#38 Super League Predictions

Apologies for another pre Super League 2021 blog! I am so bloomin’ excited! 

Thought I’d give my crystal ball 🔮 a dust off and see what we can come up with in terms of predictions, for the new season. Long term readers will know this isn’t a strength of mine, but we’ll have a bit of fun with it nevertheless! 

Controversy: Netball is, thankfully, not known for football- like ‘dust ups’ and long may that continue! With such a bright light being shone on every single game though (woop!) there is bound to be something that goes from molehill to mountain in 60 seconds. 

We’ve already had Franchise Managers ‘banned’ court side and tweeting their disappointment at the decision, which I believe has since been overturned! (The tweet has also, since, been deleted!) 

Whether it’s a misbehaving player, coaching decision or umpiring mistake, in current times it will be very easy for the little things to become escalated! We all have an opinion & with social media as it is, those opinions are easily shared! 

Upsets

Think Severn Stars beating Wasps in the ill-fated 2020 season. There’s always a giant killing or surprise result somewhere and they’re normally, in netball anyway, a close and exciting spectacle! 

So, who are we going for: Storm beating Thunder by 1 or Sirens coming from behind to take the victory against Team Bath? How many ‘upsets’ will there be? 

Injury

Unfortunately, elite sport can be cruel. There’s bound to be a season ending injury like an ACL or Achilles tear. 

Some of the fixtures don’t offer a lot of recovery time ( I am sure this would have been taken into consideration along with a whole heap of other factors getting this league up and running) but that could have an impact on bodies. 

Fingers crossed, with Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, just around the corner, it’s not one of our home grown athletes. 

Spectators

Maybe this is more of a Hope than a prediction! 

The season is played over 4 months with the semi finals and final scheduled for the Copperbox on the weekend of the 26th & 27th June. If everything goes to plan (everything crossed!) you’d think and hope that by then the world would have some resemblance of ‘normal’ about it and we might even have fans allowed in! 

I’m first in the queue!🤞 

Winners 

There are a lot of unknowns to the 2021 Super League season. We haven’t seen any of the teams or players for nearly a year and we have a brand new franchise entering the fray - which, for me, doubles the excitement! 

It makes informed predictions on who might win even more difficult! 

I am going to take a punt on Team Bath though. They have really exciting players, from hugely experienced Roses Captain Serena Guthrie to the emerging talent of GA Sophie Drakeford-Lewis. 

I think it’s fair to say Team Bath haven’t fulfilled potential in recent years so their desire and hunger after a very long pre season (!) will be evident. 

I also believe they have one of the most tactically astute coaches in the business in Anna Stembridge. 

All those factors together make for a very heady cocktail of success! It just remains to be seen if the right ingredients can be mixed at the right time, to see the ‘right’ results!