Coverage of the Vitality Netball Superleague continues on Monday with two matches back-to-back on Sky Sports Mix and streamed on the Sky Sports YouTube channel from 5pm
Sunday 11 April 2021 19:59, UK
Manchester Thunder, Wasps and Saracens Mavericks all showed the strength housed within their squads to secure wins on Sunday in the Vitality Netball Superleague.
The trio of victorious teams were all able to give game time to a number of their less experienced players, and all three will return to court again on Monday night.
While Wasps and Mavericks will meet each other, Manchester Thunder will enjoy another derby battle with Leeds Rhinos Netball. Both encounters will be live on Sky Sports Mix from 5pm and streamed on the Sky Sports YouTube channel.
Manchester Thunder used every member of their squad to secure an eighth win of the season and prevail over Surrey Storm by 17 goals.
The 2019 champions laid the platform for their 52-35 victory with a 19-goal second quarter and now they have a quick turnaround before their derby clash on Monday night.
After a level first quarter, in which Storm quelled Thunder's threats and forced the early introduction of Rebekah Airey at GD, Mikki Austin's outfit weren't able to start the next as strongly.
Instead, Thunder asserted themselves as the second set of 12 minutes played out. Karen Greig's team used Airey's presence in defence to procure a wealth of turnover ball, and they converted that through to goal easily.
The result was the creation of a six-goal lead, which increased to 13 goals at half-time.
After the interval both teams changed things up at GA; England Roses U21 player, Berri Neil, arrived for Thunder and Northern Ireland international, Emma Magee, was tasked with freshening things up in Storm's circle.
Throughout the second half Storm looked more comfortable and their personnel changes did little to disrupt their flow. Meanwhile, Thunder, with one eye on their short turnaround, also used the third and fourth quarters to add fresh legs throughout the court.
After another level quarter in the third, both teams raised their intensity for the fourth, as individuals who don't normally get a lot of game time looked to show their worth.
Thunder's Alicia Scholes reminded the competition of her speed at WA, while Storm's Magee drew praise from Austin for her efforts and ability to inject a new flavour up front.
Austin's team kept it tight during the final quarter, however with the buffer that Thunder had created earlier in the match, it meant that Storm's efforts weren't fully reflected on the scoreboard.
In the second match of the afternoon, Wasps secured a 14-goal victory over a much-improved Celtic Dragons outfit.
On Saturday, Dragons had felt the wrath of Loughborough Lightning and lost 76-23, however just 24-hours later the Welsh side showed their determination to ask questions of Wasps.
A tense start played out, as Wasps looked a little edgy and Dragons clearly wanted to right the wrongs of Saturday afternoon.
With Laura Rudland back in Dragons' attacking line-up, it enabled Amy Clinton to move back to shooter and Rebekah Robinson resumed her duties at GA.
Initially, Dragons' familiar attacking unit worked well, but as the latter stages of the quarter arrived, Josie Huckle and Fran Williams began to pick off ball after ball, and Wasps generated a useful eight-goal lead.
In the second set of 12 minutes, Wasps wasted some opportunities in attack while Dragons upped their shooting percentage significantly and duly kept their opponents in their sights.
In the second half, the two-time champions decided that the time was right to try different combinations, while Dragons kept the same seven players on court.
The continuity paid dividends for the Welsh side; they hustled hard, chased down every loose ball and only lost the second half by four goals.
For Wasps, the final two quarters showed that there's still work to do in terms of fitting Gezelle Allison's style into their line-up, but they were still able to keep their tally ticking and come away with a seventh victory of the season.
Saracens Mavericks started their two-match weekend with a productive 54-34 result against Severn Stars.
In the same manner as Thunder and Wasps before them, Kat Ratnapala was aware of the need to use her squad with another game coming on Monday night.
She started strongly, fielding Ine-Mari Venter and Kadeen Corbin at GA and GS and that combination worked brilliantly.
The two players' rotational work foxed Stars in the latter stages of the first quarter, and that allowed Mavericks to create a healthy advantage at the first pause.
During the second and third quarters, both head coaches made changes. Stars' personnel tweaks looked to be in a bid to quell Mavs' hold in attack, while Ratnapala clearly wanted her squad to share the load.
In the second quarter, Mavs' through-court defence was excellent. The team's productivity gave them a number of opportunities to put goals on the board, but Stars continued to grow into the game.
The two sides then cancelled each other out in the third quarter, before Mavericks put their foot on the gas. They were led by the accuracy of Britney Clarke at shooter and the outfit finished the contest by doubling their overall advantage.
Sky Sports is your home of netball. The Vitality Netball Superleague continues on Monday with two matches back-to-back on Sky Sports Mix and streamed the Sky Sports YouTube channel from 5pm.
