Latest news with #LondonMavericks
South Wales Argus
19-06-2025
- Sport
- South Wales Argus
Camilla Buchanan: Mavericks not weighed down by the past
London Mavericks head coach Camilla Buchanan believes breaking free from the shackles of the past has helped her side reach this season's play-offs. The franchise finished in the top four for the first time since 2016 and Buchanan feels the fresh rebrand under new ownership has meant her squad have not felt the unwanted hand of history on their shoulders this term. Mavericks had finished fifth in five of the last six completed seasons, with the franchise becoming the perennial nearly side to many, but Buchanan insists her youthful squad had no time to be burdened by what went before them en route to securing an historic fourth-place finish this term. 'It has been a completely new journey,' she said. "While it is still Mavericks, it has felt completely brand new at times. I don't think this group feels the weight of what was. 'That reflects in the nature of the squad; we are a really young squad that is still building. 'It is an achievement, but it is just the first step, and we don't want to stop there. You have to take stock of the small wins, but by no means are we done.' The new ownership and rebrand has gone beyond just a shiny new name, logo, and colour scheme for the two-time Netball Super League champions. Buchanan's side have been well-backed in their pursuit of the play-offs, with a wide-ranging support staff complementing the work of Buchanan, Mikki Austin, and Tamsin Greenway. That also extends beyond training sessions, which now almost exclusively take place during the day and end with group meals. 'Eating together after training is one of the highlights of the day,' added Buchanan. 'It is all integrated with the back office staff, everyone is sitting and enjoying food together. 'It sounds like a Brady Bunch moment, but it really matters. You can see that in the squad this year, they are a really tight knit group – one of the tightest groups I've ever been involved with. 'The players are really well looked after, and I think that shows in what they give back to the club.
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
London Pulse top Netball Super League as Geva Mentor bows out
London Pulse topped the Netball Super League regular season table thanks to victory away at LexisNexis Cardiff Dragons. Pulse were comfortable winners in the Welsh capital, ensuring they finished in first place ahead of Loughborough Lightning who were beaten away at Birmingham Panthers. Advertisement Manchester Thunder warmed up for their minor semi-final against London Mavericks with a win over the same opponents at OVO Arena, while Nottingham Forest finished their inaugural season with a triumph over NIC Leeds Rhinos, as netball legend Geva Mentor bowed out from the elite game. Pulse seal top spot London Pulse sealed top spot in the Netball Super League regular season with a comfortable 67-44 win over LexisNexis Cardiff Dragons. Pulse led from the front in the Welsh capital and never let their opponents get within touching distance after the first quarter, pushing out to a 16-goal lead at the break thanks to a 19-7 second quarter. Advertisement Dragons continued to push hard to get back into the contest, and took the third quarter by two, but it was not enough despite the efforts of Jacqui Newton, who took four rebounds, four gains and two intercepts. At the other end, Funmi Fadoju once again shone with seven gains for Pulse as they prepared for Friday's major final against Loughborough Lightning in good form. Thunder take down Mavericks Manchester Thunder beat London Mavericks 67-45 at the OVO Arena, ahead of the sides' minor semi-final on Friday. The two clubs will meet again in a winner-takes-all clash in Manchester, and Karen Greig's side landed the first blow in London to end the regular season in style. Advertisement Elmere van der Berg top-scored for Thunder, with the South African picking up strong connections with the returning Paige Reed and Lois Pearson. 'It was a really tough game,' said Van der Berg. 'We still didn't give our best that we can put out our best on court, but I am glad we could grind through and take the win.' Pearson was making her first appearance of the season after returning from injury, while Mavericks welcomed George Inger back to the Netball Super League after a lengthy lay-off and a four-year spell in New Zealand. A youthful Mavericks side also gave a debut to goalkeeper Neve Wright, while NXT Gen player Cerys Finn started in the defensive circle and Camilla Buchanan believes there is more to come from her side next week. Advertisement She said: 'The debuts that we managed to get out there were brilliant. There were moments we really stuck to task, our first and second phase defence was really strong. We slowed Thunder down. 'It will be a different game next week, the score at this point is irrelevant.' Panthers end on a high Birmingham Panthers closed out their inaugural season with a 67-58 victory over semi-finalists Loughborough Lightning. Lightning will face London Pulse in the major semi-final next Friday, but their preparations were dealt a blow as they were beaten by an in-form Panthers side at the Utilita Arena. NXT Gen player Antonia Mitchell top-scored in the circle with 42 goals, as Panthers' shooting success rate ultimately proved key. Michelle Magee and Jasmine Brown shone in the circle as Panthers pulled clear in the second quarter and held onto their lead to give departing head coach Jo Trip a winning send off. Advertisement Magee earned four gains and three rebounds, while Brown produced three gains, two intercepts and five rebounds in a stellar defensive display. Rhinos can't cut Forest down Nottingham Forest ended their first-ever campaign with a come-from-behind 80-61 win over NIC Leeds Rhinos in the final round of the regular season. The result sees Forest finish fifth in the table while Rhinos end the campaign in seventh. The side from West Yorkshire ended the first quarter leading 18-13 with Joyce Mvula looking good early on in the circle. But the home side fought back brilliantly during the second quarter through some fine finishing from Rolene Streutker. Advertisement Forest where then able to create a sizable buffer during the next two quarters as they capped off what ultimately proved a comfortable victory. Streutker was the top scorer for Forest with 35 goals and their win can largely be attributed down to their dominance in the Soft & Gentle Super Shot department, outscoring Rhinos 18-8. It was also Geva Mentor's last-ever game of netball before her retirement. The 40-year-old called an end to her illustrious career, which includes a Commonwealth Games gold medal, a Netball World Cup silver medal and two Netball Super League titles in 2006 and 2007 with Team Bath, after over two decades on court. Advertisement To keep up with the latest news, make sure to follow the @NetballSL on X, Instagram and TikTok, Netball Super League on Facebook and LinkedIn, and subscribe to our newsletter. The NSL Grand Final will be held at The O2 on 6 July for the first time ever. Get your tickets to experience live elite netball!
BBC News
06-06-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Lightning beat Mavericks to go top of Super League
Loughborough Lightning produced a dominant display to beat London Mavericks 79-58 and move top of the Netball Super who have won three of the previous four Grand Finals, were in control throughout and opened a 23-12 lead at the end of the first set the tone for the contest, with Samantha Wallace-Joseph finishing with 24 goals for the victors, and Ella Clark and Berri Neil also impressing with 14 and 13 goals Andrew contributed 24 goals for the Mavericks, who remain fourth with one round of fixtures remaining before the play-offs. Birmingham Panthers won 75-69 in the opening match of the round on Thursday, with third-placed Manchester Thunder hosting second-placed London Pulse on Saturday (17:00 BST).
BBC News
16-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Forest crush Cardiff to go fourth in Super League
Nottingham Forest moved into the Netball Super League top four and boosted their play-off hopes with an emphatic 77-53 victory over bottom side Cardiff racked up the points at House of Sport in the Welsh capital, including 20 in the final quarter to boost their goal takes Chelsea Pitman's side up to fourth in the table, ahead of the weekend's other Super League fixtures on goal shooter Rolene Streutker enjoyed a fruitful night as she extended her lead at the top of the super shot scoreboard. The South African has now recorded 110 in this the result provides a boost as Pitman's team prepare to face London Mavericks - who they moved above in the table - next weekend in a potentially pivotal match for deciding play-off meanwhile, were unable to build on earning their first win of the season last weekend and remain rock bottom with just four points from nine games.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
McDonald making change as netball league's first club sustainability officer
By Milly McEvoy, Sportsbeat As LexisNexis Cardiff Dragons battle on the court, Elle McDonald is fighting the good fight off it. The mid-courter works as the Welsh franchise's sustainability officer to help those around her make informed choices and protect the planet. McDonald took on the role ahead of the 2025 season and has been involved across several initiatives. 'I've got a new role at Cardiff Dragons as the sustainability officer, which involves being an advocate among the players and our wider community to really make greener choices,' she said. 'And how we can take steps forward in that sustainability space. 'I have a background in teaching back at home, so it is quite different for me to have come across this role. 'But at the end of last year, I was speaking to quite a few people within our franchise and they felt really passionately about the sustainability space, and they wanted to come up with a role that would allow a player to really advocate for that. 'It is something that is important to me, but it should be important to everyone, so I am really proud to step into that space and really try and encourage not only our team, but across the league, all those small changes that can ultimately have a really big impact.' Dragons were part of history last weekend as they and London Mavericks played the first extra-time period in Netball Super League history. The game ended 55-55 after 60 minutes before Mavericks pulled away to take the game 72-61. It means the team in green are still searching for their maiden win of the season and face new side Birmingham Panthers for the first time on Friday. For McDonald, her performances on the court are fuelled by the choices she makes off it. She added: 'As athletes, there are so many of those things that we really value, including obviously our health and wellbeing. 'Reducing those environmental toxins will make us feel mentally and physically better, but something that we are really focused on is sustainable travel. 'We are encouraging our fans to travel sustainably, whether it is catching public transport, walking, cycling, or carpooling to our events. We want to make sure we are encouraging that. 'Also, with our food choices, as athletes, that is so important for us and our performance. 'But how can we make sure we are supporting local and organic farms and reducing those transportation emissions. 'It is just a small thing that we can consider doing that will make a big impact. We've teamed up with Grassboots, which is a preloved sports gear app. "We are hoping to build on the Cardiff Dragons community so people can sell or buy pre-loved sports equipment to help them get involved in sport, but also chose to donate any money to local charities. 'That is something we have been working on as well as some litter picks around the city. 'We are trying to make small changes when we can and hopefully influence our fan base and community to do the same.'
