NSL 2024: LEEDS RHINOS v LONDON PULSE – MATCH PREVIEW
Who – Leeds Rhinos
When – Friday March 22, 7.30pm – live on Sky Sports YouTube
Where – Allam Sports Centre, Hull
London Pulse are out to return to winning ways in Round 6 of the Netball Superleague on Friday night with a trip north to face a Leeds Rhinos team in need of a victory themselves in Hull.
If you can’t get to the game you can watch on Sky Sports YouTube channel, with first centre pass at 7.30pm – click here to make sure you are bookmarked for the action.
Defeat at home to high-flying Severn Stars in Round 5 left a bitter taste for Coach Sam Bird and the squad especially after an impressive three-game winning run.
Not that anybody is losing sight of the fine work done in dominant victories over Team Bath and Surrey Storm alongside the display against Loughborough Lightning that set down a marker for the season.
Those wins showcase what Pulse are about and it will be those aspects that have been part of the hard work designed to put things right when they hit the road for the third time this season.
They will face a Rhinos team seeking a second win of 2024, having suffered defeat at Loughborough Lightning last time out, their solitary victory remains a big 39-goal home win against Strathclyde Sirens, leaving them 8th in the standings.
That victory came in Huddersfield and followed a narrow one-goal defeat to Cardiff Dragons in Sheffield. Friday’s game will take place at the Allam Sports Centre in Hull and three home games in three different cities represents the Rhinos commitment to bringing netball back to Yorkshire.
Joyce Mvula will once again carry a major threat. The former Manchester Thunder shooter is playing regularly again after a disappointing spell with Central Pulse in New Zealand, and she sits third in the goal scorer standings.
At the other end of the court, Geva Mentor has returned to the NSL and provides a huge amount of experience having called time on her iconic England Roses career.
After the performance in Round 5, Bird will have to consider whether she makes changes to her starting seven having admitted standards slipped for the Stars defeat.
“I don’t think we started the way right, the captain had to bring in the warm up as we had been a little bit wasteful with ball and we said we were going to have to tighten up, and we didn’t,” Bird told us after the game last Saturday.
Teenager Izzi Phillips impressed again when coming off the bench, while Player of the Match against Stars Nichole Taljaard has shown up impressively in the attacking circle, adding an option at Goal Shooter that Bird had not anticipated when signing the South African.
“What has been really good about Nichole is that her impact in training has been even when she hadn’t had lots of court time,” Bird said.
“In fact it was through a little bit of experimenting at training, with her in at shooter.
“I have to say when I recruited her, in my brain I was thinking Goal Attack/Wing Attack. But in training it gave Nichole a chance to go in as shooter and she was really strong and we’ve been able to reward her with court time in that position where she has shown her creativity
“A great example of a player being prepared to play anywhere and then really standing out and performing.”
Pulse will be looking for a performance across the court on Friday, with coverage on the Sky Sports YouTube channel under from 7.25pm and first centre pass at 7.30pm.
Jade Clarke is continuing to work with London Pulse staff to complete a strong return to play and will not be available for today’s match. Training Partner Jada Autumn will enter the matchday 12 as an injury replacement.
NEXT FIVE FIXTURES
Round 7 – Cardiff Dragons, Away
Round 8 – Strathclyde Sirens, Home
Round 9 – Saracens Mavericks, Home
Round 10 – Team Bath Netball, Home
Round 11 – Severn Stars, Away
THE OPPONENTS – LEEDS RHINOS
Head Coach: Liana Leota
Last Season: 7th (W4 D2 L12 F946 A1066 Pts 14)
Last Five Results
L 41-57 v Severn Stars, Round 1
L 44-53 v Saracens Mavericks, Round 2 (Away)
L 54-55 v Cardiff Dragons, Round 3, (Home)
W 73-34 v Strathclyde Sirens, Round 4 (Home)
L 55-71 v Loughborough Lightning, Round 5 (Away)
History – Bringing the NSL back to Yorkshire, Leeds Rhinos Rugby League club added netball to their portfolio in 2017. After starting out with a team in the NPL, they made their Superleague debut in 2021 storming all the way to the semi-finals under Dan Ryan on the back of a fourth-placed finish. They lost to Loughborough Lighting in the last four and then had to settle for fourth after defeat to Manchester Thunder in the battle for bronze.
Since then, they have missed the play-offs after finishing 6th in 2022 and then 7th in 2023.
Last Time Out – Lost 55-71 v Loughborough Lightning (Away).
Starting Seven: GK – Mentor; GD – Davies; WD – Howard; C – O’Hanlon; WA – Hall; GA – Jones; GS – Mvula.
Squad – Geva Mentor, Zoe Davies, Michelle Magee, Sarah MacPhail, Cassie Howard, Caroline O’Hanlon, Celyn Emanuel, Amelia Hall, Emma Magee, Harriet Jones, Amy Braithwaite, Joyce Mvula.
HEAD TO HEAD
Played – 5; Leeds Rhinos – 1; London Pulse – 4.
Pulse have enjoyed a terrific down the years against an always competitive Rhinos squad. Sam Bird’s team have won each of the last four matches, after losing the first ever meeting between the teams held behind closed doors at Studio 001 in Wakefield.
After two closely fought wins in 2022, Pulse completed an NSL double in 2023, racking up a 64-48 win in Nottingham at Season Opener, and following up with a 66-34 win at the Copper Box.
The teams first met in the 2021 season, when one of the games was postponed due to COVID protocols.
Last 5 meetings
Round 11, 2023 – London Pulse 66-34 Leeds Rhinos
Round 1, 2023 – Leeds Rhinos 48-64 London Pulse
Round 20 2022 – London Pulse 52-45 Leeds Rhinos
Round 10, 2022 – Leeds Rhinos 44-58 London Pulse
Round 8, 2021 – London Pulse 38-40 Leeds Rhinos
Round 6 Fixtures
Saturday, 2pm – Strathclyde Sirens v Saracens Mavericks
Saturday, 5pm – Cardiff Dragons v Severn Stars
Saturday, 5pm – Manchester Thunder v Loughborough Lightning – live on BBC iPlayer
Saturday, 6pm – Surrey Storm v Team Bath