ROUND 17 of the Vitality Netball Superleague is the penultimate round of the competition, making it a big one, with some teams banking their finals opportunities on the outcome of the final two rounds. Rival teams in the top four face off against one another, with both sides requiring a win this round to ensure a finals berth. Two top four sides will battle lower teams on the ladder, with both the Loughborough Lightning and Saracens Mavericks wanting to keep their respective two-match winning streaks and finals hopes alive. Unless Strathclyde Sirens pull off the biggest spoil of the season, Wasps Netball are likely to stay in top spot for another week, after cementing a semi final appearance at the end of Round 16.

Game one of the round will see the Sirens host the Wasps on Friday night at 7:30pm at Emirates Arena. The Sirens managed their third win for the season last round after a tough match against London Pulse, so will want to replicate their form with the likes of Emma Barrie on fire in the circle, skilfully evading defence. However, the Wasps have set up their season well to be one of the best in the competition, and have shown they are willing to play hard and fast to get every win possible. It will take some strong defensive efforts from the Sirens to keep Wasps shooters, Rachel Dunn and Katie Harris down, with both players able to share the load and create opportunities for the other. The Sirens have put in the hard yards in the latter end of the season with the loss of star shooter, Cat Tuivaiti, so will want to prove their place in the competition with a hard contest against the Wasps, regardless of the final score.

With four matches on Saturday afternoon and three at 4pm, the first will be an intriguing mid-ladder matchup as the Celtic Dragons host Surrey Storm at Sports Wales National Centre. The Dragons are only one spot below Storm on the ladder, having crept up to manage five wins this season. They have showed massive improvement in their connection across the court and have gained consistency throughout the season. This season is already a win for the Dragons, who finished tenth on the ladder in both 2017 and 2018, but the side will want to keep their good form going into the remaining two rounds. Similarly, Storm have had an excellent second half of the season, managing a big upset in Round 13 and pushing some of the higher ranking teams along the way. Dragons defenders, Stacian Facey and Dee Bolakoro have only strengthened their relationship on court this season, reading the play with ease, so will be ready to push the likes of Sigi Burger at the post and deny Storm opportunities on goal.

Next up is a hopefully ladder-boosting match for the Lightning, who take on London Pulse at Copperbox Arena. Despite their position in fourth on the ladder, the Lightning will need to storm into this match to not give the Pulse an opportunity to get ahead and gain momentum, having done exactly that against the Mavericks in Round 13. Meanwhile, the Pulse will want to build on both their win against the Mavericks and the Storm’s win against Lightning to get over the line this round. Pulse have proven to be a force to be reckoned with in recent weeks, holding up defensively despite being unable to get an elusive third win on the board. With only two more weeks to turn around their inaugural season, the Pulse will want to be firing on all cylinders in the goal circle and prove their shooters, Chiara Semple and Shantal Slater have what it takes against the strong defensive movement of Tuaine Keenan and Vicki Oyesola.

In another intriguing match on Saturday, the Mavericks will host Severn Stars at Hertfordshire Sports Village. The Stars are another side that has slowly improved this season. After managing eight wins last year and only seven this season with two rounds left, they will want to turn up to both their final matches with a fire in the belly and desire to ruin finals hopes for their opposition. The Mavericks cannot afford another loss this season if they want to participate in finals, so need a big win over the Stars to give themselves a proper opportunity at finals contention. Last round, Sasha Corbin showed off the full brunt of her game smarts and skill with the ball, so will need to draw on that same energy to get the Mavericks off to a big start. Defensively, Sam Cook has been in fine form in recent weeks so will have her work cut out for her against the rotating shooting circle made up of George Fisher, Kadeen Corbin and Karyn Bailey.

The final match of Round 17 is likely the biggest of the weekend, with second-ranked Manchester Thunder hosting third-ranked Team Bath at Belle Vue at 5pm. Though Bath are currently sitting happy in third, a win for the Lightning coupled with a loss to the Thunder could mean they get bumped down with only one round left for the season. The Thunder are not in quite as dire a situation when they get on court, but their intensity and consistency makes them one of the high flyers of the competition and will be hard to stop once they get going. Last time they met, Team Bath came out on top after a physical encounter that saw both sides get plenty of action, with both teams boasting some of the best defensive partnerships in the competition. This match is sure to bring out the best of the best in terms of pressure across the court. Bath will once again rely on Serena Guthrie to push through Thunder’s midcourt barrier, while the likes of Summer Artman and Eboni Usoro-Brown will be pivotal for Bath’s success. For Thunder, Kerry Almond and Emma Dovey will want to pull out all the stops to deny Bath access to the goal circle, with the accuracy of their opposition something to watch out for.