Thunder aims for net gain

Manchester Thunder's Helen Housby and Natalie Haythornwaite with children from Oldham and Denton netball clubs in St Ann's Square, Manchester.

YOUNG Oldham players teamed up with top netballers in Manchester city centre ahead of tonight’s Roses clash with Yorkshire.

Sara Bayman, Helen Housby, Malysha Kelly and Natalie Haythornwaite, from Superleague side Manchester Thunder, showed off their skills in St Ann’s Square to promote the game against Yorkshire Jets.

They were joined by Thunder coach Dan Ryan and youngsters from Oldham and Manchester netball clubs.

Thunder are second in the Superleague on goal difference with three games to go.

They switch from their normal Gorton venue to take on bottom-place Yorkshire at Manchester Arena at 7.45pm.

The event is being billed as Netball Manchester Live and aims to break the 6,033 record for the highest attended domestic netball match in the UK.

Dan said: “It was great to see so many kids having fun and getting excited about Netball Manchester Live and the fact that they’ve got one of the biggest netball matches of the season happening in the heart of the city.”

Thunder captain Sara added: “Everyone knows we are a city of sport and Netball Manchester Live is a real celebration of that.

“We also want to encourage more women and girls to get involved with netball, whether it’s watching or playing.”