Four-time Netball Super League Champions, Manchester Thunder have been a part of the Netball Super League since it began in the 2005/06 season. As one of the most successful franchises in the league, it is no surprise that Thunder regularly finds themselves at the top of the table in contention for the title.
The relaunch of the Netball Super League for the 2025 season is an extremely exciting venture for players, franchises and fans alike that will drive the sport towards professionalisation. With player salaries looking to increase by at least 60% and games to be broadcasted on major viewing platforms, the NSL is hoping to become the most vibrant and engaging netball league in the world. 50% of games will be played at major arenas across the country in the hope of attracting new fans to the sport. I spoke to Manchester Thunder players, Amy Carter and Elia Mccormick, ahead of their first arena game at the AO Arena in Manchester against Loughborough Lightning on Sunday 16th March.
When asked about the professionalisation of the sport, Amy Carter, who typically plays C, WA, or WD position, expressed her excitement. “It’s a really exciting time for netball as we’ve gone from last year not being fully professional and we’re now starting the journey of professionalisation”. Carter did note that “It’s not all going to happen at once and it’s a going to be a gradual process” but that the revamped Netball Super League “will be a lot more exciting for viewers as well with a few new rules coming in with tactical changes and the introduction of the Super Shot”. The two-goal Super Shot was first introduced in the Australian Netball League and allows players to score two points from a dedicated area on the edge of the shooting circle during the last five minutes of each quarter in the game.
As a doctor at Salford Royal Hospital, Carter has to balance both netball and her full-time job. It was interesting to hear the similarities between Carter’s skills on court and off-court in her full-time job; “There’s loads of transferable skills [between being a doctor and playing netball], the two careers compliment each other…from teamwork, working under pressure and having to make quick decisions, all those things between the two and I can take it from both and work it in”. I asked her how she managed to juggle both, to which she replied “There’s loads of organisation and planning that goes ahead, just need a lot of people saying yes and giving time off to be able to go to training like Wednesday mornings I have off work so I can actually come to training but it does take a lot of hard work”. Similarly, Amy Carter’s teammate Elia McCormick, explained that “last year we had Wednesday morning trainings but as I work full-time, there are some things that I couldn’t commit to whereas this year I’ve taken that extra step and been able to commit to those extra trainings”. McCormick has been playing for Manchester Thunder for four years, since becoming part of the Talent Pathway at the age of fourteen.
The relaunch of the Netball Super League has been powered by the ongoing momentum and excitement surrounding netball. I asked McCormick what professionalisation would mean to her as a player: “Trainings are becoming much more intense and even off-court is becoming more ramped up because that’s where we need to be, to be the best we can and it’s really exciting to see how much it has grown and where we’re going”. Off-court activities such as television rights and weekly broadcasting are being highly prioritised under the new Super League to engage untapped fanbases whilst also maintaining the loyal fan base that clubs such as Manchester Thunder have already built. McCormick noted that “It’s such a better sport as well for the fans to get involved with and to hopefully reach that extra audience that we might not have before, so it is really good to see”.
Anyone who has played netball understands the physicality, agility and endurance that the sport requires yet this continues to go unrecognised in the world of sport where netball is dubbed ‘a boring, non-contact sport”. For this reason, McCormick voiced how important it is to reach those wider audiences; “the first stepping stone is having the recognition from people who have not watched netball before, when I talk to people at work everyone has layed netball whether it’s in primary school or high school but they always say that they didn’t realise the sport was that physical or that fast”. Amy Carter expressed similar feelings to how netball is often mistakenly perceived; “most people who come to netball are actually surprised at how fast-paced it is…whenever I have taken someone from work to come and watch one of my games they’ve always been like its so much more fast-paced and their images of netball are watching their sister on a rainy Wednesday night so I think they’re surprised at the athleticism and the ambience within the arenas”.
There is no doubt that the updated version of the Super League comes at a time when women’s sport is starting to receive the recognition it finally deserves. On that point, I asked Carter and McCormick about the rise of mixed and men’s-only netball in a sport, and perhaps the only sport, that has been dominated and built by women. Manchester Thunder Netball has a mixed team and men ‘s-only team, Manchester Spartans. Since being founded in 2020, they have already established themselves as one of the teams to watch, with NSL players and international stars in their starting line-ups.
However, the inclusion of men in netball has not been without its critics. Some argue that female inclusion in other sports such as football and rugby have yet to reach absolute parity, therefore why should a female-led sport such as netball make exceptions? To this opinion, Carter replied: “What I’ve always really liked about netball is the diversity in every aspect and I think bringing up the male game is a good thing, it will challenge us. We have male training partners come in and help us train and play against them, it’s a different style of netball but it’s interesting and it’s quite good for us when we play against the men because they are a little rangier or more reactive on the ball”.
Finally, I asked McCormick how she envisages the future of netball in the next five years. “I feel like the Olympics would be everyone’s main dream, but mainly, I want to see the England team carry on growing. We’re already such a good, strong team but being able to have the facilities to reach for that top number one, number two ranking in the world is really important”. For a sport that has long dominated former Commonwealth countries, Elia added: “also having different countries playing netball and spreading that awareness, you’ve got some teams that are amazing at basketball, why can’t they be great at netball?”. In answering the same question, Carter responded; “I see it as hopefully arenas filled out, every single game being filmed and watched because that’ll make it so much easier to follow a team…if you can just watch every single game and build that following”.
The move to professionalisation will not happen overnight, and players, fans, and franchises understand this. Yet the relaunch of the Super League is a significant step in the right direction for a sport that little girls (and boys!) have played and loved across the world. On a personal note, witnessing the growth of netball has been inspiring to see, as I am sure it has been for the thousands of other young people who grew up playing the sport on a wet, concrete surface during the depths of winter for the sport they love. Manchester Thunder kicks off their NSL campaign on Sunday 16th March at the AO Arena against Loughborough Lightning, with tickets available here.
