Saracens Mavericks host Severn Stars in Vitality Netball Superleague live on Sky Sports
Coverage of the Vitality Superleague continues on Saturday when you can watch Mavs v Stars on the Sky Sports YouTube channel from 3.45pm
Saturday 27 April 2019 21:46, UK
Saracens Mavericks' productive Easter weekend means that, with two rounds to go, they remain in the running for a potential play-off spot. However, Severn Stars will be arriving in Colchester ready to ruffle the home side's feathers on Saturday afternoon.
Mavs' back-to-back victories over Dragons and Team Bath secured them six much-needed points and, as a result, they are just three points behind fourth-placed Lightning.
Following their vital victories Kat Ratnapala hailed her side for "stepping up and delivering" but she knows that their job is far from over. Once again they're faced with a must-win match and a match that has zero room for error, live on Sky Sports.
"There's still lots to do. Stars did a good job against Storm so there is still lots of work to do but it has given the players belief and that is the main thing," said director of netball Ratnapala after Round 16.
"We had a run of losses and it is a nice feeling to get a win. We came fifth last year and I didn't want to have the same outcome and it may still be the same outcome. We have still got a job to do."
Before the Big Easter Weekend, Mavs had won just one of their previous five matches. It was a run that came after a highly-fruitful first nine rounds (W7, L2) and resulted in Sunday's crunch clash with Jess Thirlby's outfit.
When it comes to their "job still to do", their first task will be to try and quell a Stars side that are hitting their straps and playing with confidence.
Sam Bird's team may have lost to Team Bath on Easter Saturday but their 51-46 win over Surrey Storm the day after, saw them combine a destructive defensive display with an edge going forwards.
The squad battled a sickness bug too, meaning they had to field a brand new mid-court combination against Storm, and the result allows them to arrive at Round 17 with four wins out of five under their belts.
In terms of the Superleague table, Stars' focus is fixed on making sixth place their own and in the process, clinching one of the remaining places at the British Fast5 Netball All-Stars Championship. With two games to go, their head coach has high expectations of her players.
"For us we are looking to win both of those games," noted Bird. "We are not afraid to contest with Mavs and we have Wasps as our final game. We want to shake things up and really show that we're a strong club."
Stars have already highlighted exactly how they "shake things up" when they toppled Manchester Thunder in Round 14.
The victory showed that they aren't fazed by one of the 'big' sides nor are they thrown off course by playing away from home. Belle Vue is one of the toughest places to go and yet they came away with all three points and disrupted Thunder from the word go.
Tamsin Greenway's Match Focus
For Stars, they need Iona [Darroch] back because I don't think that they can win this game without her... it messes up too much of their line-up if she's not there. That's key.
Raz Quashie and Jo Trip, if they play as they have been playing, then they will win ball off the Severn Stars attack end. I think Mavericks need those two to be firing and there's no reason to say that they won't be again.
If Stars do [have a full line-up] then Mavericks have got to work out how they beat Sam Cook and Jodi-Ann Ward. It's definitely going to be about the defensive ends, the two circles and who's going to beat whom.
I honestly think that Mavericks are going to come out on top of this but I think that Stars will give them a really good run for their money.
As Greenway mentions, the duels in both circles will be fascinating watches. The quartet of defenders - Ward, Cook, Quashie and Trip - will not only put pressure on their opposing shooters but on both teams' mid-court attackers.
Neither set can get caught up having doubts, instead they must feed the ball with confidence and conviction. If one centre and wing-attack pair wobble, then that will signal problems for their side. In the face of roving and dynamic defenders they must back themselves to the hills.
The last time that Mavs and Stars met, Mavs ran out 64-46 winners at the University of Worcester Arena. However nine rounds on, it's unlikely that such a margin of victory (either way) will be seen.
On that day, by their own admission, Stars didn't put the 'consistent performance' down that they wanted to and Mavs weren't under the type of pressure that they are now.
Ultimately, top-four context for the home side and the confidence that Stars are arriving with, should make this Round 17 clash an enthralling watch.
Enjoy Saracens Mavericks' meeting with Severn Stars on Saturday from 3.45pm on Sky Sports Mix with the first centre-pass taking place at 4pm. Also, Sky Sports will be showing every game of the 2019 Vitality Netball World Cup in July.
