The Netball Superleague is a top level netball league featuring teams from the United Kingdom. The league is organised by England Netball but features teams based in England, Wales and Scotland. The league was commenced playing at the 2005–06 season, replacing the Super Cup as the elite netball competition in England. Since 2016 the league has been sponsored by VitalityHealth and, as a result, it is also known as the Vitality Netball Superleague.
Surrey Storm is an English netball team based at the University of Surrey. Their senior team plays in the Netball Superleague. Between 2001 and 2005 they played in the Super Cup as London Hurricanes. After forming a partnership with Brunel University London, they became the Brunel Hurricanes. In 2005–06 they were founder members of the new Netball Superleague. Before the 2009–10 Netball Superleague season, they ended their partnership with Brunel University, relocated to the University of Surrey and became Surrey Storm. As Surrey Storm they were Superleague champions in 2015 and 2016.
Janelle Lawson is an Australian netball player. In 2012 she was a member of the Northern Thunder team that won the Netball Superleague title. During the Commonwealth Bank Trophy era she played for Perth Orioles and AIS Canberra Darters. During the ANZ Championship era she played for Queensland Firebirds and West Coast Fever.
Tamsin Greenway is a former England netball international. She was a member of the England teams that won bronze medals at the 2010 Commonwealth Games and at the 2011 and 2015 Netball World Cups. Between 2006 and 2018 she played in eight Netball Superleague grand finals for three different teams – Team Bath, Surrey Storm and Wasps. During this time she won five Netball Superleague titles as a player and/or coach and a sixth as a director of netball. Greenway also works as a netball pundit for Sky Sports. In 2020 she was appointed head coach of the Scotland national netball team.
The 2009–10 Co-operative Netball Superleague season saw Team Bath finish as champions for the fourth time. Surrey Storm finished top of the table after the regular season but subsequently lost to both Team Bath and Hertfordshire Mavericks in the play offs. For a fourth season out of five, Team Bath defeated Mavericks in the grand final.
Manchester Thunder are an English netball team based in Manchester. Their senior team plays in the Netball Superleague. In 2005–06, Thunder were founder members of the league. They were Superleague champions in 2012, 2014 and 2019. Between 2001 and 2012 they played as Northern Thunder and were originally based in Bury, Greater Manchester.
Yorkshire Jets were an English netball team based at Leeds Beckett University. Their senior team played in the Netball Superleague. Between 2005–06 and 2011 they played as Leeds Met Carnegie or simply Leeds Carnegie. Together with the men's basketball, women's basketball, men's association football, women's association football and rugby union teams, the netball team was one of several sports teams associated with the Carnegie School of Physical Education, now part of Leeds Beckett University, that used the Leeds Carnegie brand name. In 2005–06, Leeds Carnegie were founder members of the Netball Superleague. As Leeds Carnegie, their best Superleague performance came in 2008–09, when they finished fourth. Between 2012 and 2016 they played as Yorkshire Jets. Their best Superleague performance as Yorkshire Jets came in 2015 when they again finished fourth. In June 2016 England Netball announced that Jets had lost their place in the Superleague and the franchise was subsequently wound up.
The 2015 Netball Superleague season saw Surrey Storm finish as champions for the first time after defeating Hertfordshire Mavericks in the grand final. Manchester Thunder finished top of the table following the regular season but they subsequently lost to Mavericks in the semi-finals. Thunder eventually finished third overall. Yorkshire Jets were the surprise team of the season, finishing third during the regular season and fourth overall. This was the first season in Superleague history that Team Bath did not qualify for the semi-finals.
The 2015 Surrey Storm season saw them finish as Netball Superleague champions for the first time. Between 2011 and 2014, Surrey Storm played in three out of the four grand finals. After finishing as runners up in all three, Surrey Storm won their first Netball Superleague title in 2015. During the regular season they finish second behind Manchester Thunder. They subsequently defeated Yorkshire Jets at the semi-final stage before defeating Hertfordshire Mavericks in the grand final.
The 2015 Netball Superleague Grand Final featured Surrey Storm and Hertfordshire Mavericks. Having previously played each other in 2011 this was the second grand final featuring both teams. Mavericks won the 2011 encounter. This was also Surrey Storm's fourth grand final appearance in five years. Storm beat Hertfordshire Mavericks 56–39 to win their first Superleague title. Storm led from the first quarter and, with a dominant display in attack from Player of the Match, Pamela Cookey, they eventually pulled seventeen points clear of the Mavericks.
The 2016 Surrey Storm season saw them retain the Netball Superleague title after defeating Manchester Thunder in the grand final. During the regular season they finish second behind Thunder.
Kathryn Ainsworth, also known as Katt Ainsworth, is an Australian netball player who played for Surrey Storm in the Netball Superleague. She was a member of the Storm teams that won Superleague titles in 2015 and 2016.
The 2011 Netball Superleague Grand Final featured Hertfordshire Mavericks and Surrey Storm. Mavericks would win their second title. This was Mavericks sixth successive grand final while Surrey Storm's were making their debut appearance. Between 2011 and 2016 Surrey Storm would play in five out of the six Netball Superleague grand finals. However in their first three they finished as runners up. In 2011 they lost 57–46 to Mavericks.
The 2012 FIAT Netball Superleague season saw Northern Thunder finish as champions for the first time. In the grand final they defeated Surrey Storm. 2012 saw the introduction of a new format, featuring three distinct phases, including a Showdown Weekend.
The 2012 Netball Superleague Grand Final featured Northern Thunder and Surrey Storm. It was the first grand final not to feature either Team Bath or Mavericks. Northern Thunder won their first Superleague title.
The 2014 Zeo Netball Superleague season saw Manchester Thunder finish as champions for the second time. Surrey Storm finished top of the table following the regular season and remained unbeaten throughout the season until they were defeated in the grand final by Thunder. This season the league was sponsored by Zeo, a soft drinks firm.
The 2014 Netball Superleague Grand Final featured Manchester Thunder and Surrey Storm. This was the second grand final featuring Thunder and Storm. The two teams previously met in the 2012 grand final which Thunder won by two points. After winning the regular season without losing a match, Storm, with a team featuring player/coach Tamsin Greenway and Rachel Dunn, started the final as favourites. At half-time they were leading 26–22 and after three quarters were still ahead at 38–36. However Thunder, coached by Tracey Neville and featuring Sara Bayman, remained a threat throughout the match. With the score at 48–48 and twenty five seconds on the clock, pressure from Jodie Gibson saw Storm lose possession. Thunder pounced on a loose ball and fed it to Helen Housby who subsequently netted a very late winner.
The 2016 Vitality Netball Superleague season saw Surrey Storm retain the title after defeating Manchester Thunder in the grand final. Thunder finished top of the table following the regular season. The league was sponsored by VitalityHealth.
The 2016 Team Bath netball season saw Team Bath finish third overall in the 2016 Netball Superleague. In the third-place play-off they defeated Hertfordshire Mavericks 49–48 to finish the season as bronze medallists. During the regular season they finished fourth, level on points with Surrey Storm and Hertfordshire Mavericks in second and third place respectively. Manchester Thunder topped the table. Team Bath lost 53–46 at Manchester Thunder in the play-off semi-finals.
Dan Ryan is an Australian netball player, coach, sports journalist and broadcaster. He was head coach of Manchester Thunder during the 2016 Netball Superleague season when they finished top of the table during the regular season and runners up in the grand final. He was subsequently head coach of Adelaide Thunderbirds for the 2017 and 2018 seasons. He was an assistant coach when Thunderbirds won the 2013 ANZ Championship and when Manchester Thunder won the 2019 Netball Superleague title. He is currently the head coach of both Northern Ireland and Leeds Rhinos. As a player, Ryan captained both the Victorian Cyclones and Australia Sonix men's netball teams. As a sports journalist and broadcaster, Ryan has worked for various organisations, including Network 10 and Sky Sports.
