top four teams have completed all of their fixtures the Play-Off matches can be finalised. The team at the top of the table will play at home to the team in position two and this match is due to take place over the first weekend in May. Also that weekend, will be Play-Off 2, which will be the team in position 3 at home against the team in position 4. Both games are to be broadcast on SKY Sports.

The winner of Play-Off 1 secures a place in the Grand Final, whilst the loser goes on to host Play-Off 3 against the winner of Play-Off 2. This match is scheduled to take place over the weekend of 7th May and the winner will go through to the Grand Final.

The Co-operative Netball Superleague Grand Final
Saturday 15th May – Nottingham Trent FM Arena – Doors open 3.30pm – Coverage starts 4.45pm
Adult Tickets £12.50, Concessions £8 with family, group and England Netball member discounts available
For ticket information please visit http://www.netballsuperleague.com