Netball Super League | Get ready for NSL 2024!

With fixtures set to be released next week, the 2024 Netball Super League (NSL) season is getting closer by the second. Here are the top five things that you need to know before the schedule for the new season is announced.

1. Season Opener is back!

Round One of the 2024 Netball Super League will commence with another Season Opener! Based at a centralised venue, all ten teams will compete in a spectacular one-day event that kicks off the new season. Filled with hours of sensational netball, live entertainment, music and more, the 2024 Season Opener is set to be an amazing event.

The 2023 Season Opener saw a sold-out crowd who brought the noise to the arena; hoping to replicate it again next year, this event is going to be back and better than ever.

Taken during Round 1of the Netball Super League at the Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham, England on 11th January 2023.

2. Ten teams who make up the NSL

Cardiff Dragons, Leeds Rhinos, London Pulse, Loughborough Lightning, Manchester Thunder, Saracens Mavericks, Severn Stars, Strathclyde Sirens, Surrey Storm and Team Bath will all feature in the next season of the Netball Super League.

Loughborough Lightning took the title in 2023. Can they back it up and retain the title, or will another team come through the ranks and cause some surprises?

One of the teams, Cardiff Dragons, have rebranded. Dragons have been in the Netball Super League since its inception in 2005 and enjoyed their best season in 2013 when they reached the Grand Final. Their name change aligns with their new location at the House of Sport in Cardiff, moving in last season after previously being based at the Sport Wales Centre.

Hwyl fawr/goodbye Celtic Dragons and Shwmae/Hello Cardiff Dragons!

Cardiff is home for us, so we thought we’d reflect that in our name. Read more about it by clicking the link below and let us know if you love it as much as we do 🐉💚https://t.co/kjBXrG7bzz pic.twitter.com/l86DQTRRRf

— Cardiff Dragons (@cardiffdragons_) August 31, 2023

Visit the new Cardiff Dragons website: cardiffdragons.com

3. New faces in the Super League

Throughout September, all ten clubs confirmed their rosters for 2024 during the Signing Window. Familiar faces returned to their beloved clubs, whilst some new ones will make an appearance for 2024. Here’s three to look out for next season:

Nichole Taljaard – London Pulse

After gracing the world stage in the 2023 Netball World Cup, South African international Nichole Taljaard makes her move across the pond to London Pulse. After starting netball at the age of five, Taljaard never looked back.

She made her debut for the SPAR Proteas back in 2022 against Wales and stunned the world with her impeccable shooting capabilities at the World Cup, scoring a particularly memorable buzzer beater in a tied game against New Zealand. Now, coming to play in the NSL for the first time, she is hoping to step up her game one gear higher. She will be one to watch this season.

Zoe Davies – Leeds Rhinos

Former Collingwood Magpies defender, Zoe Davies is set to join Leeds Rhinos in 2024. Alongside fellow Magpies player, Geva Mentor, Davies will be joining the NSL for her first season. After playing hockey up until the age of 15, Davies started her netball career. As well as playing in the NSL, Davies will also be combining her time with studying for a teaching degree from the Swinburne University, balancing her remote learning and training schedule.

Leeds Rhinos Director of Netball, Liana Leota said: “What excited me most about Zoe was her tenacious work ethic and energy. She played in front of Geva at Collingwood as a training partner. She’s rangy, deceiving – she can work the one v one but also Come forth and block shots. She can pretty much do everything.”

Emma Love – Strathclyde Sirens

A Scottish international, Emma Love has been elevated into Sirens’ 12 for the 2024 season. Having fought back from an ACL injury, which ruled her out of the 2020 season with Sirens, Love made her Scotland debut at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham where she saw her side to some victories.

Now, elevated into the 12, Love is set to make her mark during the next NSL season. Having formed connections with the likes of Hannah Leighton and Emily Nicholl, Sirens’ squad is about to shift a whole lot next season.

You can find out all of the information on each squad for the 2024 season here as well as reading the wrap up of the Signing Window, here.

4. Inside the Circle: A mini documentary series

During the 2023 season, the Netball Super League released a mini documentary series hosted on YouTube, titled ‘Inside the Circle’. The series focused on three clubs: Severn Stars, Manchester Thunder and Strathclyde Sirens – each telling a story of their club and what makes their team special.

Episode One showcased Worcester based side, Severn Stars.

Following a disappointing 2022 season where they finished bottom of the table, 2023 would be a year of revival for Severn Stars under their new Head Coach, Jo Trip. After coming into the role late in the summer, Trip set about putting together a team of players with plenty to prove, that would spring a whole host of surprises this season as they finished a club record of sixth. Their secret? Embracing themselves, each other and everything in between. With Trip set to return for 2024 with some new players under her belt as well as some retuning fan favourites, Severn Stars will definitely be a team to watch next season.

Episode Two premiered north-west powerhouse, Manchester Thunder.

After going undefeated on their way to a fourth NSL title, Manchester Thunder were pushed to restructure their squad in Summer 2022, as key players such as Laura Malcolm and Eleanor Cardwell fled the nest. Alongside key import, Lenize Potgieter, Thunder looked to their pathway, recruiting young players who had come through the North West system but had played elsewhere, such as Taylor McKevitt and Iona Christian, to rebuild their team alongside talented youngsters already in their ranks, such as Amy Carter and Lois Pearson. With Laura Malcolm now making a comeback in a coaching capacity as well as some fresh faces, Thunder are focused on going for that title once again.

Episode Three showcased Scottish based side, Strathclyde Sirens.

Proudly Scotland’s only NSL team, Strathclyde Sirens hold the nexus of the Thistles squad that headed to South Africa in the summer. But Sirens also have a proud international thread running through them, with Glasgow often the first point of arrival for a lot of the international talent in the NSL. The journey of how Sirens have grown in lockstep with the national team ahead of the Netball World Cup and the growth of Scottish netball, is one to certainly watch out for. Now also with the new signing of mum-to-be, Iona Christian, Sirens have made headway in talking about the female body and supporting Christian in her return to court.

All three episodes of Inside the Circle are available to watch on our YouTube channel.

5. Sign up to the NSL newsletter

The Netball Super League newsletter is the place where you can get all the most up to date news, player features and previews looking ahead into the next rounds, directly to your inbox.

Be sure to sign up here so you don’t miss a single thing!

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