Tamsin Greenway on Manchester Thunder’s start to the Vitality Netball Superleague season | Netball News

The partnership between Eleanor Cardwell and Joyce Mvula has blossomed this season (Image credit: Morgan Harlow)

Tamsin Greenway takes a closer look at the three-time champions Manchester Thunder’s start to the season ahead of their encounter with Saracens Mavericks on Saturday…

There’s the age-old phrase in netball that says, shooters win you games and defence wins you championships.

Yes, I know it’s early days in the new season but one thing that’s stood out so far, is how heavily Manchester Thunder have been scoring in matches. After four rounds and four wins they sit top of the table having scored 296 goals – 62 more than Saracens Mavericks who are also unbeaten in second place.

However, although they continue to punish team with their high rate of scoring going forwards, they’ve needed to because they’re letting in so many goals at the other end (226).

Thunder’s goal haul was really highlighted in Round Three, in the contest against Surrey Storm that finished 76-68 in their favour. Needless to say, that’s an enormous number of goals to have been scored in 60 minutes and my first thought was who was defending?

If you look at the statistics from the game, there were eight interceptions between both teams and 14 turnovers in total. Let’s put that into perspective, England Vitality Roses’ goal defence Layla Guscoth made 12 interceptions and 17 turnovers in one weekend on her own at the Season Opener in Birmingham.

As someone who loves attacking netball, I’m really intrigued by Manchester Thunder’s side this year; how they’ve started this season and just how frightening they could become.

Last year, Thunder commenced the season well and although the games were only 48-minutes due to the covid restrictions, they were still putting over 50 goals on the board. However, they came unstuck fairly early on when they only scored 35 against Bath and 44 against Wasps, and that’s when teams started to unpick their attacking end.

Thunder’s shooting partnership is hugely effective (Image credit: Touchlinepics Sports & Event Photography)

A year later, there’s a real positive difference in this side especially in the attack. It’s a difference that’s come from keeping the group together and specifically the development of the partnership between Eleanor Cardwell and Joyce Mvula.

As a unit, it’s a slightly strange combination and what I mean by that is usually, if teams have a target shooter you’re trying to ping the ball into, that’s the person who scores the vast majority of the goals.

It’s something we saw with Surrey Storm against Thunder in Round Three; Sophie Kelly and Emma Magee were the two goal attacks used by Storm and they scored just six goals between them to Peace Proscovia’s 62!

When it came to Thunder’s attacking unit, Joyce Mvula shot 50 goals and Eleanor Cardwell 26 during that Round Three match. So, Thunder still have the target, but they also have a goal attack who will consistently back you up with a high volume, and that’s a nightmare to defend against.

So far this season, there’s not been a set of defenders able to shut down both Joyce Mvula and Eleanor Cardwell. However, Thunder’s next match versus Saracens Mavericks will no doubt present a greater test, with the likes of Jodie Gibson and Razia Quashie matching up in the circle. It will be an intriguing battle.

Nat Metcalf is back in Superleague and showing her international quality (Image credit: Touchlinepics Sports & Event Photography )

The next element to Thunder’s attacking line-up and its success so far, is the arrival of Natalie Metcalf.

The wing attack position was a problem for them last year and in the last couple of games after arriving back from a niggle, Nat has made a huge difference.

She had 26 feeds alone during their 71-60 victory over Sirens on Monday night, the highest on court. She’s key in their playmaking and will continue to be against the top teams going forwards.

Nat also allows the others to do their jobs; Caroline O’Hanlon is looking back to her very best in the middle, trailing Metcalf, hitting the gaps and feeding effortlessly.

So, what’s key about Thunder’s attacking line-up now and why it’s going to be difficult for other teams this season, is the quality they have across the board.

Normally, when you face a target shooter you decide how you match-up individually on them and then you look to shut down the people in front of them. With Thunder, the question is how do you shut down all four of their options?

If you double and shut down Joyce Mvula, then Eleanor Cardwell takes over in terms of shooting and punishes you. If you focus on Nat Metcalf and have a wing defence that can match her, then Eleanor Cardwell just becomes the playmaker.

So, do you remove the double on Joyce Mvula and hope that your opponent doesn’t feed the ball one-on-one? Tactically, Thunder are a huge problem for teams.

With the schedule of matches Thunder have coming up, they’ll want to remain sharp in attack but will need to up their work in defence.

The return of veteran defender Kerry Almond from injury on Monday against Sirens was crucial in getting them over the line; with three intercepts and five turnovers, but Thunder will need to decide who complements her best.

Young Millie Sanders will continue to improve as the season goes on, but the key will be South African, Shadine van der Merwe who is very close to her return from injury.

Personally, I think Thunder have to play her at goal defence; they have a huge hole there with Emma Dovey stepping away this season and that’s where they will need some experience. It will then allow the likes of the talented Mille Sanders and Yomi Eza-Wilson to enter games with less pressure, watch, learn and thrive.

Kerry Almond is an experienced player in Thunder’s defensive end (Image credit: Ben Lumley)

Thunder’s unit defence, historically, has always been ruthless and so difficult to break down. They need to make sure they find their new style quickly, so they don’t have to rely on always putting extremely high goal tallies on the board.

We used to have a coach called Lyn Gunson, many of you will know of her and how incredible she was.

When she first came over from New Zealand and started coaching, she used to tell us that if you score 70 goals internationally, you’re going to win a game. If you score 60, you should be okay and if you score 50, you’re in for a fight. That lesson has always stuck with me, and you can see it happening across the Superleague.

Manchester Thunder’s first big test will come in Round Five, and the question is, can they keep the same amount of scoreboard pressure on against Saracens Mavericks?

Teams, coaches and fans should all keep an eye on the game. If Thunder can hit 70 again and Shadine van der Merwe arrives back in the next couple of weeks, every other team in the league should be worried because Thunder could become unstoppable.

The Vitality Netball Superleague season continues on Friday evening with Strathclyde Sirens’ meeting with Loughborough Lightning. The match will be streamed on the Sky Sports YouTube channel at 7.30pm.