With just days until the Mike Greenwood Trophy tournament at Belle Vue Stadium in Manchester, the Celtic Dragons are looking forward to their first hit out of pre-season match play.
This Saturday sees the 5th Mike Greenwood Trophy event. Five teams including the Celtic Dragons, Hertfordshire Mavericks, Team Bath, Wasps and hosts Manchester Thunder will go head to head in a series of matches throughout the day. This will be a thrilling taster of the new look Vitality Superleague which kicks off in February 2017.
Celtic Dragons Vice-Captain Kelly Morgan explains how the tournament will be a fantastic opportunity to not only study the other teams but to see how the Dragons look in pre-season mode:
“It is a fantastic opportunity to suss out the opposition, and it is great for us to have a kind of bench mark to see where we’re at, and what we’re pushing for in our preseason training.
“We get the opportunity to try out all different combinations in the areas of the court, given that we’ve got a lot of play time.”
Wasps Netball are one of the three new teams to join the Superleague, who will offer a sneak preview of their squad at the Mike Greenwood event.
“We are really excited for this tournament and for the season ahead,” says Morgan, who has joined the franchise for her 6th season.
“Especially now there’s been quite a mix in the league with new teams joining, players switching teams and a lot of old players going to the ANZ.
“This has given room for other players in the England set up and overseas to take part, so I think it’s going to look very different.
“I do not know if anyone knows what’s to come. I think everything’s to play for.”
The vibe in the Dragons camp is focused and the squad have formed a tight bond already, according to Vice-Captain Morgan. The squad have taken part in several team building activities and will continue with rigorous strength and conditioning as well as on-court training sessions.
“We have two new overseas imports this season and quite a lot of younger players within our team as well,” says Morgan.
“So even though we are coming up against new opposition, we will also be putting out some new opposition for them, too.
“We are feeling very confident going into this tournament. We will keep building on our training and look at how we fair up in the tournament. Then we will be ready to hit the court come February.”
Tickets are on sale at a price of £15 for the event. Get your tickets here: http://tickets.sky.com/Netball/Mike-Greenwood-Trophy
ENDS
