Vitality Netball Superleague: Round Seven review

Coverage of the Vitality Netball Superleague continues on Sunday with Round Eight and four matches back-to-back streamed live on the Sky Sports YouTube channel from 12pm

By Emma Thurston

Image: Round Seven of the Vitality Netball Superleague produced some excellent team performances (Image Credit - Ben Lumley)

We look back at some of the key moments and performances from Round Seven of the Vitality Netball Superleague.

From Manchester Thunder returning to winning ways on Sunday lunchtime, to Leeds Rhinos Netball and Severn Stars duelling on Monday night, it was another gripping weekend of netball.

If you did miss any of the action, then you can watch every match back in full on the Sky Sports YouTube channel. The competition returns on Sunday with Round Eight and four successive matches being streamed.

For now, take a look at some of the things that jumped out at us over the course of the last six matches...

Vitality Netball Superleague - Round Seven

Sunday Manchester Thunder 69-33 Celtic Dragons
Sunday Saracens Mavericks 39-32 London Pulse
Sunday Surrey Storm 30-50 Team Bath Netball
Sunday Strathclyde Sirens 32-32 Wasps Netball
Monday at 5pm Team Bath Netball 47-36 Strathclyde Sirens
Monday at 6.45pm Leeds Rhinos Netball 42-38 Severn Stars

Match of the Round

Image: Strathclyde Sirens and Wasps Netball delivered a cracker on Sunday (Image Credit - Ben Lumley)

Well, it has to be Strathclyde Sirens' contest with Wasps Netball, doesn't it? When a match goes down to the last second and leaves you on the edge of your seat throughout, then there is no other choice!

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For Strathclyde Sirens, the full-time whistle brought feelings of frustration as they lost a game that they feel they should have won, while Wasps Netball knew that they were fortunate to have taken a point away from the contest.

When you watch the game back, take a look at the defensive prowess of Sirens, it is fair to say that not many teams are able to disrupt Wasps' attack in the way that they did on Sunday.

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Performance(s) of the Round

While Manchester Thunder and Team Bath Netball both put an impressive number of goals on the board during their matches against Celtic Dragons and Surrey Storm, here we are returning to Strathclyde Sirens for the performance(s) of the round.

The Scottish franchise set the tone with their duel against Wasps and then continued to show their strength against a powerful Bath outfit on Monday.

Image: Sirens are growing in confidence and enjoying a strong season (Image Credit - Ben Lumley)

With every game and positive performance that goes by, belief is growing within their ranks and it is great to see.

The exciting thing for Sirens is that they know they have more to give and that small adjustments, like consistently delivering higher shooting percentages and having fewer turnovers against them, will take them to even greater heights.

Player of the Round

This week's player of the round is one of the most recognised and loved netballers in England - Serena Guthrie.

On Monday night, Bath's contest with Sirens brought out the very best of the Vitality Rose. From mid-air passes and outstanding feeding accuracy to vital turnovers and constant hustle, Guthrie showed why she is considered to be one of the best mid-court players in the world, not just in Superleague.

The View on Social Media

England's Vitality Roses head coach was back in Wakefield for Round Seven and ahead of the matches, she took to social media to share her excitement.

For Jess Thirlby, the ability to watch every Vitality Netball Superleague match in person is a real luxury and it is something that she is making the most of.

For obvious reasons, there was a lot of love for Sirens on Sunday night...

On Monday evening, Guthrie's work caught the eye of Vernon Kay and he let his one million followers know all about the netball on Sky Sports. Then, our reporter Hannah Wilkes saw a window for a new feature and wondered if Guthrie might consider adding to her sporting repertoire?!

Young Player Excelling

During Manchester Thunder's match against Celtic Dragons on Sunday, Alicia Scholes arrived on court for the start of the second quarter and played a big role in their 69-33 victory.

Overall, Karen Greig was pleased with Manchester Thunder's victory and the performance of her young players including Alicia Scholes

In commentary, Sara Bayman highlighted the type of WA that Scholes is and some of the unique features that she delivers for Thunder. Karen Greig, the 2019 champions' head coach, also highlighted Scholes' work during her post-match interview.

"Alicia brings something different to Thunder's attack end," Bayman said. "She likes to give-and-go, she likes to chase ball down and get it back off players.

"She's that short, zippy type of WA, which other teams have but that we've not really seen from Thunder. It's a nice change-up for them in their attack end."

Sky Sports is your home of netball. The Vitality Netball Superleague continues on Sunday with Round Eight and four matches back-to-back, streamed live on the Sky Sports YouTube channel from 12pm.

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