The Netball Superleague 2023 opened the new season on 11 February at the Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham with a victory for the defending champions Manchester Thunder. The BBC reports that the title holders defeated Celtic Dragons 68-42.
Rivals Loughborough Lightning also won their match against Team Bath easily, with an 86-52 scoreline. There was a celebratory atmosphere at the arena, with a DJ, music, and light shows. The rising profile of netball in the UK has led to a new TV deal with Sky Sports, who will be broadcasting a weekly Friday Night Netball slot.
The new season is shaping up to be the most exciting and competitive one yet, with Manchester Thunder proving that they are still on top of their game.
Captain Natalie Metcalf said: “We grew into the game. It’s going to be sloppy at times but it’s about how we fix it on court. I do think this is going to be the most competitive Super League season we’ve seen. Everyone says it every year but I genuinely believe it’s true this time.”
Loughborough Lightning were last season’s runners up, and they also put in a strong performance with a very convincing win.
Lightning captain Natalie Panagarry said: “It’s about pushing on and making sure we’ve got a target of how many goals we want per quarter this year and keeping up that intensity. It’s familiar for us, a lot of us have played together for a long period so we should take advantage of that against teams who might be taking a while to build.”
Meanwhile, Severn Stars pulled off a surprise victory over the favoured Saracens Mavericks, defeating them narrowly 59-55.
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