Watch live on Sky Sports Mix and via the stream on the Sky Sports' YouTube channel on Saturday from 5.15pm
Saturday 18 May 2019 15:06, UK
The Vitality Netball Superleague Grand Final between Wasps Netball and Manchester Thunder is set to complete the most competitive Superleague season on the highest of high notes.
After 92 matches and 5,520 minutes of netball, the teams led by Mel Mansfield and Karen Greig will duel at the Copper Box Arena in London for the honour of being crowned the 2019 champions.
Back-to-back winners Wasps are through to their third successive Grand Final while Thunder have made it into the 'big dance' for the first time in three years.
The Grand Final will be live on Sky Sports Mix from 5.15pm and even if you're not a Sky Sports subscriber you can watch via the stream on our YouTube channel, or via the Sky Sports website.
Over the course of the 60 minutes you'll enjoy some of the best in the business taking things up a notch and doing so on the largest of Vitality Netball Superleague stages.
It promises to be a fitting end to a standout domestic season and will be the perfect precursor to the Vitality Netball World Cup 2019, with every match of that tournament being shown live on Sky Sports.
So what of the two finalists? Let's start with Mansfield's Wasps as they are looking to create new competition history on Saturday evening.
Since their inception, the side have won back-to-back titles and a third would make them the first team ever to win three in succession.
At Wasps' heart is a spine of exceptionally experienced individuals and individuals who know how to front up on the big stage.
From Jade Clarke dominating the court to Rachel Dunn and Hannah Knights spearheading both circles, they have been there and done it all before. Nerves, although they will be present, are expected be handled and either parked or used to their advantage.
Over the course of the season the strength of Wasps' squad has been shown (as has Thunder's), however, Mansfield is experienced enough to recognise that this is crunch time. Crunch time means that if her starting seven are flying then nothing but an injury will change that.
Wasps enter this final on an eight-match winning run, Lightning felt their wrath in the last-four but they haven't beaten Thunder yet this term.
On the one hand, that could be the cherry on the top to take them above and beyond the level needed for victory. Or, it could prove to be an unbalancing factor.
Thunder's finish to the regular season wasn't as emphatic as their fellow Wasps' but for them that should matter little. Instead they're likely to embrace the occasion, feel a sense of freedom at being in the Grand Final and let that deliver no-holds-barred netball.
In this Grand Final, Greig's side will have to handle a different type of challenge to the one that Team Bath presented. Unlike Bath's predominately rotating shooting circle, Rachel Dunn provides Wasps with a focal point as well as being able to mix it up with her movement.
The experienced duo of Kerry Almond, who will be playing her last game for Thunder on Saturday, and Emma Dovey must use their years of experience together to disrupt Dunn and as a result look to derail Wasps' flow.
In Thunder's semi-final we saw Liana Leota show her class and move into a higher gear. At WD, Amy Flanagan, who was player of the match in the other semi-final, will have her work cut out to quell Leota's presence.
Manchester Thunder desire to finish on top is exceptionally strong and the team's semi-final showed that they have it in them to grasp a winner-takes-all opportunity. The question now is, do they have enough in the tank to do that twice in succession and this time, do it at neutral venue?
When you read down the anticipated starting sevens, from GK to GS, there's little to choose between the finalists. In fact, if both hit their peak and maintain that for the full 60, then there's a very real possibility that this final could slide superbly into extra-time.
After a season that's raised the Superleague bar, there's no questioning the fact that this Grand Final will be a fitting finale.
There's no reason to think that either side will shy away from the occasion or be overawed. Instead, A-games will be packed and the margins between victory and defeat will be incredibly fine.
As for choosing a winner, we'll leave that down to you! Answers on a postcard please...
Watch the Vitality Netball Superleague Grand Final live on the Sky Sports YouTube channel and Sky Sports Mix on Saturday, May 18 from 5.15pm. Also, Sky Sports will be showing every game of the 2019 Vitality Netball World Cup in July.
