Tamsin Greenway, Karen Greig, Karen Atkinson and Jess Thirby on Superleague Finals weekend
Monday 19 June 2017 11:38, UK
Loughborough Lightning, Wasps, Manchester Thunder and Team Bath will battle it out at Birmingham's Barclaycard Arena to win the 2017 Vitality Superleague title, and we caught up with all four teams to discuss how the season panned out.
Loughborough head coach Karen Atkinson led her team to 17 wins from 18 games to top the standings and director of netball Tamsin Greenway and her Wasps squad marked their first season with a place in the final four.
Manchester Thunder head coach Karen Greig finished her first season in charge with a youthful squad impressing everyone with a third-placed finish, while Team Bath director of netball Jess Thirlby saw her franchise grab the final place on the final weekend of the season.
Here's their thoughts on the season so far....
Let me take you back to the start of the season, what were your expectations for 2017?
Karen Atkinson (Lightning) - Regardless of the squad I think everyone would have had the top four in their sights before playing any games and it was definitely a target for us. I knew we had the type of squad that could achieve that.
We weren't really spoken about in the pre-season, we had some mixed results and people were talking about Bath and their signings and the new franchises, so we flew under the radar.
It was always an aim but you never know how it will go until you get started.
Tamsin Greenway (Wasps) - Whatever team I have been at, the expectation has been to make the top four and that did not change when we came to Wasps and pulled the squad together.
On paper, I still don't think it is the best player-for-player squad but it is a squad that I thought could be successful and as a group, we decided that top four was the aim.
It was a puzzle fitting those players peaking and the youngsters in but having worked with so many of them before and adding some fresh ones, it has helped us.
Karen Greig (Manchester Thunder) - It was to build a squad that I thought would be capable of competing and coming in the top four.
We had a couple of players in our squad who have been in and around our Superleague squad for a couple of years but did not get much court time last year
We used those as the basis to build the squad around and then alongside our youngsters, who have come through the Thunder youth system, it was a really good foundation to build from.
Jess Thirlby (Team Bath) - We have made the top four in all but one campaign so that is our minimum standard, and that isn't to say we thought it would be easy, but as a team who have been afforded success, making that top four is what is required.
The last couple of seasons have been more competitive, but this year more than ever with coaches and players moving, a bit more financial backing, as well as new franchises, more teams have felt they could make the top four.
And what's been the story of your season?
Karen Atkinson - It was about getting into the top four, but as the season wore on and we won more and more games it became about can we now finish top, get the early semi-final and all the advantages that come with that.
People spoke about finishing top and the pressure that comes with that, but we don't feel that and have just taken each game as it comes.
We have had some unbelievably difficult games and come out on top. We've started well in some games but not so well in others, so the girls have had every type of game thrown at them.
We've had one defeat which I think done us some good to reflect on things, but the league has now gone and we have put finishing top to bed with the focus on this weekend.
Tamsin Greenway - To finish second was better than expected with the injuries that we had, but I am so happy with how the players pulled through and how we pushed on down the last part.
We only lost to other teams going for the top four and we didn't have any slip-ups against the teams. We also were the only team to beat Loughborough and we beat all four of the other top teams at some point.
If this was about winning the league it would be a different story but it was about making the top four, so for me it was about the journey.
Karen Greig - It was always going to be difficult starting the season, we didn't have Gabby or Amy for much training as they were away on U21 duty, so didn't have much preparation time to plot combinations.
Our first couple of games were about finding those combinations, so it wasn't too disappointing to lose. I actually thought it was a really good grounding for us and we learned a lot to go on a good run.
Jess Thirlby - We predicted it would come down to the final day and Storm and ourselves played our part in making sure there was something to play for!
Round 11 was a big turning point for us - it was now or never really. We had a lot of conversations with the group and with the senior players. There was a lot of good stuff in the first half of the season and our losses were very narrow, we never lost more than single figures.
We have been strong defensively all season but our scoring went up and our mid-court and attack stepped up to create opportunities. It was about building on the successes of the early part of the season but we could not keep dropping points and it was a fantastic turnaround by the players and the staff - we have come a long way.
How do you feel you are playing heading into the weekend?
Karen Atkinson - For the majority of the first part of the season we had a stable starting line-up and for the Wasps game [their only defeat] it was the first time we had to change our line-up quite a bit due to injuries.
It was good for the girls to adapt a bit and to still only lose to a really high calibre side like Wasps by a few goals without playing our best netball was really good.
We refocused for the back end of the season and took our games towards the end of the season as semi-finals.
Playing Storm in our final game who had something to play for was a really good dry run for the semi-final and for us to put 71 goals on the board has given us lots of confidence.
Tamsin Greenway - I was pleased to play Bath, the best defensive team, and everyone who comes to the Ricoh wants to take us down so they were no different.
But over the last two games we have only let in 35 goals in each game, so we are in the best form we could be in and I couldn't have asked for a better end to the season.
Karen Greig - We are going into final four weekend confident. We have watched a lot of video, watched a lot of comparisons and looked hard at ourselves at the improvements that we need to make.
We learned from every game, we always said the second half was going to be very different to the first as you get another shot at teams, you get to do your homework and have a look at them as teams have looked at us.
Jess Thirlby - They are flying at the moment and are really looking forward to the weekend. Finals weekend throws up anything, you have to leave the league season behind and start from scratch.
We are not fearing anyone, other than Loughborough we have beaten everyone this season and we want to get over the line against them
Seven out of eight wins coming in Final Four is good and a great position to be in - momentum going into a Finals weekend can be everything.
Who has stood out for your team this season?
Karen Atkinson - I have been impressed with each of our players but for very different reasons. Peace Proscovia is the stand-out goalshooter in the league and has been an anchor for us at the front.
Our mid-court in Hannah Joseph, Beth Cobden and Nat Panagarry have been exceptional with a phenomenal workrate.
Jo Trip has been a really good leader and has stepped up again from last season helping to lead the defence and 18-year-old Vicky Oyesola has really made her mark at goal defence
Tamsin Greenway - The most consistent has been Hannah Reid, she has been exceptional and completely underrated, which has played into our hands.
I knew how good Bongiwe Msomi was going to be and after the first couple of weeks, she really settled into the style that we wanted.
It was a shame for Amy Flanagan that she got injured as she has been fantastic, while the partnership between Rachel Dunn and Nat Haythornthwaite has been fantastic.
I would love to have got George Fisher on the court a bit more but she's done a great job and against top opposition. Also, Fran Williams has come on in some of our hardest games and turned over so much ball.
Karen Greig - When I said who my captain was going to be at the start of the season I knew Emma Dovey was the strongest candidate of the whole squad and she has been ably supported by Kathryn Turner and Kerry Almond.
Between the three of them, they have been such a strong trio, the camaraderie and how hard the girls work and want to win for each other has really shone through.
Gabby Marshall has been a regular starting seven for us and she has done a great job showing maturity beyond her years. We are really pleased with her.
We have mainly used Amy Clinton as an impact shooter and she has never let us down and always steps up on court. She is one to look to in the future.
Jess Thirlby - You can't escape the defensive unit and not just Eboni (Beckford-Chambers) and Layla (Guscoth) but the work effort from the likes of Imogen Allison, a youngster who has come into the fold earlier than expected.
There is no doubt our defensive unit has been consistent from start to finish, with There iMia (Ritchie) in the centre position and Sam Cook and Vangelee Williams
I'm equally impressed with the journey the attacking end have been on. There have been questions but we have always been confident we had the players who could step up. Laura Rudland and Paige Reed have grown at this level too.
Rachel Shaw is such a talent and has a fantastic future. She has stepped up to lead that end of the court and with Chelsea Lewis a rock in our shooting circle.
You can follow all the action from Finals weekend on Sky Sports Mix with both semi-finals live from 3.30pm on Saturday and the final live on Sunday from 4.30pm
