Sky Sports netball pundit Tracey Neville expects to see Loughborough Lightning, London Pulse and Manchester Thunder battling for honours once again in the upcoming Netball Super League season.
Former England Netball head coach Neville – the sister of Sky Sports football expert Gary – appeared in her first episode as co-host of our weekly netball podcast Off The Court ahead of the sport making its return this coming weekend.
All eight Super League teams will be in action in the Netball Super Cup from 11.30am live on Sky Sports Mix, and Neville believes it will be hard for any of the up-and-coming teams to break into what has now developed into a well-established top three.
Last season’s Grand Final saw London Pulse beat Loughborough Lightning 53-45 after Lightning had defeated Manchester Thunder in the Preliminary Final, with the trio also filling the first three positions in the final table.
“Once you scalp one of the top teams, it changes everything in respect to confidence,” said Neville. “The thing for me at the moment is Loughborough Lightning have been renowned for getting into finals, they’ve had consistency. Pulse, very, very similar.
“Manchester Thunder, probably, when I look at it, have the best attacking [players]. It’s actually scary, but they’ve also got to work combinations, player satisfaction, getting them on the court.
“I think the top three will definitely be there. I think Loughborough, Pulse and Thunder will definitely be in the top three. The next bit is a little bit open for me, because what I saw of Nottingham Forest, I think they are building something that’s quite special there.”
Former England international Neville, who led the Roses to the gold medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, reckons the key for teams who are adding new talent is to ensure they build a strong foundation to the squad if they wish to give themselves the best chance of success.
She praised Chelsea Pitman’s work with Nottingham Forest, as an example of how to manage to do both when looking to establish a team to compete.
“We built [Melbourne] Mavericks off one squad sheet,” said Neville when speaking about her work with Melbourne Mavericks, her most recent coaching role. “These teams have been being built for years and a lot of the changeover has impacted some of the [teams] like [London] Mavericks.
“The changeover and all that can really impact, because you lose a lot of your brick and your cement. So then, when you add on quality players, you still haven’t got that sort of foundation – which, to be honest, fair dues to Chelsea, I think she built a great foundation on her first squad sheet. I think she did exceptionally there.”
Co-host Tamsin Greenway is also a decorated former England player who now juggles Sky Sports duties with her role as director of netball at London Mavericks.
She believes some of the other teams might just have enough to fight their way up to punch with the league’s powerhouses.
“It’s still an intriguing season,” said Greenway. “I think Forest will only get better. I’m intrigued to see what [NIC Leeds] Rhinos will do this season and you don’t write off your [LexisNexis] Dragons or your [Birmingham] Panthers. Sonia Mkoloma, in her first role as Panthers coach, and a young group as well who will just be tenacious. We played them in pre-season, they do not hold back.”
Netball returns to Sky Sports this weekend with all eight Super League teams in action in the Netball Super Cup from 11.30am on Sky Sports Mix.
Subscribe to Off The Court with Tracey Neville and Tamsin Greenway on Apple Podcasts or Spotify for the best netball coverage in 2026.
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