by By James Reid
The Lightning boss of Loughborough, Vic Burgess, draws the ambition of her team, her third Netball -Super -League title in a row.
Burgess led the lightning to a historical defense of their title in 2024, when they swept the competitors Manchester Thunder 70-54 aside to become only the fourth who raised the trophy in a row.
Now Burgess has another piece of history in mind by being the first team to win three titles in a row, and the northeast northeast believes that she has the right squad to do that.
“Our goal is to make the three-goal or back-to-back-to-back back. There is a lot of language that we talked about when we went to the previous season in October,” she said.
“We clarified nicely and early on what our goals were this season, and it is to be won and more history for our club by doing it three times in a row.
“There is a goal on our back, we just came in a row. People will want to beat us, but I see it as a privilege and also the players.
“We worked very hard to put ourselves in this position and hit the team, so we enjoy it.
“We know that we have to be every day when we train, every game we play, so we are as prepared as possible.”
Burgess has retained the core of the team that won the title of last year, with captain Nat Panagarry led out of the middle again.
She makes an unchanged middle of the mid-end together with the experienced duo Hannah Joseph and Beth Cobden and the emerging center Bella Baylis.
Burgess also welcomed fresh attack faces in the form of Samantha Wallace-Joseph and Berri Neil to replace Mary Cholhok and Rhea Dixon.
Dixon moved in New Franchise Nottingham Forest, while Cholhok, after the end of last season, was the top scorer of the league at Queensland Firebirds in Australia’s Suncorp Super Netball.
Wallace-Joseph moves after a controversial exit from New South Wales Swift, while Lightning drove a coup in Neil from the rival London Pulse.
After the Stalwart Ella Clark also returns, Burgess is happy about her new look.
“Mary was with us for five years and there will be a change there, but things change and people continue going,” she added.
“We needed a nice strong shooter that can turn to the position, but our playing style could look a little different.
“I had a good conversation with Sam. I had to understand who she was and what she could bring to our team. After these discussions it was clear that she wanted to do it well, she wanted to enjoy her netball, and I think we have some great players who can support her. It was a touch of fresh air.
“I have worked with Berri in the past and I know that she is very ambitious. She is really creative and her ability to publish and shoot, and the accuracy of her shot is really strong. For me it was a child’s play to speak to Berri and bring them on board this season. “
Burgess also added the gold medalist Jodie Gibson and the South African shadows van der Merwe to their defense.
She is confident that her team can rise to the relaunch of the Super League for the 2025 season, whereby other games are played in Arena and all games are available on television.
She added: “It feels bigger. There are many more funds in the players themselves. There are more games in arenas, hopefully there are more spectators at the venues that can cheer us on. I don’t think you can make a game experience in an arena. “
