Netball Super League | Michelle Magee signs for Rhinos ready for the 2021

Leeds Rhinos Netball have bolstered their defensive depth with the signing of 20-year-old Northern Ireland international, Michelle Magee for the 2021 Vitality Netball Superleague season.

The versatile defender, who was named Northern Ireland’s International Young Player of the Year in 2019 has been part of the Loughborough Lightning pathway since 2018 and earned training opportunities within their Superleague environment in the past two years.

Capable of playing across all three defensive positions, she joins the club with plenty of international experience already on her CV. She represented the Northern Ireland senior team at 2018 Commonwealth Games as an 18-year-old and played in last year’s Netball World Cup in Liverpool. She’s previously captained the Northern Ireland U17s and was Vice Captain for the U21s and competed in the 2017 World Youth Cup in Botswana, before establishing herself in the national senior team.

Magee, who is in her final year of a biomedical engineering degree at Loughborough University said: “It’s an exciting year to join the Rhinos as they head into their first Superleague season and Dan Ryan has recruited some really talented players so I’m really pleased to be in the squad.

“I’ve worked with Dan at international level so I knew a lot about him and the environment he could create here and felt it would be one that would really challenge and push me. We have already started to gel as a squad in the short time we have been together and I can’t wait to play alongside my team mates.

“Playing in the Vitality Netball Superleague has always been an ambition of mine, so I think it’s about really pushing myself here and doing what I can for the team and challenging for a position in the game day ten.”

High Performance Director and Superleague Head Coach for Leeds Rhinos Netball, Dan Ryan said: “Michelle has shown a lot of promise in recent years and is very determined and committed to improve her craft and push herself to the next level.

“At the World Cup last year, she competed against the likes of Steph Wood, Maria Folau and Sam Wallace, some of the best shooters in the world, and it was such a valuable experience for her.

“She is learning and growing all the time and is starting to understand what it takes to be a high performing athlete. I’m looking forward to seeing her progress and develop further throughout our programme.”

Magee will also play in the Leeds Rhinos U21 team in 2021.

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