New arrivals include Australian shooter Karyn Bailey and Northern Ireland international Niamh Cooper
Thursday 7 November 2019 13:10, UK
Mikki Austin is delighted with the people and personalities that she has as Surrey Storm's squad is now set for the 2020 Superleague season.
Wasps Netball were the first to announce all of their 15 players with London Pulse following their process of introducing every squad member at once.
Storm, like many Vitality Netball Superleague franchises, have been announcing their players over a period of time and have now confirmed all 15 of their names.
"Not only am I really happy with the athletes and netballers that we've got, I'm more happy with the people and the personalities," Austin said in an exclusive interview with Sky Sports about some of her new signings.
"There seems to be a seamless blend with how girls interact with each other and their mentality, right from the get-go, has been on exactly the same page."
We have made some really key additions in court areas that I think are going to pay real dividends for us going forward next year.
The 26-year-old's first year in charge saw Storm record an eighth-place finish and book their place at the British Fast5 Netball All-Stars Championships.
At the competition, their new Australian shooter Karyn Bailey announced herself on the Fast5 stage with a commanding performance.
As a whole unit, Storm turned heads with their confident outing as they charged straight into the semi-finals, only to be beaten by Wasps.
Yasmin Parsons returns for her sixth year at Storm and recently led England to victory at the Netball Europe Open championships. Her new team-mate, Niamh Cooper, was also part of the competition with Northern Ireland.
As a player and as the outfit's director of netball, Austin is elated by her squad and delighted with those that have decided to return to Storm.
"We really wanted to make a big push to retain the majority of our squad and I'm really happy to say that we've done that," the director of netball said.
"Seventy per cent of our squad this year are returners and I think that's super important."
Katy Hughes, who has been ever-present since 2011, will continue in her role as captain and across the board ambitions are high as mid-courter Nicole Humphrys shared.
"Why would you aim for anything less than top four? We've got the calibre of player, it's a lovely atmosphere, and that goes a long way in team sport," Humphrys said.
"You can have all the individuals, but it's about how you gel as a team. It's a whole squad effort and having a good team culture is everything."
Storm will start their 2020 campaign at Arena Birmingham alongside every Superleague side as the season opens with five matches back-to-back, live on Sky Sports.
In Birmingham, Austin's side will be second on court against Celtic Dragons and their first home match, which is also live on Sky Sports, will come a week later when they host London Pulse on March 2.
Sky Sports is your home of netball and live action returns with the Vitality Roses' three-Test tour to South Africa. The first Test from the Velodrome in Cape Town will be shown live on November 29 at 5.00pm.
