BLOG: Claire Maxwell

Sirens Claire Maxwell writes for The Netball Show.

Third season and third game in and we have experienced a bit of everything. Super10 was a fantastic event and a great start for us. Bath was a nail biter game where momentum kept swinging back and forth and we were disappointed to not get over the line in front of our amazing home crowd. And our third game was against a very fast and disciplined Thunder team who capitalised on any error we made. Next up we have Loughborough away and Dragons at home.

Loughborough have made big strides forward over the first few games under our former teammate Sara Bayman.  We had a great game against them in preseason but we know that history means nothing.  Since preseason, Sara has recruited well and there new combinations are strengthening.  This week in training we will be taking all our learnings from the Thunder game and develop a specific game plan to combat Loughborough’s strengths.

Our next home game is against Celtic Dragons on the 8^th of February and we can’t wait to get back out in front of our amazing home crowd.  It is always a great match against the Dragons as we know both teams won’t give an inch for the full 60 minutes. The have a familiar Welsh midcourt but at either end they have brought in some talented players.   Therefore, we will ensure our analysis is thorough and work hard to continue to improve our own connections.

As many people may know we have a new superstar in our team…she is full of tricks, dance moves and displays some show stopping sass.  Yes you’ve guessed it, I am talking about Serena our wonderful new hippo mascot.  Alongside, Serena we have two talented and experienced imports in Gia and Cat and a wealth of Scottish talent in our squad this year.

This blend of athletes makes this year extremely exciting for us, we have an opportunity to learn so much and bring a new brand of netball to our game whilst using Sirens as a platform to enhance our National team going into the World Cup in July.  The Superleague is getting better every year and we know we have to continue to raise our game to compete and what better way to do it than to play last year’s finalist Loughborough in our next game.

Looking forward to the challenge ahead already!