London Pulse sealed the Super League’s top spot while Loughborough Lightning and Manchester Thunder will face each other in the second play-off – but who will secure a coveted home semi-final?
Here is everything you need to know from round 19.
Pulse cement top spot with Lightning win
London Pulse cemented their position at the top of the league with a 61-58 victory over title rivals Loughborough Lightning.
The result means Sam Bird’s team have secured a home semi-final against Surrey Storm, who had already played their final match of the season in round 18.
Pulse have beaten Storm on both occasions this campaign and after a stellar year will likely be favourites to reach the Grand Final on Sunday, 11 June at the Copper Box.
They have lost just one game all season – to Manchester Thunder – and boast the best defence in the league having conceded 815 goals, 66 fewer than their nearest rivals.
Pulse are a young, developing side but bringing in experienced Roses players Jade Clarke and Chelsea Pitman this season has paid off and put them on track to win a maiden trophy.
Thunder ‘come good at the right time’
Manchester Thunder’s 75-48 win over Saracens Mavericks moved them level on points with Loughborough Lightning, but trailing by 50 goals on goal difference.
It means the two will face each other in the semi-finals, but to secure a coveted home play-off Thunder would have to beat Strathclyde Sirens in their final match and hope Team Bath do them a favour by taking points from Lightning.
However, Thunder coach Karen Greig believes her side are peaking at the right time.
“I said before the game that the last few games were really important for us to build momentum into the semi-finals and we had to find a couple of extra gears,” Greig told Sky Sports.
“Last week and this week we’re starting to find them and come good just at the right time.”
Defender Josie Huckle, who won player of the match, agreed that “now is the time to peak” as the top four close in on the semi-finals on 9 June.
“We can definitely push on and we will keep building and building,” she said.
South Africa shooter Lenize Potgieter dislocated her little finger in the first quarter against Mavericks but, incredibly, returned for the third period after medical attention.
Her absence saw Greig give captain Natalie Metcalf a run in the shooting circle – a role she may have to pick up at the World Cup this summer – alongside Lois Pearson.
“We’ve been looking at that combination of Lois and Nat in the circle in training – their speed and extra dynamic movement really kept us in the game and able to consolidate the scoreline,” said Greig.
The Thunder boss said her side must now leave “no stone unturned” as they prepare for finals weekend.
“We know the finals are going to be a physical affair so we’ve just got to make sure we’re mentally and physically prepared for that,” she added.
Elsewhere, Celtic Dragons beat Strathclyde Sirens 50-37 to secure their second win of the season having shown signs of improvement under new head coach Jill McIntosh.
Leeds Rhinos overcame Severn Stars 59-52 to move eighth and secure back-to-back victories for the first time this season, while Stars complete their season with 21 points.
World Cup watch: Fadoju returns, Carter shows class
With just over 60 days to go until the World Cup begins in South Africa, England fans will be reassured to see defender Funmi Fadoju return in Pulse’s win over Lightning.
The 20-year-old has had an impressive season but sustained an ankle injury in Pulse’s round-17 match against Strathclyde Sirens.
But she was back in action to help her side secure the Super League’s top spot, making three interceptions and winning six deflections, for which she sits top of the league standings with 102.
Meanwhile, Thunder centre Amy Carter showed why she has been included as one of three travelling reserves for July’s tournament.
She provided 37 circle feeds to the shooters in Thunder’s win over Mavericks, as well as making four interceptions at the other end to keep the momentum with her side.
Her tally of 367 circle feeds this season – the fifth highest in the league – is all the more impressive considering she sustained an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury last season and only returned to the squad for 2023.
