By guest columnist Peter Ryan

The LexisNexis Dragons ended their Netball Super League season with a tight 57-50 win over London Mavericks.

The final whistle brought the Dragons’ season to a close, ending a campaign that featured memorable performances and hard-earned victories.

The Dragons came into the contest following a thrilling encounter against the London Pulse, where victory eluded them after extra time.

At the beginning of the contest, the energy was high, with the home side building momentum, yet the Dragons worked their way back into the contest thanks to the shooting of Georgia Rowe and Niamh McCall.

The opening quarter ended all square at 11-11 , while a similar pattern followed in the next quarter, as it was incredibly tight, with a Jackie Newton and Leah Middleton-led defence holding firm, and the score at the break was 25-25.

After half-time, we saw the Dragons in full flight. McCall made vital shots, and the visitors moved the ball up well, orchestrated by Bethan Dyke, to take a commanding lead, of 43-35 in favour of the Dragons.

The fourth quarter saw the Mavericks fight back; however, it was too much to overcome, and the game finished 57-50.

The regular season could hardly have ended on a better note. With momentum, belief, and valuable lessons learned, the foundations are in place for an exciting future.

The stats tell the story of an incredibly tight contest. In terms of how many goals were scored, the London-based side held the advantage by one goal, with 42 compared to the Dragons’ 41.

However, the biggest difference came in the super shots, where the Dragons doubled the Mavericks’ total. Defensively, the Welsh side had the advantage with five rebounds and four interceptions. A massive difference in the game was the number of unforced errors: the Mavericks had 11, whilst the Dragons kept it low at five.

The Dragons finished fifth in the table after a solid campaign with six wins and eight losses; they scored 825 points but conceded 851.

Towards the end of the season, they picked up real momentum with big wins over the likes of Nottingham Forest and the NIC Leeds Rhinos.
With the foundations firmly in place, attention now shifts to the season ahead.

If this campaign was any indication, there are plenty of memorable moments and major results still to come.

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