Welcome to Herts Sports Village for this afternoon’s clash with Loughborough Lighting.
It’s a huge match for us against the current league champions and this afternoon will give us the opportunity to have a crack against them with the freedom of being underdogs.
Last time we were here at HSV was incredible. I can’t remember the last time I heard a crowd as loud as the one we had against Rhinos. Your energy and the atmosphere around the day was amazing and I know how much it means to the group.
We had to fight hard to secure victory that afternoon against Rhinos and we know that this afternoon will be another relentless match.
Last weekend’s match against Surrey Storm was one that we look back on and know we are capable of a stronger performance. There were positives to take from the match,
including how we started in the opening quarter, but we didn’t turn the screw tactically when needed, so we learnt our lesson the hard way.
That is something we have to rectify quickly, and I know that this group have the capability to do just that.
On a positive note, from last weekend, we were all delighted to see Ine-Mari Venter back on court.
She looked like she’s never been away during her time on court and with the likes of Emma Thacker, Kira Rothwell and Britney Clarke in that attacking third, we are blessed with some incredible options at the top of the court.
We know that this season is going to be incredibly competitive and we’ve seen that already in the early rounds.
It’s crucial for us that we can take advantage of chances when they come our way and I know this group can do just that.
WE CAN’T WAIT TO WELCOME YOU ALL BACK TO HSV THIS AFTERNOON.
First and foremost, I want to say a very Happy Mother’s Day to everyone who is watching the match today with their children.
It’s another sold out match at HSV and for us, we know how much the crowd helps us on court.
The match against Surrey Storm last week was a frustrating one. Again, there were parts of the match that we were really pleased with, but we were disappointed to come away with a defeat.
We know that there is a lot of strength within our squad and with Ine-Mari Venter returning to the side last weekend, we know that we are blessed with options across the court.
We know that Loughborough will pose a huge challenge this afternoon. They are champions for a reason and will be determined to
respond after defeat to London Pulse last weekend.
We know that matches like this afternoon are ones that we need to put all our energy into if we want to secure the result.
The crowd will no doubt give us an extra lift again, as they did against Rhinos.
To have two sold out fixtures at home to start the season is incredible and means so much to us all as a group.
It’s a bit of a cliché but the fans in the stands really are like our 8th player on court. We feel your energy and in those difficult moments, we know that our home support will always have our backs.
I can’t wait to be back on court this afternoon and I know the whole squad are up for the battle.
Enjoy the game.
Saracens Mavericks know that they will be facing a champion side in every sense of the word this afternoon, as Loughborough Lightning make the trip to HSV.
Both sides come into this one off the back of losses, that they will be determined to put behind them in Hertfordshire.
Lightning lost a nailbiter against London Pulse in a repeat of last year’s final last weekend. Having edged ahead with two minutes on the clock, they
have not managed to see out the result at the Copper Box.
This is a champion side though and champions always bounce back. Mavericks will have to be on their guard this afternoon to avoid the backlash from Vic Burgess’ side.
However, Lightning will need to be wary too. Mavericks are a wounded side with a point to prove after a first defeat of the season last weekend against Storm. Elite sport
and both sides will be set on displaying that this afternoon in the cauldron of a sold out HSV.
Camilla Buchanan has described this one as something of a free hit for her side, but they will still be determined to step up and showcase the improvements they have insisted they will make in the coming weeks.
There’s the extra dynamic of players playing against their former employers this afternoon as well, with both Bella Bayliss and
prove a point on the court for their new sides.
Bayliss is an energetic and exciting mid-court player who shone in the season opener for Lightning, whilst Thacker has quickly become an instrumental player for Mavericks in the attacking third.
Confident at Goal Shooter or Goal Attack, Thacker has been taking the lead role in the opening rounds of the season in the absence of Ine-Mari Venter.
She has already scored the firth highest number of goals in the league this season and developed an enterprising partnership with Kira Rothwell in and around the shooting circle.
Thacker’s performance against Leeds Rhinos last
time we were at HSV ended up being one that secured a victory for her side, and she will be determined to put in a similar showing against her former club this afternoon.
Mavericks have the tantalising prospect of a return Ine-Mari Venter up top too.
Whilst Vicki Razia Quashie preparing for the challenge of going up against Mary Cholhok return for Mavericks last weekend will give the Lightning defensive circle something to think about too.
The beauty of sport is that you never know what’s coming next. On paper, Lightning arrive at HSV as the favourites
third place. This is in spite of the fact that Mavericks sit just two places lower in fifth and having only suffered one defeat.
That is the nature of the NSL this season. Sides are more evenly matched than ever before, and few would be surprised to see this one go down to the wire in Hertfordshire.
How do you back up winning the title the season before?
Well, in the case of Loughborough Lightning, it seems to be by striving to be even more consistent.
Last season’s league champions haven’t finished outside the play-off places since 2016 and, with the inspirational figure of Nat Panagarry pulling the strings for them, they will be confident of continuing that record this season.
Lightning flew out of the blocks in the season opener, with a 13-goal victory over Surrey Storm, before they thumped Team Bath the following weekend, as they scored 83 goals at the Sir David Wallace Arena.
Last weekend though, they lost out in a nailbiter to London Pulse at the
Copper Box Arena, but it was a match that could have gone either way and, with new connections building for the squad, they will hope that they learnt a lot from that encounter.
Vic Burgess knows that league titles aren’t won and lost off the back of one match and she insisted that her side would continue to grow as the season went on, starting with this afternoon/
“Nobody likes to lose, but we won two of the quarters. Some errors crept in but there’s still a long way to go in the season. I though that we were aggressive to the circle edge, we just need to be a bit more consistent. It’s early on and you learn as you go through. We’ve lost games previously and won leagues, so we’ll learn from this heading into Mavericks.”
Lightning have got some serious strength in depth in their side. Whilst the likes of Panagarry rightly get the headlines, youngsters like former
Mavericks player Bella Bayliss have also been stepping up.
league this season, with 139 to her name, as she continues to showcase why she is one of the best Goal Shooters in the world.
Defensively though, Lightning have also been outstanding in recent weeks. Alice Harvey leads the way with a league-high 9 intercepts, whilst teammate Nicola Smith is close behind with 6. Harvey also tops the charts with 18 gains in the first three matches, with Lightning building their foundations off of a mighty defensive end.
They are a side that grow into a season. One that build towards the end goal, rather than insisting on
pushed Lightning hard in both fixtures, but came up short on both occasions against a side that now how to win in any circumstances.
In Hannah Joseph, they also have an international Wing Attack who knows what it takes to win league
It’s fair to say Vicki Oyesola has made a big impression already back in a Mavericks dress.
The summer recruit from Leeds Rhinos has returned to Hertfordshire this season and has already looked she has never been away.
Dominant in and around the defensive third, Oyesola has quickly formed a promising partnership with Razia Quashie, with captain Jodie Gibson adding to the strength in defence.
She already has seven intercepts in three games, along with 15 gains and 16 deflections, putting her in the top three for every defensive stat in the league. It’s fair to say that Oyesola isn’t sitting and resting on her laurels after being named the NSL 2023 Players’ Player of the Year.
Oyesola’s first taste of being back at HSV for a league match was incidentally, against her former club and the Vitality Rose admitted that it was a special occasion for her to be out on court against her
but she explained that she was thrilled to be back nearer to her family and the players she grew up playing against.
“Being back in London and close to my family has been really exciting. The crowd we have here is something special that you don’t get at other clubs and that noise for that Rhinos match certainly
games to open the season for Mavericks. After matches against two much-improved sides in Cardiff Dragons and Leeds Rhinos, last week saw the side come up short against last season’s semi-finalists Surrey Storm. With champions Loughborough Lightning in town this afternoon, Oyesola wants her side to keep in control of what the do well.
“It’s about focusing on ourselves. We were disappointed with the result against Storm. We need to rectify some things from the weekend and focus on how to make the most of those small margins.”
Champions Lightning though will pose an altogether different challenge. They suffered a narrow defeat to London Pulse last weekend, but Oyesola is wary of the threats they will pose, including the pressure she will be under from their star shooter Mary Cholhok.
“Going up against Lightning is always tough. It’s a different challenge to playing against Storm and they have some really big shooters. The focus this week has been on defensive structures and how we can combat a 6’7 Goal Shooter! It’s going to be about stopping that ball before it gets into her.”
Oyesola has returned to her first club and the side
to explain the reasoning behind her return to Mavericks.
“For me, joining Mavs this season is a return home after a number of years. I played all my youth netball at Mavericks, so it’s been great to come back. But also coming back to a slightly different team with the Saracens link now and the excitement there is around Saracens Mavericks is a huge draw to coming back.”
The defensive star also explained that she felt she has joined an established team that have got a lot of
has no doubt that the culture and energy in the group will serve them well for the rest of the campaign.
“It’s really nice joining a team that has been together a while, where lots of the connections have been building for a number of years. It’s good for me to be able to slot in and feel that team culture and energy that’s already there, whilst bringing and adding what I can.”
The noise at HSV has been through the roof this season and Oyesola took the time to praise the relationship that the home crowd have already built with the squad.
“The fans are really important to us and such a big part of creating that atmosphere at home games. We hear them massively when we’re on court and knowing they’re there week in, week out is a huge support for us. They’re the reason why we’re able to play and compete and being able to hear them supporting us when we’re up or when we’re down is a massive part of how we can turn a game around.”
IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN PLAYER SPONSORSHIP, PLEASE EMAIL jamesmccann@saracens.net FOR MORE INFORMATION
Kindly sponsored by:
AVAILABLE
For full player biographies, please scan this QR code:
GS
AVAILABLE
Kindly sponsored by: Kindly sponsored by: GK
Kindly sponsored by: Kindly sponsored by:
AVAILABLE
AVAILABLE
GD Kindly sponsored by:
AVAILABLE
PEACE AKINYEMI
BRITNEY CLARKE
JODIE GIBSON
GEORGIA LEES
INDYA MASSER
VICKI OYESOLA
MAVERICK #
MAVERICK #94
MAVERICK #95
MAVERICK #89
MAVERICK #109
MAVERICK #71
Kindly sponsored by: Kindly sponsored by: Kindly sponsored by: THE WRAY FAMILY
AVAILABLE TO SPONSOR
AVAILABLE TO SPONSOR
Kindly sponsored by: Kindly sponsored by: Kindly sponsored by:
AVAILABLE TO SPONSOR
AVAILABLE TO SPONSOR
AVAILABLE TO SPONSOR
TRAINING PARTNER
Kindly sponsored by: Kindly sponsored by:
AVAILABLE TO SPONSOR
AVAILABLE TO SPONSOR
NETBALL STAFF
2023/24
CAMILLA BUCHANAN
BECKY TRIPPICK
TAMSIN GREENWAY
AMELEA LANCASTER
SACHEL GRANT
JO RANDALL
EMMA THACKER RAZIA QUASHIE ELLIE RATTU ANNA FAIRCLOUGH AZARA WILMOT MAVERICK #107 MAVERICK #96 MAVERICK #91 MAVERICK #80 MAVERICK #108 MAVERICK #104 TRAINING PARTNER GS GA GK WD GS GA GA GS GA
KIRA ROTHWELL STRETCHES FOR THE BALL IN SURREY
OUR PATHWAY TEAMS HAVE BEEN IN THE THICK OF THE ACTION AGAIN IN RECENT WEEKS, AS THE SEASON CONTINUES APACE.
Surrey Sports Park to face Surrey Storm.
The U17s had a tough day at the office, losing 60-30. Storm started the game well and never looked like taking their foot off the pedal throughout the match.
Mavericks had some fantastic passages of play but unfortunately it was never enough to keep them close to a rampant Storm side who pulled clear to secure a deserved win.
Congratulations to our players of the match Rae Nelson, Sadie Clemence and Anna Mottram.
The U19s fared better though, as they pulled clear in the final quarter to secure a 43-28 win.
In a physical match that really saw the best of both sides, Mavericks stood up to the relentless pressure imposed upon them by Storm to secure a superb victory, with Tabi Grime, Melissa Zawe and Gracie Smith named as the Players of the Match.
It was left to the U21s to raise the heartrates this weekend, as they edged to a nail-biting 48-46 victory over Storm.
This was a match that went down to the final two minutes of action, as Mavs showed huge character to
seal a fantastic win that all involved will be extremely proud of.
Both sides put in superb displays on the court, pushing each other to bring out the best in both attack and defence.
Turnovers for both teams were minimal, and it was the hosts who were initially able to capitalise on the restart turnovers.
Mavs stood up to the challenge though, with some crucial plays at crucial moments.
Varchelle Robinson was in supreme form at Goal Keeper, as she stemmed the onslaught from Storm, as her efforts allowed her side to finally edge into the lead with minutes left on the clock.
Robinson was named as Player’s Player and Coaches Player of the Match, whilst Pippa Dixon was the opposition’s pick for the best player on court after a performance that could have seen any
Both Gracie Smith and Millie Burns have been selected for England, with Rae Nelson named in the Scotland squad.
Two more players have been named in the Republic of Ireland squad too, with Cara ConwayBaker and Sophie Taylor both included.
athletes through their pathways in recent seasons and this match will be a showcase of the next level of talent coming through in both Hertfordshire and Loughborough.
All matches will be available to watch online over on Netball Europe TV.
Today, our U23s side will be back in action, as they take on Loughborough Lightning U23s at HSV at
January was the last time that our U23s squad was in action at home and today’s match will be
The side are determined to put in a performance they can be proud of and, with a chance for fans to watch the next generation in the flesh, it’s sure to be a
Peace AKINYEMI
Jodie GIBSON
Vicki OYESOLA
Razia QUASHIE
Georgia LEES
Indya MASSER
Ellie RATTU
Aliyah ZARANYIKA
Alice HARVEY
Jade POPOOLA
Annabel RODDY
Nicola SMITH
Bella BAYLISS
Beth COBDEN
Hannah JOSEPH
Nat PANAGARRY
Britney CLARKE
Kira ROTHWELL
Emma THACKER
Ine-Mari VENTER
Mary CHOLHOK
Ella CLARK
Rhea DIXON
Niamh MCCALL
