Netball Super League | Vitality Netball Superleague: Leeds Rhinos v Severn Stars – In Focus

Sigi Burger shot 43 goals for Rhinos as they beat Storm. [Image: Matthew Merrick @merrick_marthew]

Monday Night Netball comes to Sheffield in Round 18, as Leeds Rhinos host Severn Stars at the English Institute of Sport.

Rhinos come into the game off of a double-header in Round 17, where they claimed a 49-48 win against Surrey Storm before being beaten 84-49 by Manchester Thunder.

Stars went down 57-51 to Celtic Dragons after picking up an impressive 54-49 win against Sirens the week before and will be looking to finish the season on a high for departing head coach Melissa Bessell.

It’s sure to be a keenly contested match as both sides look to finish as high up the Vitality Netball Superleague table as they can with just three games remaining and you can catch it live on Sky Sports from 5pm.

Previous Meetings

You need to go all the way back to Round 7 to find the last time these two sides met, with Rhinos edging the game by four goals to emerge 53-49 winners.

Amy Clinton netted 35 goals for Rhinos with Sienna Rushton adding another 18 but Stars pushed them all the way as they looked to deny the visitors their first back-to-back wins of the 2022 season.

Hitting the ground hard this week at training in preparation for Monday nights game up north vs Leeds Rhinos 🌟#weareSTARS
🎥@ggunn2612 pic.twitter.com/4RMC4nC54P

— Severn Stars VNSL (@SevernStars) May 13, 2022

Last Three Meetings

March 2022: Severn Stars 49-53 Leeds Rhinos

May 2021: Severn Stars 36-63 Leeds Rhinos

March 2021: Leeds Rhinos 42-38 Severn Stars

The Season So Far

Rhinos spent much of the season with an eye on the play-offs and still have a very faint chance of making the top four, though will need other results to go their way.

They sit six points adrift of fourth-placed Team Bath with three games to play and will also need Saracens Mavericks to drop points if they are to extend their season.

Stars go into the clash bottom of the Vitality Netball Superleague but will be buoyed by their victory over Sirens in Round 16 as they look to climb up the table.

Key match-up

When Stars are doing well, it usually means Cat Tuivaiti is dominating on court and they’ll need another standout performance from the former Silver Fern if they are to grab a win on Monday.

Rhinos will be hoping that Vicki Oyesola will be able to lead their defence to keep Tuivaiti quiet up top in the potential absence of Rebekah Airey, who picked up an injury last weekend.

The crowd at the First Direct Arena are loving it! 📣@VickiOyesola making her mark on this game with an awesome turnover for @RhinosNetballSL 👊#VNSL2022 l #NetballisHome pic.twitter.com/9gFV8ALs0q

— Vitality Netball Superleague (@NetballSL) May 8, 2022

In Numbers

Sigrid Burger shot 43 goals as Rhinos squeezed past Storm last week and netted another 33 against Thunder.

Stars will have to be at their best defensively to stop the South African, who has been getting great service from Amelia Hall, with the youngster recording 58 feeds in Round 17.

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