THE Round 9 Team of the Week plays host to a number of Manchester Thunder representatives given the two big wins they secured. A couple of lone performances from the likes of London Pulse and Severn Stars also earned a couple of players their maiden spot in the squad.

GS: Mary Cholhok (Loughborough Lightning)
GA: Eleanor Cardwell (Manchester Thunder)
WA: Caroline O’Hanlon (Manchester Thunder)
C: Amy Flanagan (Wasps Netball)
WD: Laura Malcolm (Manchester Thunder)
GD: Layla Guscoth (Team Bath)
GK: Halimat Adio (London Pulse)

BENCH: Joyce Mvula (Manchester Thunder), Sasha Corbin (Saracens Mavericks), Dee Bolakoro (Severn Stars)

Although her side did not get the win this round, Mary Cholhok was still a force to be reckoned with under the post for Loughborough Lightning posting a whopping 41 goals. Her accuracy was somewhat down on her lofty standards converting at 87 per cent but still managed to reel in four rebounds showcasing her strength and smarts to claim prime positioning inside the circle. She is joined by Manchester Thunder goaler, Eleanor Cardwell who well and truly found her groove out on court. Cardwell used her commanding frame to demand the ball in the attacking third and took advantage of her extra height to create attacking forays. She finished with 47 goals in her two outings, while only missing five goals the entire time, credit to her potency inside the circle.

Playing in wing attack, Caroline O’Hanlon was a crucial cog for the Thunder in attack using her timing and spatial awareness to deliver the ball on a silver platter to the goalers. Her read of the play and overall smarts around circle edge were second to none as is her composure to bypass the mess and release pinpoint precision passes. Amy Flanagan had a game to remember, getting the nod at centre and not disappointing with her signature flare and class coming to the fore. More of a defensively minded centre, Flanagan plied her trade thanks to her strong hands over pressure and smothering style of play to pick up three intercepts and four deflections in a strong performance for the Wasps. The final midcourt position goes to Laura Malcolm with the Thunder representative running rampant in her performance against the Mavericks and using her closing speed to clog up space and pick up intercepts. Her constant pressure and nagging style of play allowed her to shut down the attacking avenues for the opposition and keep the guessing.

The goal defence position belongs to Layla Guscoth as the Team Bath defender made her presence felt with her smothering pressure and skill to negate the opposition. Her persistent nature, composure and skill to swing from defence to attack was paramount picking up two intercepts and five deflections in the loss. London Pulse goal keeper Halimat Adio makes her debut in the Draft Central Team of the Week with the exciting defender injecting herself in the play and utilising her long limbs to create turnovers. her read of the play, energy and overall leap enabled her to constantly get hands to ball and produce defensive plays which saw her propel the ball back down the court. In her two appearances, Adio registered four intercepts and 10 deflections highlighting her tenacity.

Moving to the bench and it is Joyce Mvula that earned the shooting position with the goaler starring under the post in both her matches for the Thunder. Her aerial presence is second to none using her spring in her step to leap up and wrench the ball out of midair. She managed a whopping 71 goals across two goals highlighting just how influential and dominant she can be under the post when on song. Dee Bolakoro played an integral role in the Stars’ performance over the weekend with the defender reading the play well to finish with three rebounds, five intercepts and two deflections. The final spot goes to Sasha Corbin with the versatile midcourter showcasing her attacking tendencies in both games.