Round 14 of the Netball Super League saw the conclusion of the regular season as AO Manchester Thunder clinched the top spot and a home semi-final with a dramatic victory over Loughborough Lightning. Thunder will face London Pulse, who secured second place and overtook Lightning with a win over Nottingham Forest, with just one point separating each of the top three. LexisNexis Dragons capped a strong season and their best finish since 2014 by beating London Mavericks away from home, while Birmingham Panthers avoided bottom place with a victory over NIC Leeds Rhinos.
Round 14 Results:
NIC Leeds Rhinos 43-67 Birmingham Panthers
Birmingham Panthers came out on top against NIC Leeds Rhinos, avoiding the bottom of the NSL with a 24-goal win. Panthers went into the half-time break 31-18 in front and continued to impress, ending any home hopes of a fightback. Betsy Creak scored 49 goals to power Panthers to their second consecutive victory. The visitors claimed all three of their victories away from home and restricted Rhinos to their lowest attacking return of the season. Charli Filder (9 rebounds) and Gabby Coffey (1 rebound) led a strong defensive line that tallied 5 intercepts, 9 pickups, and 15 deflections. Rhinos began their campaign with a 54-39 away win over Panthers, but that remained their only league win of the year.
London Mavericks 50-57 LexisNexis Dragons
LexisNexis Dragons finished with their best table position in over a decade, defeating London Mavericks 57-50 away from home. The Welsh side secured a fourth win in their last five to seal a fifth-place finish. The Experience Kissimmee Player of the Match, Bethan Dyke, fired 44 feeds out of the side’s 78, with Georgia Rowe sinking 21 goals. Mavericks, who have struggled with injuries throughout 2026, suffered their fourth loss to conclude their campaign. But the London side led in many defensive stats, with 15 deflections and 4 pickups, despite their high unforced error rate. In the attack end, Sophie Egbaran, who came from Birmingham Panthers to replace Emma Thacker, impressed in the shooting circle to be the most prolific on court, slotting 22 goals.
AO Manchester Thunder 68-67 Loughborough Lightning
Four-time champions AO Manchester Thunder took the top spot in the regular season with a thrilling 68-67 win over Loughborough Lightning. Despite the loss, Samantha Wallace-Joseph ended the season as the league’s most dominant shooter, leading the Lightning attack with 36 goals and 11 Amex Super Shots, while Lightning’s defenders impressed with 17 deflections and 6 gains. Lightning overcame the loss of centre Jess Shaw (injury) to hold a four-point lead heading into the final fifteen minutes. But the home side used their late fightback to level the score in the final minute of the game before Sophie Fawns scored from a Super Shot rebound, securing a thrilling last-gasp winner and claiming the home advantage for their play-off major semi-final.
Nottingham Forest 51-62 London Pulse
London Pulse secured their place in the Soft & Gentle Major Semi-Final with a convincing 62-51 win over Nottingham Forest. Pulse built their lead as Liv Tchine scored 48 goals, and their attack end missed only 2 goals throughout. In the Forest circle, Anya Williams led the attack with 31 goals. In the reigning champions’ controlled performance, captain Zara Everitt was named the Experience Kissimmee Player of the Match after taking 4 deflections from her side’s 15. In the London side’s defence end, Halimat Adio and Funmi Fadoju each made an impact with 2 rebounds, keeping Forest’s attack end below 85% shooting accuracy.
What’s Next:
Saturday 6th June- Finals Campaign Starts
AO Thunder will host London Pulse in the Soft & Gentle Major Semi-Final, while Loughborough Lightning will face Nottingham Forest in the Soft & Gentle Minor Semi-Final.
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