FOR the remainder of the year, Draft Central will help keep track of movements in the Vitality Netball Superleague (VNSL) 2020 signing window, with a monthly article updated when a new signing has occurred. We will link back to the VNSL website for full details.

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Wednesday, August 14

Team Bath announced its second re-signing of the season, with experienced wing attack Rachel Shaw going around for an eighth season in the blue and gold. Shaw combines her playing commitments with coaching junior squads at Team Bath and was announced as a re-signing to join Usoro-Brown on the finalist’s list.

VNSL has announced that the competition will be running over 19 rounds in 2020 thanks to the introduction of a season opener event for its 15th year. The opening round will be added to the beginning of the regular 18 match season with the blockbuster first round decided by 2019 ladder positioning. To kickstart the round the Strathclyde Sirens and London Pulse will face off in hope to claim early bragging rights heading into their 2020 campaign. Moving up the ladder Saracens Mavericks and Severn Stars will meet next while Celtic Dragons and Surrey Storm will match up. Reigning premiers, Manchester Thunder will face Wasps Netball who finished second this year while Team Bath and Loughborough Lightning will to do battle making for an exciting start to the 2020 season. The opening round will count towards each club’s total points meaning each side will play nine home and away games on top of the additional season opener.

Monday, August 12

Manchester Thunder announced the re-signing of midcourter, Laura Malcolm for the 2020 season. Having recently been selected as one of the 29 English Roses for the 2019-2020 year, the versatile player can play at any of the three positions on the court and will provide great experience to the side she was a key cog in on its way to the VNSL title.

Strathclyde Sirens announced Lesley MacDonald as Head Coach for the 2020 season, with the former Thistle holding the record for the most international games for Scotland with 132. She was the Assistant Coach at the 2019 Netball World Cup, and will be joined by fellow Scottish veteran, Claire Maxwell who will take fill a player-coach role.

Friday, August 2

Leeds Rhinos might not be entering the VNSL until 2021, but they announced Northern Ireland head coach Dan Ryan as the person to lead them in their inaugural season. The Manchester Thunder assistant coach has previously coached in the Suncorp Super Netball League with the Adelaide Thunderbirds.

Thursday, August 1

English capped Eboni Usoro-Brown became the first official signing of the VNSL 2020 season, recommitting to Team Bath in what was a massive re-signing for the semi-finalists. Usoro-Brown became a crucial player in the defensive goal circle for Bath and the English Roses at the World Cup after Layla Guscoth went down, recording six intercepts, four rebounds and 13 deflections.