Following on from last week’s post, I’m writing again about the UK’s Co-operative Netball Superleague. Now in it’s fifth year, the CNS competition runs from December through to April. The 9 teams play each other twice during the season, followed by two play-off weekends to decide which two teams make it to the Grand Final.

Check out the video on the CNS website where Superleague players from each franchise talk about their hopes for the coming season.

The 9 franchises, in no particular order, are:

• Surrey Storm: Formerly Brunel Hurricanes and at the helm is ex-England coach Mary Beardwood. They’ve lured some big names from other franchises and boast a clutch of current England players, namely Tamsin Greenway, Rachel Dunn and dynamite defensive duo Geva Mentor and Sonia Mkoloma. Like other England players, Mentor and Mkoloma have been honing their skills in the ANZ Championships and were all conquering when they played for the World 7 team in Test Series against Australia and New Zealand back in August 2009. Storm got off to a flying start with comprehensive victories over Northern Thunder & Team Northumbria. It will be a surprise if they finish outside the top three.
• Glasgow Wildcats: This is only their second season in the CNS and they found last year’s competition a steep learning curve. Featuring some Scottish Internationals, the Wildcats may not be expected to finish in the top four this year but they are undoubtedly hungry for success and keen to prove that Scottish Netball is thriving.
• Leeds Carnegie: Leeds will be keen to improve on last year’s 4th place position. WD Danielle Bloomfield thinks her team are strong in defence this year and seems confident that their overseas imports from Jamaica and Australia will help take the team to the top.
• Loughborough Lightning: Coached by former England player Olivia Murphy and with plenty of young players including captain and current England player Jo Harten. GS Lianne Badmin says we should expected the unexpected from her team. New centre Rebecca White is brimming with confidence about her side and is sure to bring some steel and grit that elite Aussie players seem to possess.
• Hertfordshire Mavericks: Coach Maggie Jackson is assisted by former England captain Amanda Newton and current England centre court player, Karen Atkinson. Both Newton and Atkinson, with many years playing experience between them, are also part of the playing squad. Mavericks have been in the final every year since the competition’s inception and were winners in 2007/8 but lost out to TeamBath on the other occasions. They will be determined to improve on last year’s runners-up position. Again, I’ll be surprised if they don’t finish in the top three.
• Northern Thunder: Bagged England players Sara Bayman and Jade Clarke in the off season. Their line up also includes former England shooter Karen Greig who is optimistic for the coming season, saying the future looks bright for her team. Suffered two defeats at the hands of TeamBath and Surrey Storm but bounced back in style with a mauling of Celtic Dragons.
• TeamBath: Current champions and winners in 2005/6 & 2006/7, they are the team everyone wants to beat. They’ve had some high profile defections to Surrey Storm and some may sense a chink in their armour. Undefeated in last year’s campaign, underestimate them at your peril. Centre Jo Binns & GA Asha Tett say this year’s players are also very talented and are highly motivated to retain their title. They plan to up their game a level and are definitely not resting on their laurels. The inspirational Pamela Cookey, England and TeamBath GA, must surely be worth her weight in gold to TeamBath this year.
• Team Northumbria: They don’t have any overseas players this season and consider themselves one of the CNS underdog teams this year. However, WA Josie Pointon is confident that her side’s determination, never-say-die attitude and the hard work they’ve put in at training will pay off this year.
• Celtic Dragons: Lots of new faces this season and GS Rebecca Neate feels her team have bonded really well. These girls are proud to be Welsh, with many representing the Welsh national squad also. However, early results have not been good so there’s plenty to work on. New Zealander Melissa Hyndman became High Performance Coach for both the Dragons and Welsh National squad last December and feels her young squad have a lot of potential. The Dragons may not yet have the fire power to contend for the top spots but will gain valuable experience this year.

But it’s very early days in the competition and the extreme weather conditions have caused further set backs to the schedule. Something to note is that teams with foreign imports will lose players that have signed up for teams competing in the ANZ Championships, which start again in March, and could find themselves understrength in the final stages of the CNS.