Netball Super League | Melissa Bessell: “Stars need to come out hard and strong”

Severn Stars’ Head Coach, Melissa Bessell, says the team needs to come out ‘hard and strong’ when they take on Team Bath and Manchester Thunder this weekend.

Stars will take on Team Bath, who are currently sitting at the top of the table, on Friday night, before facing Manchester Thunder on Saturday afternoon.

“This coming double-header weekend is very important for us as we must put out a top performance,” said Bessell. “We know it’s Team Bath, who are sitting at the top of the table, so we know it’s going to be a big game. We must not focus on the score but focus on a top performance. Our challenge is to keep the leaders to a minimum score deficit, it is about us and our performance. We did not perform against Rhinos so we have to come out hard and strong.”

She added: “Team Bath and Thunder are both quality sides and well respected. We know that both these games are going to be big challenges for us. They have strengths throughout the court in all positions so we must be focused, and our connections and combinations must be tight strong and as one.”

Stars Stars, a franchise between the University of Worcester and University of Gloucestershire, will be looking to bounce back after their loss against Leeds Rhinos on May 16, and have had an extra week to prepare for this weekend’s matches.

“We have been focusing on us and doing the basics hard, well and as a team,” said Bessell. “I am really proud of how the players have come out this week and brought the intensity to training. It’s been a very tough and strange season for us all, but they are a very strong bunch and are still pushing for more.”

She added: “After the last match vs Leeds Rhinos we have all the motivation we need – we know our last performance was not our best, and we know we are better than that and what we are capable of and we intend to prove this to ourselves as a team.”

The match against Bath will be one of the first to be held with 1,000 fans in attendance according to news from England Netball, something Bessell welcomed.

“It’s going to be grand to actually see spectators in the audience again. We are really excited to see them back,” she said. “It’s a huge deal for the players, teams and the franchises and more importantly for the sport in general.”

Fans can still buy their tickets for this weekend’s action and show their support for the Vitality Netball Superleague here.