AFTER a nine-month break from Vitality Netball Superleague (VNSL), netball fans across the globe are in for a treat next weekend. Three pre-season matches showcasing six of the top VNSL sides will be available to stream – live and on catch-up – from anywhere in the world. The Rise Again Festival represents an enormous amount of work being done behind the scenes by the VNSL teams and England Netball to get elite UK netball back up and running after the interruptions due to the pandemic. Draft Central caught up with Manchester Thunder’s Karen Greig, who has been instrumental in organising the festival, to get her insight into the idea behind it and what this could mean for worldwide fans who want to see more of the Superleague in 2021.

“We’ve all been waiting for some good news about Superleague,” Greig said. “It’s amazing just to have to opportunity to get six of the best teams in the country in one venue.. and to actually show the potential that the VNSL has got.”

“I do believe the Superleague can one day be the best league in the world so to showcase that now… I think it’s a really good starting point for hopefully what is to come in February.”

Setting up an event like this is not without its difficulties, particularly in the current climate with the UK only recently emerging from a full national lockdown. Debbie Hallas, Manchester Thunder Franchise Director, has worked alongside Manchester City Council to organise the event. They have been working tirelessly to ensure the matches can take place in a COVID secure environment, and that they can be streamed easily for fans.

“England Netball have been fantastic at supporting the clubs and helping them along the way, in terms of what we actually need to do to make it as safe an environment as possible,” Greig said. “The amount of work that has gone into this over the past three to four months has been massive. It’s exciting and the girls are excited, and hopefully, netball fans across the world are buzzing to be able to log on and watch.”

The decision to make the games available for international viewers has been extremely well received, and the VNSL will be hoping this enthusiasm continues into next season. UK fans have access to every ANZ match through Sky Sports and the SSN through the Netball Live app, but unfortunately, this is not yet the case for the VNSL. It has been a hot topic for discussion in recent months, with fans and franchises keen to increase the current live coverage to include more than one game per round.

“Clubs are constantly pushing for it… unfortunately contractually, we’ve previously never been able to show games live,” Greig said. “I’m hoping personally that our league will be more visible moving forwards.”

With ongoing uncertainty around whether fans will be able to attend matches next season, there is real hope that the Rise Again Festival will demonstrate the existing desire to watch live Superleague, both in the UK and also around the world.

Loughborough Lightning vs Leeds Rhinos – 19th December, 12pm GMT (10pm AEST)

The opening game is sure to turn heads with brand new franchise Rhinos taking on seasoned campaigners Lightning. This outing will be a tough one for the rookie side, but no doubt their superstars including England’s most capped player Jade Clarke will rise to the occasion. Fans will be particularly interested to see the anticipated matchup between dogged Loughborough defender Sam May and Rhinos shooting import Donnell Wallam.

Surrey Storm vs Strathclyde Sirens – 19th December, 2pm GMT (12am Sunday AEST) 

Next up, Storm will be hoping to assert themselves against Sirens after an eight-goal loss when the sides last met back in March. We can expect to see midcourters Mikki Austin and Gia Abernethy tussling hard for their respective sides and hopefully we will get the chance to see Surrey’s exciting new-look defensive end with the addition of Zimbabwe Gems Captain Felisitus Kwangwa.

Manchester Thunder vs Saracens Mavericks – 19th December, 4pm GMT (2am Sunday AEST)

Reigning Superleague Champions, Thunder will round off the day when they face a tough Mavericks side full of England Roses. With both sides mostly unchanged since the 2020 season, this battle will not be one to miss. With international firepower in both shooting ends including Ine-Mari Venter and Joyce Mvula and dangerous defensive combinations to boot, the final game will most likely go down to the wire.

Matches will be available on catch up from the following day, and will stay online for two weeks. 

Tickets for the live stream event can be purchased here:

https://www.riseagainfestival.co.uk/