Netball Super League: London Pulse head coach Sam Bird had ‘no doubt’ they would beat Loughborough Lightning in Grand Final | Netball News

London Pulse head coach Sam Bird said his team “without any doubt” that they would win the grand final of the Netball Super League and revealed that she was already planning to defend the title next season.

Having dominated the regular season, Pulse defeated Loughborough Lightning 53-45 at the O2 on Sunday to take the trophy for the first time in the history of the club.

Bird has now been with the club for five years, after taking over on one side that finished the bottom of the League in 2019.

“There was really no doubt that we were not going to win today,” said Bird. “Really in the locker room, if we did everything correctly that we could do, it was up to us to lose it rather than not winning it.

“We knew that if we made our bases well, that we have correctly our connections, we have this incredible defense and everyone knows.

“But we have enough respect for Loughborough to know that they can flow shots in two points. Sammy and Ella were both very strong today and they were intelligent enough in the selection, so we could not move for the ball.

“We always knew that two -point shot was a threat and it is one of the new rules that is quite difficult for coaches, because you can never relax.

“I am super proud because we are the youngest team in the league, so to win just shows where we can go from here and my immediate thought was:” We win this next year “.

The result was very special for Pulse because he was in their hometown in front of a record crowd, 10 years from the final was played for the first time at their ordinary home, The Copper Box Arena.

“I have a real affinity with London,” added Bird. “I went to university in London. I worked in London all my life.

“I have the impression that this is where I should be and since then, we have just recruited talent, found our talent, have raised the talent by the way and you have just seen the proof of five years of hard work.

“It’s absolutely incredible to play here, it’s so strong. It’s incredible, it’s the sport we love and that’s what we want. We want more and more, and it was a very special opportunity for everyone.”

The captain of the Zara Everitt team has also been with Pulse since 2020 after spending a single season in Lightning and was a coherent artist in the side.

But it is also special for her, because not only has she won alongside her friends, but also her 16 -year -old sister – Darcie.

“It’s so surreal – if you could have written it, then that’s what you would have done,” said Everitt. “It feels like it was so long to come, we worked so hard.

“We had so much support, especially this year, and we expect a real expectation that we would win, so the fact that we were able to absorb all this and publish such a great performance today, I am so happy.

“But it’s a crazy feeling [to be playing with my sister]I never really believe when she walks on the ground next to me because I still think she is 12 years old. She had a huge impact and it just shows the depth we have in the team.

“Hali’s [Halimat Adio] Obviously, does a phenomenal work for us all season, but Darcie was there, was ready and ready to leave. I was super proud of her and all the other girls too. “”

For lightning, however, it was sorrow because their dream of the first champions of the League escaped the last quarter.

This year marked the 10th year of Captain Nat Panagarry with the team and its seventh final with them. Despite the devastating result, Panagarry was excited for the future of the netball after an ecstatic final for fans.

“It will sting for a long time, but I think it ages you a little, you realize that someone wins, that someone loses and that you sometimes have to be in the back,” she said.

“I am a little disappointed by the things we put, but I hope that the fans appreciated and it was a good final. For me, to go out and hear these fans was simply incredible, to say that I did it at the O2 is something that I will never forget.

“Netball grows and we prove that fans are there and we have the support. I think that is what we will have to do as players, we must continue to do the series, we must continue to put the performances and I hope they will [fans] Continue to find us.

“You can see with the Super League the difference that has been and the growth we have, there is still a long way to go for me and I can’t wait.”

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