Brie Grierson – Back in Pink and Black

By Paul Prenderville

Some say never go back, but for Brie Grierson that was never an option when a decision needed to be made on the 2024 Netball Superleague season.

“I am so excited, when the opportunity arose it was an easy decision, I knew straight away I wanted to be a part of this and it’s been great ever since.

“I know most of the girls, and I have played with some of them as well so I wasn’t nervous about how I would fit into the group. The ones I didn’t know I have had the pleasure of getting to know through pre-season and they are a lovely bunch of girls.”

Brie Grierson

Grierson was one of three new recruits in the offseason and looks to have settled into a Wing Attack position, but also offers an option at Goal Attack. Three years on from leaving London Pulse, where she was part of the first ever squad for the 2019 season she will be back in the pink and black dress.

Only Olivia Tchine remains from that squad, but several of the squad are familiar faces having been in the club’s Pathway system during Grierson’s spell in London, teammates at other franchises and also the England set-up.

However it is a very different environment to the one she left, one that was embarking on it’s tentative first steps at the top level. In contrast it’s now a franchise under Sam Bird that is ready for the next step as netball in the UK prepares for professionalisation.

“I’ve played for Pulse before but they are definitely in a great place now. It’s been crazy to come back after a few years away and see the changes that have happened.

“To see where they are now, how sustainable the franchise is and how much talent and depth- through the age groups to Superleague, they are in such a good place in a big year for netball.”

The 26-year-old has impressed throughout her time in the NSL, most notably a three-year spell with her hometown Leeds Rhinos Netball where she was able to nail down a consistent run of games. That came after spells with Loughborough Lightning and Pulse, not to mention two of the more recent teams to fold in the competition.

Yorkshire Jets and Team Northumbria offered Grierson a chance to begin her career close to home, while her rich array of skills has always caught the eye. It also made her an ideal recruit for the summer when Chelsea Pitman and Sasha MacDonald departed, opening up a spot at Wing Attack/Goal Attack on the Pulse roster.

It meant not only a return to familiar surroundings for Grierson, but also a reunion with Jade Clarke, who gave us her insight into the new arrival.

“She is one of the original members of the Pulse team so she has that knowledge,” Clarke said. “She’s a great team player, a great person and great at driving a culture. As a player she’s got silky skills, she can do things that other players can’t.

“If you are going to win the league you need to have options, people that are really different to what you already have, Brie gives us that edge.”

Jade Clarke

Grierson made her second debut for the franchise in Saturday’s 56-40 defeat to Manchester Thunder. With Surrey Storm and Loughborough Lighting to follow in Round 2 and 3, there is no letting up in a start to the season that features all three teams that joined Pulse in the top four last season.

When it was put to her what she might offer a squad that came so close, Grierson had to pause and instead chose to focus on what impressed her most about the squad she has returned to.

“It has been exactly what I thought it would be. Standards are high and that’s what I needed and what I wanted.

“It sounds daft, but I was really impressed with their winning.

I came from a team that wasn’t really winning, and sometimes in close games it comes down to teams who know how to win, and Pulse showed they know how to win.

“They conceded the least amount of goals in the league, so the defence is not something to be messed with and I had the pleasure of having to do that. I didn’t want to go through that again, so if you can’t beat them, join them.”

With the whole squad determined to bounce back after defeat in Nottingham, the mentality that Grierson has found on her return will stand them in good stead. 

For Brie, It’s good to be back.