ROUND five of the Vitality Netball Superleague is shaping up to be a big one, with a number of close ladder matches that could easily shake up the competition. With a number of highly competitive and undoubtedly high scoring games on the table this weekend, round five is not a week to miss the action. Due to weather issues in round four, Team Bath and Severn Stars will come into round five after having an unintended extended break, which has the potential to impact on the standings come the end of the round.

Starting off round four will be an intriguing matchup between Strathclyde Sirens and Celtic Dragons. Hosted at Sirens’ home court Emirates Arena on Friday night at 7:30pm, the two sides sit seventh and eighth on the ladder respectively with only the smallest percentage margin separating the pair. Both sides have struggled to shoot over 50 goals this season, only reaching the 50 mark in their sole respective wins in 2019. The Sirens will look to pull a win out of the bag in front of a home crowd, while Dragons are keen to chase victory after having a taste in round two.

In game three of the round Severn Stars will host Manchester Thunder at University of Worchester Arena at 6pm on Saturday night, in what will be an interesting matchup regardless of goals on the board. Both teams have only played three matches this season, which impacts on their ladder movement through lack of percentage. Thunder are sitting comfortably in second place with three from three, so will hope for another big win on the board to bump into first ahead of Wasps Netball. Stars will want to assert their dominance in the competition in front of a home crowd after an unfortunate game cancellation last round. 

Loughborough Lightning will take on Team Bath on Saturday evening at 6pm at Sir David Wallace Arena, with the fourth versus fifth place match-up looking to be an interesting one as both sides have two wins on the board. Due to unforeseen weather conditions in round four, Team Bath were unable to take the court, so Lightning will want to capitalise on Bath’s unintended round off netball. Lightning are coming off the back of a big round four win, so will look to back up their strong efforts and bump their way back up the ladder. Bath’s star midcourt is likely to start hard and fast to intimidate the home side, but if Lightning can keep their composure it could make for a tight match. 

Ninth place London Pulse will host current bottom of the ladder Surrey Storm at London’s Copperbox Arena on Saturday night at 7pm. With both sides struggling to get points on the board this season, Saturday night’s battle will be won by the team that stays consistent throughout the game. Both sides suffered in the second half of their respective round four matches, both shooting less than ten goals apiece in the third quarter, so will want to capitalise on a first half effort to win the match and stay off the bottom of the ladder. The winner could potentially lift to at least seventh on the ladder based on other round five games, so both sides will be hoping for some big losses from the lower seated teams in the competition.

Round four will conclude on Monday evening, with current ladder leaders, Wasps Netball taking on third ranked Saracens Mavericks at 7pm at Ricoh Arena in Coventry. Wasps have taken the 2019 season by storm after a successful 2018 and will want to continue their dominant performance against the Mavericks. Both sides are sitting comfortably with three wins on the board, however Wasps have only played three matches for the season while Mavericks have played four. Mavericks are down by percentage based on their round one loss to Manchester Thunder, so will want to prove their consistency in the competition and continue their current three-win streak. If Wasps lose they are at risk of dropping from top spot, so will be pulling out all the stops to ensure they continue their strong run of the 2019 competition.