By Saskia Holland

Leeds Rhinos Netball secured a record breaking win against Strathclyde Sirens at home at the University of Huddersfield for round 4. A charging performance for Leeds Rhinos saw them take the 73-34 win, their biggest win since their 2021 victory against Sirens that ended 69-51.

The game started in the hands of Hannah Williams for Strathclyde Sirens with a contact against Emma Love but a missed shot for Harriet Jones allowed the away side to claim the first goal. Geva Mentor forced a feed off court which gave Leeds Rhinos the momentum to push on and we slowly extended our lead to 6 helped by a defence effort to force the ball off court. Impressive turnovers for Zoe Davies and Mentor in the defence circle were finished with goals from Joyce Mvula (13-6). The first quarter ended with a 12 goal lead over the visitors.

A strong start in the second quarter saw us push out the lead by 4 goals within the first few minutes. A contact against Love on the centre pass allowed Caroline O’Hanlon to feed Mvula to score another. This was followed by a change in the centre bib with Cassie Howard replaced by Ceyln Emanuel. Further breaking calls for Strathclyde Sirens helped the home side to widen the gap (34-15). The half time whistle went and the home side took the lead by an impressive 20 goals.

Liana Leota made a change with Emma Magee entering the court in the GA bib for the second half. Sirens gained possession in their defensive third but a clean intercept from Mentor on the other side of the court allowed Leeds Rhinos to convert and further extend the lead to 24 goals. A feed from Emanuel into Mvula from the third line excited the crowd and we continued to put points on the board. Sarah Macphail entered the court at WD to make her debut for Leeds Rhinos. A missed shot from Beth Goodwin lands off court and in the hands of Mentor and Emma Magee finds Mvula with the long feed (56-22).

Amy Braithwaite enters at GS for the final quarter. Millie Sanders exits the circle and gains a clean intercept but her team are unable to convert and it lands back in Braithwaites hands (61-25). Continued high-paced work from Amelia Hall in the attacking third saw Braithwaite comfortably add to the scoreboard. Braithwaite exits the circle to receive the ball but misplaces it back into Emma Magee and Sirens continue to score. A turnover in the final 20 seconds for Sirens sees them get the final goal of the game to finish 73-34. Zoe Davies was awarded player of the match for a standout performance with lots of deflections and intercepts made.