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Jacob Reilly-Cooper

Men's Development Newsletter

Updated: Sep 25, 2022

After a flurry of activity and build up during the EMMNA Summer Series fixtures, our men's teams from all over the country converged on Loughborough University to play out another incredible weekend at our UK National Championships.


The squads were set and the draw laid out as per the below pools, with three new teams joining - Army Netball, Man-x Rams and Highland Fever, all of whom entered the fray this year in the men's division and were on the up and ready to shine.

Pool 1

Pool 2

Army Men's

Norfolk United

North East Men's

Man-x Rams

Nottingham Trent University

Northern Titans

NW Spartans

Highland Fever

Knights

London Giants

Day 1 got off to a blistering start, with a Pool 2 game to be remembered between newcomers Highland Fever and 3rd place finishers from last year's Nationals Northern Titans, with the final score coming out as a draw, setting the tone in blowing this pool wide open for anyone to capitalise on.


Over in Pool 1, top seeds Spartans and Knights progressed through their opening games well, but what was great to see was the progression that both teams had made from the year before, along with the injection of new talent across both squads.


The first close game of the day in Pool 1 came just after lunch, with newbies Army facing off against a much improved North East Men's team, for a close battle with North East just prevailing on top.


Nottingham Trent were another team who showed marked improvements since 2021, putting up dogged performances and grinding out some great results to finish 3rd in Pool 1.


In Pool 2, top seeds London Giants showed their skill and progressed well throughout the day with the only team getting close to them being Highland Fever, who were a continuous source of great entertainment in their games throughout the day. This was shown with another great matchup between them and the on-the-rise Man-x Rams team, where Fever just pulled ahead to take the win.


Game of the day in Pool 2 though has to go to Man-x Rams v Norfolk United. These incredibly well-matched teams were separated by just one point at the close of play, with Man-x Rams just clinching the victory in the dying seconds.


The blockbuster fixture of the day in Pool 1 was the top of the table decider between Knights and Spartans. Spartans came out with a great game plan, but Knights took control of the game and despite a little wobble late on, came away convincing victors.


Final standings after day 1 were as follows:

Position

Pool 1

Pool 2

1

Knights

London Giants

2

NW Spartans

Highland Fever

3

Nottingham Trent University

Northern Titans

4

North East Men's

Man-x Rams

5

Army Men's

Norfolk United

The second day kicked-off with games being played out for positions 5-10, the 5th and 6th place playoff between Titans and NTU being the pick of the bunch. Full final standings are shown below.


We were then onto the semi-finals, where Giants and Knights managed good victories over Spartans and Fever respectively. Both games showed the real strength and progression of men's netball in the UK, with many athletes playing in these games representing our national team England Thorns. The shooting end for Spartans in particular is always a force to be reckoned with, and Highland Fever being such a new squad exhibiting strength and passion across the court is really exciting, showing great depth in the talent our sport has to offer.


The big final showcased arch-rivals London Giants and Knights Netball - a repeat of last year's final fixture both in terms of teams and game-script. Giants sprinted out of the blocks taking a big lead early on, only for Knights to stay calm and claw it back to level-pegging just before half-time. Giants, however, proved too strong and pulled away in the third quarter which put one hand on the trophy. Knights fought hard right up until the final whistle, but Giants came away clear victors and 2022 EMMNA National Champions.


Final standings:

Placing

Team

1st

London Giants

2nd

Knights Netball

3rd

NW Spartans

3rd

Highland Fever

5th

Northern Titans

6th

Nottingham Trent University

7th

Man-x Rams

8th

North East Men's

9th

Norfolk United

10th

Army Men's

A huge congratulations must go to London Giants, and all teams who competed so well to make this tournament so special for all involved. With existing clubs already in place who just weren't ready for this year, and new teams who have already been inspired to start-up post-Nationals (in Surrey and Bristol!), we know that the sport will continue to flourish and 2023 is going to be bigger and better than ever!


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