The results from yesterday’s matches are in. Here you go:
| Home Team | Score | Away Team | |
| Mavericks | 30 | 32 | Leeds Carnegie |
| Celtic Dragons | 41 | 45 | Northern Thunder |
| Loughborough Lightning | 36 | 38 | Team Northumbria |
My predictions were as far out as they could be… none out of three correct. Certainly the Mavericks Loughborough will be upset with their losses to - on the face of it - weaker teams. This year’s competition is turning out to be very interesting indeed.
UK Superleague games being played today. Good luck to everyone. Team Bath play Brunel Hurricanes on Monday
| Mavericks | Leeds Carnegie | Herfordshire Sports Village, Hatfield | 03 Nov 07 | 16:00 |
| Celtic Dragons | Northern Thunder | North East Wales Institute of Higher Education, Wrexham | 03 Nov 07 | 16:00 |
| Loughborough Lightning | Team Northumbria | Netball Centre, Loughborough University | 03 Nov 07 | 18:00 |
Mavericks v Leeds Carnegie may be an interesting game. The Mavericks will be on a high after beating Team Bath, while Leeds Carnegie will be wanting to cement their (very) early lead.
I’m going to put my neck out here and make some predictions:
Mavericks - Leeds Carnegie - Win to Mavericks
Celtic Dragons - Northern Thunder - Win to Celtic Dragons
Loughborough Lightning - Team Northumbria - Win to Loughborough
What do you think? Add your predictions in the comments!
Today we proudly announce the start of our brand-spanking-new section: netball videos.
We hope to provide you with a number of netball videos collected from around the internet for your viewing pleasure.
To start the trend, try this one showing highlights from Team Bath’s exhibition game against the Welsh National side played before the current Netball Superleague season started.
[I’m hoping this works… Fingers crossed!]
With many players from both the Mavericks and Team Bath, this UK Netball Superleague tie was going to tell a story about the strength deep in the squad for both teams. And tell a tale it did: both missed key players, but still managed to put up quite the fight! This was the first game in the season for both teams - let’s hope the Superleague hasn’t peaked too soon!
Bath gave Superleague debuts to Sasha Corbin and Kirsty Delves (who came on in the third quarter). A baptism of fire, perhaps, but certain a great game on which to cut their teeth. The Mavericks were sporting a swanky new kit… would it help them to the win, though?
First Quarter
Starting squads:
| Pos. | Mavericks | Team Bath |
|---|---|---|
| GS | Lynsey Press | Monique Wood |
| GA | Gemma Wiseman | Asha Tett |
| WA | Ann-Marie Muller | Sasha Corbin |
| C | Deb Jones | Serena Guthrie |
| WD | Jenene Cambell | Stacey Francis |
| GD | Naomi Siddall (Cpt) | Eboni Beckford-Chambers (Cpt) |
| GK | Nicole McFarlane | Gemma Fletcher |
The game was played in Hertfordshire in front of a full sell-out crowd; the players on international duty (and those unfortunate enough to be injured) were present to cheer on their teams before heading off to the World Championships in New Zealand.
A scrappy first quarter saw neither team reach their potential, and the 7-7 scoreline belies the number of mistakes made by the teams. Both must have felt fortunate that the other could not capitalise, but the turnovers kept occurring. Both sides put up decent defence, however, and it was in the attackers’ handling that they were left wanting.
Second Quarter
The teams remained the same for the second quarter, Bath’s Fletcher and Beckford-Chambers swapping places was the only alteration.
The Mavericks started this quarter with a renewed sense of urgency; Team Bath only managed 2 goals in the first 10 minutes. The Mavericks maintained a tight hold on Bath and were 9 goals to 4 up in the quarter. Fletcher sustained an injury during the second half and had to be replaced with Natalie Seaton coming on at Centre (meaning Serena Guthrie was moved to WD and Francis moved around to GD).
Third Quarter
The Mavericks, happy with how the match had gone so far, again remained with the same teams, and Bath swapping Monique Wood for Kirsty Delves and playing her at GA, moving Asha Tett to GS.
The half-time talk obviously did some good as Bath surged forward. The match was still end-to-end with absolutely no let-up from either team; Team Bath took the quarter 7-6.
Fourth Quarter
The only change for the final quarter was Lucy Cadge’s entry in place of Ann-Marie Muller for the Mavericks.
Bath continued their attack with the Mavericks managing to sneak a few in. 17 goals were scored in the quarter with Bath taking an impressive 10. This wasn’t enough to make up for the earlier misses, however, and the final score was 29-28 to the Mavericks.
Phew!
Plenty to improve for both teams, and the rematch at Team Bath’s court later in the season will be a spectacle, we’re sure.
In what appears to have been a thriller from start to finish, last night the Mavericks beat Team Bath 29 points to 28 in both teams’ first match of the season. This defeat ends a 24-match unbeaten run for this season’s favourites.
This is a most interesting start to the season for both teams and the Mavericks must be confident of their chances after bringing down the giants. Well done girls!
Match report to follow.
Injured Laura Langman passed her first fitness test today - it’s looking like she might be returning to the Silver Ferns’ squad just in time for the World Championships. Great news for New Zealand, not so great for her opponents! Langman, a vital link player in Centre Court, is confident that she will return to play in the eight-day world championships.
If Laura does not make final fitness tests - and the squad need only be announced on the day of the first match - then there are a number of other world class players ready to take her place, including former vice captain Temepara George. The loss would be a blow for the Silver Ferns, however, as Langman is a 28-test veteran at the top of her game.
We’ve added another Netball Super League team profile to the site - read all about the Mavericks if anyone has a decent chance to topple Team Bath from their seemingly invincible grip on the Super League World it’s the Mavericks. Both teams’ first match of the season is tonight - what a start to the season!
Good luck girls.
The results of yesterday’s matches, the first of the season, are now in:
| Home Team | Score | Away Team | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Celtic Dragons | 32 | 57 | Loughborough Lightning |
| Brunel Hurricanes | 43 | 30 | Team Northumbria |
| Leeds Carnegie | 54 | 27 | Northern Thunder |
Brunel will be disappointed with their loss to Team Northumbria, Loughborough will be relieved that there was no upset in their game, and Leeds should be very pleased with their extremely strong showing against the Northern Thunder.
There are three Netball Superleague games being played out today to mark the start of the season.
Watch out for the Celtic Dragons against the Loughborough Lightning, Bunel Hurricanes against Team Northumbria, and Leeds Carnegie against Northern Thunder. Matches start at 3pm, 3pm and 4pm respectively. Favourites Team Bath start their campaign on Monday away to the Mavericks.
Good luck to all the girls; finally we’re getting the long-awaited Netball Superleague season to a start! Come on!
Following on from, and adding to, our new section on the UK Netball Superleague, we present to you three new pages: profiles of Brunel Hurricanes, Loughborough Lightning and the favourites Team Bath.
Hopefully there’s something for everyone in there, including the squads for this season’s Superleague, but if you’d like to see anything else then please let us know.
