VS CELTIC DRAGONS SATURDAY 4 MARCH 2023 CP 14:00 | ISSUE 02
LOUGHBOROUGH LIGHTNING
HEAD COACH’S WELCOME
CAMILLA BUCHANAN
WELCOME BACK TO HSV FOR THIS AFTERNOON’S ENCOUNTER
WITH CELTIC DRAGONS. WE CAN’T WAIT TO BE BACK ON COURT.
It’s been an incredibly busy start to the season, with four matches already under our belts, including last weekend’s two fixtures against Loughborough Lightning and Surrey Storm.
Whilst the scoreboard may not have gone our way in either of those fixtures, I was really pleased with large parts of what I saw from the squad. After a slow start against Storm, the belief and character that the squad showed to come back into the match and take the lead at halftime was hugely pleasing.
We’re still in a phase of the season where we are developing our connections off and on the court. However, compared to where we were after the first match against Severn Stars, the the side have already come on leaps and bounds.
I’ve been thrilled with some of the individual performances that we’ve seen so far. Monique Meyer and Jodie Gibson have already begun to form a formidable defensive pair, whilst IneMari Venter and Kira Rothwell have already shown some promising link-up play.
Now, the target is to get some more wins on the board. The roar of the crowd when we were last at HSV against Leeds Rhinos was amazing and we can’t wait to have your support again this afternoon.
Your support really is so important to everything that we do as a side and I know from experience, just how much it lifts the players on court.
Enjoy the game
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SCENE SETTER
SARACENS MAVERICKS WILL BE HOPING THAT THERE REALLY IS NO PLACE LIKE HOME, WHEN THEY TAKE ON CELTIC DRAGONS THIS AFTERNOON.
It’s seventh versus eighth in the table at HSV, with both sides looking for a second victory of the season.
Celtic Dragons secured a first victory of the season in round three against Team Bath, before suffering a defeat to Severn Stars last weekend. For both sides, a victory will be an important marker at this stage in the season.
It’s been a hugely competitive season so far in the Netball Super League, with only two sides left unbeaten. Matches like this afternoon’s will go a long way to determining the final pecking order, with four sides currently level on points.
Saracens goal shooter Ine-Mari Venter ranks fourth this season on the top scorer leaderboard, whilst Shaquanda Greene-Noel is second in the turnover charts for Dragons. With a shooter and defender in red hot form up against each other, there could be fireworks at HSV by the time the final whistle blows.
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SARACENS MAVERICKS PATHWAY NEWS
This was alongside Molly Morrisey. Both Holly and Rihanna put in fantastic defensive displays.
This week is a big week for the NPL squads, with U21s, U19s and U17s all playing at home against Severn Stars at Queenswood. Matches start at 2.45pm, 4.45 and 6.45 pm respectively. The squads are determined to make Super Saturday a success and make it three wins from three.
It’s been another hugely positive few weeks for the Saracens Mavericks pathway. Our U19s and U21s secured two fantastic wins, 44-35 and 4135 respectively, against Surrey Storm.
Holly James received opposition and joint coaches Player of the Match, with Josie Groves named Players’ Player of the match for U21s. Rihana Luke for U19s received Opposition, Coaches, and joint Players’ Player awards.
Away from Mavericks, a number of players have also been competing in Netball Europe. Congratulations to Cara Conway Baker (U17s), Keira Straker (U17s) and Eva Buckley (U17 PDP) - who represented Netball Ireland in the Netball Europe Challenge competition in Northern Ireland last week and were eventually crowned the winners. Alex Dellipani (U17 PDP) also represented Gibraltar. This was a fantastic achievement for all four players.
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I’m loving it. I’m so grateful for the opportunities on court Click here to book onto Kira’s shooting Masterclass
THE BIG INTERVIEW
A change of club is always a challenge. However, young starlet Kira Rothwell has already proved her worth for Camilla Buchanan’s side.
The talented Goal Attack has already formed a formidable partnership with Ine-Mari Venter in the attacking third and admits that she feels like she has already developed a special bond with the rest of the squad.
“I’m so grateful to have been given opportunities out on court, but the girls off the court make it so much more than that. This is one of the closest I’ve felt with a playing group and I think the longer we have together the more we’ll be able to use this to our advantage on court.”
Last weekend, Mavericks faced a gruelling double header of away fixtures against Loughborough Lightning and Surrey Storm. Despite suffering defeats in both matches, the side proved that they can more than mix it with the top teams this season, with Rothwell explaining that her side need to trust themselves on court to maximise their opportunities for the rest of the campaign.
“I think our biggest learning was trusting ourselves no matter the score line, which we proved in our fightback against Surrey Storm. I think we are also learning to trust the process and that if we put that into practice consistently, the results will come.”
Ahead of this one, Rothwell spoke of how the side have focused on their own roles and how to make the most of opportunities, as they look to secure a second victory of the season.
“We’ve been working on understanding our own roles specific to the opposition and ways to exploit our strengths further.”
It’s been an unpredictable season so far in Netball Super League, with a number of surprise results. Rothwell was quick to note that every match is an important one for her side and believes that Celtic Dragons will prove to be tough opposition at HSV.
“I think the best thing about the league this year is that almost every game is an unknown. Dragons have had a few losses but also a big win against Bath in the last few weeks, so we’ll be looking to see how we can pull their structures apart.”
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TODAY’S OPPONENTS CELTIC DRAGONS
DESPITE AN OPENING DAY DEFEAT TO MANCHESTER THUNDER, CELTIC DRAGONS HAVE SHOWN THAT THEY WILL BE MORE THAN A MATCH FOR ANYONE THIS SEASON IN THE NETBALL SUPER LEAGUE.
As starts to a season go, back matches against last season’s finalists is abou as brutal as it gets. Despite that, Dragons showed that they will be up for the fight again this season, with two impressive performances, followed by victory over Bath.
Three wins and a tenth place finish last season don’t actually tell the full story as far as the side are concerned.
Consistency in personnel is they key again this season for the Dragons, with Shaquanda Greene-Noel ready to continue her impressive form from last season that saw her earmarked as one of the breakout stars in the league.
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NETBALL SUPER LEAGUE LEAGUE TABLE
ROUND FIVE FIXTURES
MANCHESTER THUNDER VS LOUGHBOROUGH LIGHTNING
STRATHCLYDE SIRENS VS LEEDS RHINOS
LONDON PULSE VS SURREY STORM
SEVERN STARS VS TEAM BATH
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PLAYER PROFILES 2022/23
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ELIZA BARCLAY BRITNEY CLARKE SASHA CORBIN PIPPA DIXON BETH ECUYER-DALE JODIE GIBSON GA/ GS C/ WA/ WD WD/ GD/ GK WD/ GD/ C GS WA/ C TRAINING PARTNER TRAINING PARTNER
11 MONIQUE MEYER ELLIE KELK GEORGIA LEES LISA MATHER RAZIA QUASHIE KIRA ROTHWELL GEORGIA LEES INE-MARI VENTER ALIYAH ZARANYIKA GK/GD GS/ GA GD/ GK GD/ WD/ GK GD/ GK GA/ GS WA/ C C/ WD TRAINING PARTNER GA/GS/WA
BATTLING MAVERICKS LOSE OUT AGAINST STORM
A BARNSTORMING SECOND QUARTER WASN’T ENOUGH, AS SURREY STORM PULLED AWAY TO TAKE VICTORY AT SURREY
SPORTS PARK.
Less than 24 hours after defeat to Loughborough Lightning, this was always going to be a daunting proposition for Mavericks and so it proved, as the unbeaten hosts raced out to an early seven goal lead.
Mavericks though, slowly built their way back into the match, thanks to the sharp shooting of Ine-Mari Venter and the spritely footwork of the impressive Kira Rothwell, who looks to the manner born in the Goal Attack bib.
Following that initial onslaught from Storm, Mavericks began to build their way steadily back into contention, with Lisa Mather keeping things moving through the centre third, to leave the gap at five after the opening quarter.
It was in the second quarter though that Mavericks made their presence felt. Firstly, a delicious spinning pass from Sasha Corbin allowed Rothwell and Venter to keep the scoreboard ticking over, before the defensive aptitude of Monique Meyer and Jodie Gibson allowed their side to draw level at 30-all.
Meyer and Gibson both put in impressive performances against Loughborough and they were at it again in Surrey, picking off passes and pressurising the Storm shooters.
It was perhaps apt that the goal that saw Mavericks take the lead for the first time on the night came from yet another Meyer intervention.
With the pressure mounting, Mavericks edged themselves into a deserved two-goal lead at the break after a stirring fightback that shocked the Surrey home crowd.
Storm though, have been impressive so far this season and there was no doubt that they would began to mount a comeback.
That came at the start of the third quarter, as they roared back into contention, before edging three ahead, despite an incredible longrange shot from Venter.
It was in the final quarter though that Storm pulled away from Mavericks, as a second match in as many days finally looked to have caught up with the squad.
Jodie Gibson continued to do what she does best in defence, with Britney Clarke also notching her first appearance of the season and a goal to boot, but by that point, Storm had extended the lead to an unassailable one that Mavericks were not going to be able to recover.
Despite the result, there are huge positives to take from this performance for Camilla Buchanan and she will no doubt be eager for her side to continue to upward trajectory.
“I couldn’t be more pleased with how the group attacked that game and stuck to plan. If you look at where we were in game one to today, the growth has been huge. If we keep growing this way through the season, then we’ll be in a good position.”
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SARACENS MAVERICKS COMMUNITY CORNER
Our Masterclasses always prove to be a popular event, with the opportunity to learn from some of our Mavericks stars!
Make sure to join Jodie Gibson on 6th April for a Defensive Masterclass, with Kira Rothwell and Sasha Corbin also hosting sessions in the coming months. Book now to avoid missing out.
Click here to view our upcoming Masterclasses
up in April, across a number of locations.
Camps are on sale for £37.50 in Bishop’s Stortford, Hatfield, Bedford and Chelmsford.
Click here to view our upcoming camps
We have a number of fantastic CPD Workshops coming up over the next few weeks, starting next weekend, with Tamsin Greenway leading a session on consistency in the attacking third. This session also includes tickets for the match against England Thorns, so it really isn’t one to miss out on!
Click here to book onto our CPD Workshop
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