Monday 14 January 2019 10:58, UK
After 2019 season launched with a bang in Birmingham, eight of the 10 Superleague teams continued their domestic seasons in round two.
The final match of the round, Wasps vs Manchester Thunder, will be played on Wednesday March 6 however right now, Team Bath made it two wins on the bounce and Celtic Dragons impressed on the road.
On the international stage Tracey Neville's Vitality Roses started their quest for a first Quad Series title with a 54-41 win over the Silver Ferns while the Australian Diamonds shrugged off a slow start to prevail over South Africa.
The Quad Series now travels to London for rounds two and three with two days of back-to-back matches (January 19 and 20) including England facing South Africa and Australia , live on Sky Sports.
Week three of the Superleague will follow after with a full round of fixtures and our cameras will be in Bath where Jess Thirlby's side host Surrey Storm on January 28.
Sirens were one of the head-turners at Super 10 but they found themselves unable to replicate that winning-feeling back on home soil.
Cat Tuivati was the first player to put a point on the scoreboard for Sirens but they were behind after the first quarter, and were never able to battle back.
Sirens' player of the match Lynsey Gallagher said: "Coming off the back of last week we were on such a high, but we'll head back to the drawing board, determine areas we need to work on and build and go in to the next one raring to go."
Loughborough Lightning bounced back from their 30-goal opening-round loss to Wasps with a hard-fought win over Severn Stars.
Hannah Joseph's all-round individual performance earned her the player of the match award and praise from director of netball Sara Bayman, who was also pleased with her side's reaction to that Super 10 loss.
"I think we did a lot of work in the week about what went wrong against Wasps and I think the girls have really learnt from that loss and stepped it up this week," said Bayman.
"I think Nat Panagarry and Hannah Joseph had a great game with Jess Shaw making a big impact coming into that mix too and so I think we were able to control the centre court well which made a huge difference.
"Tuaine also had a great game especially towards the end, making lots of turnovers and to do that against such a tall shooter is very impressive and excellent from her."
In a fast and physical contest, Lightning turned around a narrow one-goal deficit after the first 15 minutes (12-13) to lead 25-22 at the half-time interval.
The third quarter saw Tuaine Keenan's proficiency in the defensive circle come to the fore and the home side developed a 38-32 lead developed with 15 to go.
The intensity grew by the minute in the final 15 as both sides battled for everything. While Stars enjoyed the early-quarter momentum, Lightning generated a swing it back and in the final minutes made sure their first home victory of the new term.
A powerful Saracens Mavericks side ensured that Surrey Storm weren't able to start their home campaign off with a victory at Surrey Sports Park.
With both sides falling on the wrong side of results at Super 10, bouncing back was the priority and it showed as the first quarter played out.
The opening 15 minutes would prove to to be the closest of the match as Storm kept Mavericks' pinned to an 11-7 advantage. After that, the visitors put their foot on the gas and not look back on the board.
Mavericks duly stretched out to a 10-goal advantage and Kathryn Ratnapala's outfit finished the first half 25-17 to the good.
In the third and fourth, Storm just couldn't contain their opponents. The combination work between Kadeen Corbin and George Fisher proved to be strong throughout the match and Mavericks' confidence pushed their lead to 41-28 advantage after three quarters.
The visitors hit the 50-goal mark with nine minutes left to play and a 20-goal victory sets them up very nicely for their next match against Loughborough Lightning.
For Storm, despite positive performances from Laura Morton and Yasmin-Hodge England, their quest for a first victory of the season goes on... and it doesn't get any easier with a trip unbeaten Bath in round three.
Celtic Dragons arrived in London and spoilt new franchise London Pulse's homecoming party with a confident display on the road.
Pulse announced their Superleague arrival with a nail-biting 51-49 win at Super 10 but Dragons, who have finished at the foot of the table for the last two seasons, showed their metal at the Copper Box.
The London-outfit went into the game boosted by the return to action of captain Ama Agbeze at GK. A tight first quarter played out until Dragons capitalised on a couple of mistakes and gained a 12-15 edge.
The second was where the visitors did the damage on the board with Nia Jones leading from the front. A purposeful 15 minutes saw the Welsh side take the quarter 20-7 and that generated a 35-19 half-time cushion.
Despite being in the unfamiliar position of front-running, Dragons remained committed to their cause in the second half. They won both quarters to ensure a head-turning 67-40 victory with shooter Kalifa McCollin stamping her mark on the outing by delivering 100 per cent accuracy in the circle (27/27). Chelsea Lewis worked a rate 90 per cent too (37/41).
Vitality Superleague Netball returns live on Sky Sports on Monday, January 29 when Team Bath host Surrey Storm. Before, the Quad Series continues with two matches on Saturday, January 19 and Sunday, January 20 on Sky Sports Mix and Arena.
