SINGAPORE — The Deloitte Netball Super League 2023 will kick off this weekend, 4 Feb, with defending champions Blaze taking on last year’s runners-up Sneakers in this season’s opening match at noon at the Our Tampines Hub.
This year, the league will feature six local clubs, Blaze, Sneakers, Fier Orcas, Mannas, Swifts, and Llabten. Brunei and Thailand international teams will be joining from Round 2, which is set to begin at the end of Feb, including the addition of a Fiji player each to the six local clubs.
There will be two other matches scheduled for this Saturday. Orcas will take on Mannas at 2 pm. Orcas won the third and fourth placing match last year, 58-47, against Mannas.
Swifts will be up against newcomers Llabten in the final match of the day at 4 pm. Llabten qualified for this year’s Netball Super League after they won a two-legged playoff match (60-55, 59-39) against Marlins, who finished the 2022 campaign in sixth position.
Blaze won all their ten league matches (refer to the 2022 league table above) and cruised past Mannas 61-36 in the semi-finals. In the 2022 Netball Super League Finals, Blaze defeated Sneakers 59-40.
Ahead of their big clash this weekend, Blaze player Yew Shu Ning remained focused and reminded her teammates, “One step at a time and stick to the basics!”
For Sneakers’ Shannon Tan relishes the chance to go up against the league’s favourite and aims to be a better player this year by gaining match experience.
“I’m looking forward to the opportunities to pit our skills against our opponents and overcome them together with my teammates. I hope to work on my areas for improvement and become a more consistent player over this season,” expressed Tan.
