HOME fans were able to celebrate at the end of an action-packed Rise Again Festival after the Manchester Thunder took out overall honours with an eight-goal win in the final. The Thunder were able to overcome Loughborough Lightning, 45-37, being the only team to play across both days and remain undefeated.

Whilst the Leeds Rhinos were unable to compete on day two of the tournament, the other 11 sides in action from day one picked up where they left off to determine the places from first right down to eleventh. Kicking off proceedings was the battle between the two lowest ranked sides from day one with Celtic Dragons getting an important 10-goal win on the board over Spartans Men’s side.

The ninth to eleventh placed spots were determined by a three-game round robin, with the Spartans then going up against Surrey Storm. The Storm got the better of the men’s side, winning 32-24, before backing up that win with a second straight victory. Surrey came from 10 goals down to stun the Dragons 30-28, and grab ninth spot with Celtic having tenth and the Spartans – an invitational side that was able to gain much experience across both days – coming in eleventh.

Next up with the fifth and eighth placed playoffs, with the four sides being the other men’s side – the Knights – as well as London Pulse, Wasps Netball and Team Bath. The Knights easily accounted for Pulse in the first game by 13 goals, with Bath getting up in a three-goal thriller over Wasps, 27-24 to advance to the fifth and sixth placed playoffs.

In the battle for seventh and eighth, Pulse relegated Wasps to eighth spot with a very impressive 11-goal win, which was followed up by the Knights getting the job done over Bath. The men’s side won 43-17 in an eye-catching performance, continually showcasing their development throughout the tournament to finish fifth overall.

The pointy end of the day featured the top four sides, with the best side of day one in Manchester Thunder, coming up against the fourth placed side thus far in Strathclyde Sirens, whilst the Lightning took on the other undefeated team in Saracens Mavericks. Though they lost to the Rhinos the day before, the Lightning bounced back on day two with an eye-catching 12-goal win over the Mavericks to book a place in the Rise Again Festival final. The Thunder then won by 13 goals themselves over the Sirens to set up the decider.

With the fifth through eleventh placings decided, the Sirens took on the Mavericks, with the Scottish side getting up in an absolute nail-biter. Strathclyde won 32-30 to grab third spot on the table overall, and head in having only lost to the Thunder and Bath for the tournament. For the Mavericks, they ended the tournament with back-to-back losses but no respect lost after an impressive day one.

In the final, it was a high-scoring contest, and in fact y far the highest scoring match of the day. In an effort that saw a massive 82 goals put on the board, it was the home side that got up. Manchester Thunder won 45-37 to celebrate the title. Though the Thunder will head into the Vitality Netball Superleague season with bragging rights, there was plenty to like across the majority of the sides looking towards the 2022 season.

FINAL STANDINGS