Yorkshire Jets brought their 2016 Vitality Netball Superleague season to a close with defeat to their Roses rivals, the competition’s leaders Manchester Thunder.
In front of a vocal and passionate crowd at Manchester Arena, the Netball Manchester Live audience saw the home side win by 24 points but Jets first-half performance will have given the Yorkshire fans something to cheer about.
Jets started the stronger of the teams building a lead in the opening minutes but Thunder showed why they’re top of the Superleague table by finding their form quickly. They overtook the visitors in an enthralling 15 minutes of netball to lead by three.
The hosts came out with all cylinders firing after the break and, despite a Jet performance including from Lucy Harris who replaced Maria Lutua, they managed to extend their advantage. They led 32-21 at half-time but the scoreline didn’t reflect how close the contest felt at Manchester Arena.
The half-time break saw Thunder make changes and these showed on court as they quickly pulled away from a Jets side who had lost their momentum and saw errors creeping into their game. It was a ruthless display from the league leaders and they led by 20 within 15 minutes to go.
The final quarter of Jets season saw them refuse to give up and they continued to have moments of brilliance, more often than not from Stacey Francis, but there was no escaping the determination and quality of the home side and Thunder won the game by 24 points.
It has been a disappointing and challenging 14 rounds for Jets with just one win and a series of inconsistent performances but positives will be taken, such as the development of the franchise’s young players like Lucy Harris and Imogen Allison and their youth set-up.
With the aim of searching for, finding and then nurturing the netball stars of the future, it is supporting England Netball’s aim to be the world’s number one team. That work will continue in the weeks ahead as trials take place for the Summer’s Athlete Development Programme.
Final Score: Manchester Thunder 67 – Yorkshire Jets 43
Quarterly Scores:
Q1 – 15-12
Q2 – 32-21
Q3 – 52-32
Q4 – 67-43
Starting 7s:
Yorkshire Jets
GS – Alex Kirk
GA – Maria Lutua
WA – Jess Shaw
C – Lydia Walker
WD – Sophie Halpin
GD – Stacey Francis
GK – Bea Skingley
Manchester Thunder
GS – Ellie Cardwell
GA – Helen Housby
WA – Natalie Haythornthwaite
C – Sara Bayman
WD – Laura Malcolm
GD – Emma Dovey
GK – Malysha Kelly
Report courtesy of Yorkshire Jets
