Thunder beat Forest for second straight win
Manchester Thunder captain Amy Carter was named player of the match for the second game running
- Published
Manchester Thunder beat Nottingham Forest 81-65 in the Netball Super League for their second successive victory.
Thunder dominated the opening quarter and led 39-29 at half-time despite a Forest fightback.
The hosts eased to their win, with goal attack Elmere van der Berg scoring 52 goals and captain Amy Carter named player of the match.
Eight-time Olympic champion Usain Bolt was in attendance at Manchester's Belle Vue Arena.
Elsewhere, London Pulse sealed a comfortable 78-42 win against London Mavericks to remain unbeaten at the top of the table.
Both sides had two wins from two going into the match, but Pulse raced to a 40-19 lead at half-time and the Mavericks were unable to fight back.
Pulse wing-defence Zara Everitt was named player of the match.
The match between Cardiff Dragons and Birmingham Panthers, who were both searching for their first win, had to be abandoned because of an injury to Cardiff's Leah Middleton.
Cardiff confirmed on social media the fixture would be rearranged, and later added Middleton will have surgery on the unspecified injury.
On Sunday, defending Super League champions Loughborough Lightning got back to winning ways following their defeat by London Pulse last time out.
The Lightning led Leeds Rhinos 38-30 at half-time and extended that advantage to secure a 72-58 victory.
'It wasn't the prettiest' - reaction to Thunder win
Player of the match, Manchester Thunder captain Amy Carter: "We met them [Forest] pre-season and they blew us out of the water so it was really nice to put the work in and grind it out.
"Our strength is bringing through our younger players, it's really exciting that we can blend that in with our squad."
Manchester Thunder head coach Karen Greig: "I don't think it was a very pretty game! We were quite stagnant at times and played too wide so I'd like to see us taking the attack a little more.
"But we're still building, we're learning a lot from each game. We let them back in towards the end of the second quarter so we'll be honest about that and go back to the drawing board.
"But a 16-goal win at this point of the season, we'll definitely take it."
Nottingham Forest head coach Chelsea Pitman: "We can't rely on chasing down a lead, we need to start better.
"Thunder played really well and they were quite comfortable. But I am really proud of the team, we will go back and review it and go again in round four."
Best of the stats
Thunder's Van der Berg replaces Pulse's Olivia Tchine as the top scorer in the 2025 Super League, with 124 goals and a shooting accuracy of 85%.
Forest wing attack Brie Grierson led the way in the league for feeds in the opening two rounds, tallying 71 across the defeat by London Pulse and win against Cardiff Dragons. Grierson took her tally to 81 against Thunder - six clear of Pulse's Alicia Scholes in second - but both were passed on Sunday as Loughborough's Hannah Joseph surged to 99 feeds.
South Africa international Nicola Smith finally made her debut for Thunder having moved to the club from Loughborough Lightning, after missing the opening rounds with a broken arm.
Fixtures and results
Round three results
Friday 28 March
Manchester Thunder 81-65 Nottingham Forest
London Pulse 78-42 London Mavericks
Cardiff Dragons v Birmingham Panthers: Match abandoned
Sunday, 30 March
Leeds Rhinos 58-72 Loughborough Lightning
Round four fixtures
Friday, 4 April
Leeds Rhinos v London Pulse (19:00 BST)
Saturday, 5 April
Nottingham Forest v Loughborough Lightning (15:00 BST)
Cardiff Dragons v Manchester Thunder (19:00 BST)
Sunday, 6 April
London Mavericks v Birmingham Panthers (16:00 BST) - live on BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website and app, and on demand