Celtic Dragons Aiming For The Stars In Netball Superleague

Captain Suzy Drane and her Celtic Dragons players are aiming to fire up their Vitality Superleague season this weekend.

They have opened their 2017 season with back-to-back defeats, going down 73-36 against Sirens in their latest match.

Now they travel to play new Superleague club Severn Stars in Worcester on Friday (7.30pm).

“We are desperately disappointed with our performance (against Sirens),” said Drane. “We will look back, work out why and move on.”

The starting seven for Dragons against Sirens was Eleanor Roberts (GS), Kalifa McCollin (GA), Bethan Dyke (WA), Kyra Jones (C), Suzy Drane (WD), Lois Rideout (GD) and Leila Thomas (GK).

The Welsh club were trailing 13-12 after the first quarter, but Sirens turned up the pressure to run out convincing winners.

Now the task for head coach Trish Wilcox and the Dragons team is to earn their first victory of the new season.

Hosts Severn Stars have also lost their first two fixtures, while there are four teams who have won both of their matches so far – Wasps, Surrey Storm, Loughborough Lightning and Team Bath.

Stars have been forced as a collaboration club between the Universities of Worcester and Gloucestershire Stars and play at the 2,000-seater Worcester Arena.

They include Cardiff-based Wales international Becky Oatley, a 31-year-old former Dragons player who is described by Stars’ head coach Mo’onia Gerrard describes Oatley as a’gutsy player who will give our team an edge.”

Former England captain Pamela Cookey is Severn Stars director of netball, having retired from playing after helping Surrey Storm win the Superleague Grand final last year.

Cookey, 32, loves her new job and says: “It’s exciting and I do love a challenge.”

Gerrard, a two-time World Cup winner with Australian Diamonds, and Cookey, who won 114 England caps, were once fierce rivals on the court and now find themselves working closely together.

“Oh, I had plenty of battles with Mo’onia on court,” said Cookey. “She was a pain.

“It was weird, the first conversation we had, because it was like we had known each other for years.”

Among the Stars players are England international Laura Malcolm, former ANZ regular Janz-Dawson plus Trinidad and Tobago shooter Afeisha Noel suggests the mix is right.

Severn Stars squad: Lauren Brooks (C/WD), Eleanor Cardwell (GA/GS), Sophie Carter (C/WD), Josie Janz-Dawson (GK/GD), Iona Darroch (C/WA), Jodie Gibson (GK/GD), Laura Malcolm (C/WD), Afeisha Noel (GA/GS), Becky Oatley (GD/WD), Yasmin Hodge-England (GA/GS), Rachel Sweet (GK/GD), Rebecca Tildesley (GA/GS).

Vitality Superleague results so far:

Week one: Herts Mavericks 53, Team Northumbria 48; Celtic Dragons 41, Team Bath 51; Loughborough Lightning 59, Manchester Thunder 45; Surrey Storm 58, Severn Stars 40; Sirens 43, Wasps 57.

Week two: Loughborough Lightning 56, Severn Stars 44; Sirens 73, Celtic Dragons 36; Team Northumbria 46, Wasps 70; Surrey Storm 58, Manchester Thunder 48; Herts Mavericks 42, Team Bath 49.

Fixtures this week:

Friday, March 3: Severn Stars v Celtic Dragons (7.30pm).

Saturday, March 4: Manchester Thunder v Sirens (5pm), Team Northumbria  v Surrey Storm (6pm), Wasps v Herts Mavericks (6pm), Team Bath v Loughborough Lightning (7.45pm).