ROUND 13 of the Netball Super League is upon us, marking the second go-around of matchups as clubs begin to repeat their head-to-head battles. The weekend’s fixtures begin tomorrow night in Worcester, with the Stars hosting the Pulse.

Last time around, a bad start from the Stars proved the difference in a 13-goal loss. The Stars’ penalty count was also significantly higher than the Pulse’s last time around, so that is an area they will want to improve on.

Lindsay Keable was particularly impressive last time for the Pulse, but she will have her hands full this week having to contend with an in-form Sigrid Burger.

The second of tomorrow night’s clashes sees the Dragons head up the highway to Bath.

The match between the pair earlier in the year produced the Dragons’ first win over Bath in almost 10 years, but since then things have become a little bit tumultuous for the Welsh side.

One thing Bath will need to watch out for this week is its penalty count, which was 50 more that the Dragons’ last time out. Rebounds are another area where there was a significant gap between the sides, as the Dragons won both the defensive (seven to four) and offensive (six to three) counts.

The goal keepers for both these sides, Shaquanda Greene-Noel and Jayda Pechova, have both been shining lights in tough campaigns to date, so expect them to play crucial roles again tomorrow night.

Game three of the weekend is in North London, when the Mavericks host the Storm for the latter’s first of two matches for the weekend.

Last time around the Mavericks put up a fightback in the second term, but the Storm ultimately pulled away in the second half to take a 12-goal win.

That particular game was a high penalty game from both sides, and in many stats was a lost closer than the scoreline would have suggested.

The battle between Proscovia Peace and Jodie Gibson is sure to be an entertaining one. Gibson was a crucial cog in the Mavericks holding on for a win last week, but comes up against a Peace who was well bellow her usual standards last week and will be keen to bounce back.

Moving along to Sunday, and action returns to North London when the Lightning host the Sirens.

Last time around it was a 21-goal win to the Lightning after they put their foot down from the get go to build a solid lead early.

The Sirens were rocked in the last 24 hours with the news that star shooter Stella Oyella will be out for the year with an ACL injury, so the mental toll of that may play a part in how they go this weekend.

However, this news gives Bethan Goodwin and Niamh McCall certainty that they will be the starting shooting combination and the time to work on their partnership. In saying that, they will not find the going easy this weekend, coming up against the in form combination of Alice Harvey and Fran Williams.

The final match of the weekend sees the Storm back at home to host the Rhinos.

The Storm will be coming in off a two-day break, while the Rhinos will be looking to make amends after failing to get the job done last week against the Mavericks.

It was a comfortable win to the Storm last time around, but things have changed a bit for both sides since then.

Watch out for the battle between Peace and Vicki Oyesola, as both platers are arguably their most crucial players for their respective sides. The Storm double up means that it is Manchester who gets the weekend off.

NSL ROUND 13 FIXTURE

Severn Stars vs London Pulse – Friday at 7:30pm – University Worcester Arena
Team Bath vs Celtic Dragons – Friday at 7:30pm – Team Bath Netball Arena
Saracens Mavericks vs Surrey Storm – Saturday at 4pm – Hertfordshire Sports Village
Loughborough Lightning vs Strathclyde Sirens – Sunday at 4pm – David Wallace Sports Hall
Surrey Storm vs Leeds Rhinos – Monday at 7:30pm – Surrey Sports Park