news

Hurricanes vow to bounce back

14 March 2008

Loss ends season but Hurricanes vow to bounce back

After narrowly missing out on the Co-operative Superleague playoffs and a loss last weekend to Loughborough Lightning in the final encounter of the season, Hurricanes finished the season in fifth position having not taken their chances in crucial tight matches against the likes of playoff sides Team Bath and Team Northumbria.

The toughest season in Superleague history saw the top five sides battle it out to the last week of the season to confirm playoff spots, proving that the Co-operative Superleague is one of the fiercest competitions in the world of netball. 

Hurricanes coach Denise Holland was disappointed Brunel could not go out on a high against Lightning who finished the season top of the Co-operative Netball Superleague; “We competed in our last match of the season for three quarters 1^st, 2^nd and 4^th but let ourselves down during the 3^rd quarter, which of course is disappointing.  However, Loughborough were able to capitalise on their depth in the squad, playing all four very experienced shooters”.  She added; “I was pleased t

 hat defensively we were trouble for Loughborough and despite the score it was a hard fought match with some superb patches of play against the top of the table team”.

Hurricanes management and coaching staff now have the opportunity to reflect on a difficult season on the court but a hugely successful one off the court.  Once again Hurricanes continued to lead the Co-operative Superleague in crowd attendances with the largest following of any side.  Over 4000 people watched Hurricanes play this season at home and the launch of a new website and merchandise range has continued to develop Hurricanes commercial prospects.

Franchise Manager Neil Young reflected on this; “We put in a great deal of work last summer to strengthen the commercial aspects of Brunel Hurricanes and I am genuinely pleased with the progress that has been made off the court.  However, that’s a sideshow compared with the League table and our 5^th place finish is extremely disappointing.  Our focus for the future is to strip down the Netball Performance Programme and rebuild it so that it is a strong as Brunel’s Athletics Performance Programme, which resulted in a comprehensive victory for Brunel’s Athletics team in the UK Athletics Inter-Varsity Challenge against Bath, Loughborough, Birmingham and UWIC last month.  Our task is to replicate the world-class training environment that we have in athletics and to ensure that the Hurricanes team that takes to the court for the first game in Superleague IV is the best-prepared team that we’ve ever fielded.  We are confident that we have the ability and the will to achieve this.  Our plans will be announced over the coming weeks.”

There were more positives though for Brunel University netball as they continue to forge success as an elite netballing University.

Holland added; “Brunel Netball at University level has made tremendous progress this year with the 1^st team reaching the semi-finals of BUSA Championship for the first time in 7 years and the second team in the final of the BUSA Shield this weekend.  Two Brunel University students, Rhianne Mchale and Sam Dick played in the Co-operative Superleague this year and we expect the number of Brunel students in the Hurricanes squad to increase next year as the players’ hard work pays off. 

Match Statistics

Brunel Hurricanes

GS Vicklyn Jospeh, GA Lara Welham, WA Camilla Buchanan, C Sam Dick, WD Katie Nichols, GD Kate Mahony GK Naida Hutchinson.

Subs: Stefania Bello, Natalie Francis.

Changes:

2^nd Q: Natalie Francis to WA, Camilla Buchanan to C.

Score Statistics

Quarter Time Score:                     1^st                     2^nd                    3^rd                    4^th

(Lightning/Hurricanes)                  15-13                 11-11                16-5                 16-11

Progressive Score:                     15-13                 26-24               42-29                58-40

Shooting Statistics:

Brunel Hurricanes                     1^st                     2^nd                    3^rd                    4^th

Vicklyn Jospeh (GS)                 11/11                   8/9                    5/6                    8/9

Lara Welham(GA)                        2/2                    3/3                    0/0                    3/3          

Loughbourough Lightning            Overall             %

                                                            58/71               82%

Pos	Team	P	W	L	D	+	-	+|-	+/-	Pts
1	Loughborough Lightning	14	13	1	0	769	505	264	1.523	26
2	Team Northumbria	14	11	2	1	679	482	197	1.409	23
3	Team Bath	14	9	5	0	715	491	224	1.456	18
4	Mavericks	14	9	5	0	630	471	159	1.338	18
5	Brunel Hurricanes	14	6	7	1	611	545	66	1.121	13
6	Leeds Carnegie	14	5	9	0	555	740	-185	0.75	10
7	Celtic Dragons	14	1	13	0	482	753	-271	0.64	2
8	Northern Thunder	14	1	13	0	413	867	-454	0.476	2

Teams qualified for playoffs       

Next Match

Online Shop