Netball Superleague 2019: Wasps beat Sirens, Thunder lose to Bath & Mavericks win

Wasps have now guaranteed a home semi-final fixture

Defending Superleague champions Wasps went six points clear at the top of the table with a hard-fought victory over Strathclyde Sirens in Glasgow.

The win guarantees a play-off semi-final at home.

Manchester Thunder lost to Team Bath, while Mavericks kept alive their hopes of qualifying for the top four with victory over an in-form Severn Stars and Lightning beat London Pulse.

Surrey Storm's dip in form continued as they fell to defeat by Celtic Dragons.

Wasps head coach Mel Mansfield said: "It was an interesting game, we wanted to get through it and build into our semi-final and we did that.

"It's all about the semi-final now for us and we're moving well toward our goals."

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Game of the week - Manchester Thunder 53-56 Team Bath

An off-colour Manchester Thunder missed the chance to secure a home semi-final tie after losing to a resurgent Team Bath, who have now done the home and away double over the Black and Yellows.

Bath bounced back from defeat by Mavericks last time out with a measured and controlled performance against second-placed Thunder, with coach Anna Stembridge's tactics working to perfection.

Their experienced England duo of Serena Guthrie in the centre court and Eboni Usoro-Brown in defence spearheaded Bath's calm approach in front of a vocal Thunderdome crowd.

Bath's Eboni Usoro-Brown (left) had a strong performance at goal defence against Thunder, frustrating their goal attack Kathryn Turner (right)

Top four crunch time

Four teams are battling for the three remaining semi-final spots, with one game of the regular season remaining.

Wins for Thunder, Bath in third and fourth-placed Lightning, who are level on 36 points, will deny fifth-placed Mavericks a position in the play-offs, as they are a further three points adrift.

Bath face arguably the toughest challenge against a marauding London Pulse, who have shown signs of real improvement in the last few rounds.

Lightning host Dragons and should come through that match unscathed, but the Welsh outfit have been a banana skin for a number of teams this season, and will head into the tie on the back of a good win over Storm.

Thunder travel to Storm in the knowledge that a win will almost certainly secure them second spot in the table and with it a home semi-final, because of their vastly superior goal difference.

Wasps finish the regular season with a trip to Midlands rivals Severn Stars, who will be looking to consolidate sixth position and equal their best finish in the league.

All final round matches begin at 18:00 BST on Saturday.

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From Lightning to Thunder(birds)

Beth Cobden (left) returned to action after tearing her ACL in July 2018, helping the Thunderbirds to their first win in more than two years.

The Super Netball season kicked off in Australia at the weekend, with a number of former Superleague players involved, including five England players.

It was a welcome return to the court for Commonwealth Games gold medallist Beth Cobden after she suffered a cruciate ligament injury playing for Loughborough Lightning in the Superleague Grand Final last summer.

In the off-season, Cobden joined Adelaide Thunderbirds alongside Jamaican former Lightning team-mate Shamera Sterling, with Roses colleagues Chelsea Pitman and Layla Guscoth also in the South Australia side's squad.

They helped the Thunderbirds to their first win in 27 games, beating last season's grand finalists West Coast Fever 61-60.

England shooter Helen Housby played for NSW Swifts in their 63-56 victory over Jo Harten's Giants, while Geva Mentor's new club Collingwood Magpies beat her former side and defending champions Sunshine Coast Lightning 57-43.

Ex-Wasps and Manchester Thunder attacker Natalie Haythornthwaite suffered a hamstring injury in pre-season and missed the opening game of the season.

Round 17 results

Friday, 26 April

Strathclyde Sirens 41-56 Wasps

Saturday, 27 April

Celtic Dragons 58-51 Surrey Storm

London Pulse 62-67 Loughborough Lightning

Saracens Mavericks 62-48 Severn Stars

Manchester Thunder 53-56 Team Bath