Hertfordshire Mavericks Crowned Fiat Netball Superleague Champions

Winning the league may not have given Hertfordshire Mavericks a trophy but it did land them something more precious this season - home advantage in the first versus second Playoff, and subsequently home turf for the Grand Final.

Mavericks won the toss and made a brisk start to the match establishing an early lead, three goals up in the first minute of the match it looked a little ominous for the visitors who’d nipped around the M25 for the biggest match in their young franchise’s history.

Shooters Brownfield and Dunn matched each other shot for shot,once the Surrey Storm shooter had dropped the ball in the net to level the score at 4-4 - it was her 800th successful shot of the season, a remarkable tally.
 
With a minute and 17 seconds on the clock Storm engineered a mid-court turnover allowing Dunn to convert and take the team ahead for the first time in the match; a straight forward centre pass was also netted before the whistle signalled time up and Surrey Storm had a two goal lead.

The visitors picked up where they left off at the start of the second period that saw a little more cautious approach from the teams.  In the 15 minutes the best Storm could do is double the lead but couldn’t pull further in front and three minutes before half-time, Mavericks rallied and converted a turn-over to help them win the quarter but still trail by one goal.

Game winning changes were made at half time by Mavericks boss Maggie Jackson: Louisa Brownfield came out to GA and Vicklyn Joseph took up position under the post, Guscoth and Keable swapped duties in the defensive circle. Storm couldn’t touch the Hertfordshire outfit as they levelled before moving six goals ahead. 

Surrey’s skipper Tamsin Greenway called a medical tine-out and after treatment used the opportunity to swap bibs with Gemma Cosentino moving into the shooting-circle. 

The game restarted but the stadium clock didn’t, within the minute Storm had closed the gap by two goals before the clock was 'stopped' again. 

Natalie Seaton was speedily treated by Storm’s physio for a severely dislocated finger - we couldn’t quite hear the click as it was relocated - there was no question of her playing on and she left for the bench in pain and distress. 

Fran Desmond took her place and when the whistle was blown, this time the clock did restart.  Mavericks again surged ahead into a seven goal advantage but Storm made the most of the final seconds in the quarter, (were there a few more than usual?) to cut the deficit to four.

The final sprint was played in the same spirit of the match but Mavericks got stronger and more inventive as the end of the season loomed. 

With 8 minutes to play Storm were still in the game trailing 45-42. Maybe the memories of previous Grand Finals spurred them on as from then on in it was the Hertfordshire side all the way.  You can appreciate all the tips, rebounds and turnovers when Sky Sports reshow the match.  It was a great finish to a grand final. 

A year ago Maggie Jackson was banned by this reporter from using in the post-match interview the 'c-word' a favourite of hers. 'Consistency - Consistency - Consistency' was her constant cry either 'We lack' or 'we need' even 'we crave' consistency the word was there after every game (win or lose).

I think it’s probably a good time to let Maggie reintroduce it to her vocabulary because after topping the table, and after 8 other teams joined them in contesting a total of 75 matches across the FIAT Netball Superleague in 2011 - it was without a doubt the most consistent team Hertfordshire Mavericks were the most deserved winners.

Lisa O’Sullivan