search
 

News News

August 1, 2016 by Surrey Storm

NPL take 3rd in Loughborough

The England Netball Youth tournament in Loughborough saw Surrey Storm take a representative team to compete, with the London and South East region being further represented by two young regional sides.

With a number of regular Surrey Storm NPL squad players, including some of the season’s key starting seven unavailable for selection, the tournament provided the chance for some players who had received limited court time during the year to join with a few experienced names to compete.  The opportunity also offered to Storm’s two youth training partners to join the squad was also taken up readily.
 
With pools decided based on the league finishing positions, Surrey Storm were split from Manchester Thunder, whose match back in May had resulted in a single goal victory for our opponents. The toughest match in our group was always going to be against a full strength Hertfordshire Mavericks side and as the first game of the competition on day one, our young Guildford side were outclassed, going down 34-57. The match allowed the whole squad court time though and demonstrated some of our strengths but also areas we needed to tighten up on in the later games.
 
The second match of the day resulted in a comprehensive win for Storm, beating Celtic Dragons 67-25, again with the whole squad getting onto court and much improvement in play seen. Day two started with strong opposition from West Midlands Warriors, who had shown real character and skill despite our big win during the season. Storm always had the edge and the final score of 56-17 did not represent the fast game the spectators and coaching team were witnessing! A win over Team South Tigers in our fourth match of the event would guarantee Storm a semi-final place against likely opponents Manchester Thunder and this was the next target Storm were striving for.  With scores level at half time, there were strong words for the players who were not performing as expected. The team returned to court focused and upped their play, storming the second half to win 51-22, setting up the much anticipated semi-final.
 
Despite giving their all to start day three, a strong Thunder side were simply too good on the day and Storm were not able to play the game they intended for much of the match. There were some outstanding moments and two quarters where it was difficult to separate the teams but our opponents capitalized on every error elsewhere and punished our mistakes. The loss of 34-57 meant our final match would be the 3rd/4th play-off versus Yorkshire Jets later that day, to end the weekend.
 
Storm, determined to claim third place and finish the tournament on a high, were aware that Jets were always a force to be reckoned with. Goal for goal the whole match, the opposition was always slightly ahead, but Storm gave everything to keep fighting and eventually the Yorkshire side was put slightly on the back foot. As the whistle went, delight was evident as the hard fought result of 38-36 in Storm’s favour meant bronze medals were going to the Guildford girls!
 
Everyone had a great weekend and it was brilliant to try out different combinations, give all eleven players court time and see some of our huge potential for next season. We are very proud to have been 2016 NPL League Runner-Up and to also achieve 3rd place in the NPL tournament too. It has been a fantastic year and we are excited for the 2017 season.
 

@SurreyStormNPL v @HertsMavericks youth @lborouniversity #nplfinals @Tallisahaynes @England_Netball pic.twitter.com/fT1QZ9Lpxt

— Steve Porter (@6908jet) July 22, 2016


 

@SurreyStormNPL v @celtic_dragons youth @lborouniversity #nplfinals @Tallisahaynes @England_Netball pic.twitter.com/moGAUMhIPY

— Steve Porter (@6908jet) July 22, 2016


 

@SurreyStormNPL v Midland Warriors @lborouniversity #NPLFinals @Tallisahaynes @England_Netball pic.twitter.com/tEaQbEhBUg

— Steve Porter (@6908jet) July 23, 2016


 

@SurreyStormNPL v @TeamSouthTigers @lborouniversity #NPLFinals @Tallisahaynes @England_Netball pic.twitter.com/69qGN2NELQ

— Steve Porter (@6908jet) July 23, 2016

@SurreyStormNPL v @thundernetball @lborouniversity #NPLFinals @Tallisahaynes @louisekhall @England_Netball pic.twitter.com/gRRkc4XIGB

— Steve Porter (@6908jet) July 24, 2016


 

@SurreyStormNPL v @thundernetball @lborouniversity #NPLFinals @Tallisahaynes @louisekhall @England_Netball pic.twitter.com/LGXEt5ycId

— Steve Porter (@6908jet) July 24, 2016

Connect with us

Designed by Four Pin Plug