Lightning taking it week by week after eighth winImage source, Ben LumleyImage caption, Loughborough Lightning’s star shooter Samantha Wallace-Joseph is the Netball Super League’s top scorer with 260 goalsPublished17 April 2026Updated 37 minutes agoLoughborough Lightning head coach Vic Burgess mentioned her side “are taking it week by week” after continuing their unbeaten start to the Netball Super League with a 73-56 win against London Mavericks.Lightning took a 17-12 lead at the end of the first quarter at their Sir David Wallace Arena and maintained their advantage as they held the Mavericks at arm’s length to secure an eighth win from as many games.”We talk about it [unbeaten record] but, ultimately, nothing changes as we go into training on Monday,” mentioned Burgess.”We evaluate what we’ve done and move on to the next match straight away. It doesn’t change.”Lightning’s star shooter Samantha Wallace-Joseph was in clinical form and scored 37 goals to inspire her side to a victory which moved them on to 24 points.”Collectively, it [unbeaten record] brings pressure because every day you want to go out there and win a game but we are trying to take each match a step at a time,” mentioned player of the match Wallace-Joseph.”I strive under pressure and am loving it.”The Mavericks are in fifth place on 10 points.”Just in the big moments, we’re not quite there yet,” mentioned Mavericks head coach Tamsin Greenway. “We know that and it’s frustrating – because we have the moments – but that’s what happens when you play such a quality team.”AO Manchester Thunder moved up to second place on 19 points with a 67-55 win against sixth-placed LexisNexis Dragons, but can be leapfrogged by London Pulse, who are third, if they beat NIC Leeds Rhinos on Sunday.Forest have ‘more in the tank’ after win over PanthersImage source, Ben LumleyImage caption, Rolene Streutker is playing in her second season for Nottingham ForestNottingham Forest head coach Chelsea Pitman says her side have not yet hit top form in the Netball Super League following an emphatic 70-54 win over Birmingham Panthers.South Africa international Rolene Streutker dominated for Forest at a sold-out Worcester Arena as she netted 43 goals for Forest to finish player of the match.The result helped Forest move within a point of third-placed Manchester Thunder and three points behind London Pulse in second.”I still think we have a lot more in the tank and we’re not even close to our best at the moment, which is exciting for us,” Pitman told Sky Sports.”We just need to make sure we are absolutely ruthless in our execution and just be relentless.”Forest began the season with three consecutive victories but their win over the Panthers ended a run of four straight defeats.Streutker mentioned Forest’s decision to go “back to basics” helped them get back on track against the Panthers.”We’ve been training really hard and it’s just so nice having the results to show for it,” she mentioned.”I think we’ve had a couple of shaky, shaky games before this one, so I think it’s really good that we had a great score today.”Betsy Creak scored 24 goals for the Panthers while Sophie Egbaran notched 20 but head coach Sonia Mkoloma mentioned her side were not clinical across the second and third quarters.”We know it’s not good enough and it’s below our target,” she added.”So that was disappointing because we put ourselves in a bit of a hole.”How to follow 2026 Netball Super League on BBC SportBBC Sport will show one game per week during the regular season.These are the games you can watch live on the BBC Sport website and iPlayer (UK only, all times BST):24 April: Leeds Rhinos v Nottingham Forest (19:00)4 May: Manchester Thunder v Birmingham Panthers (18:00)9 May: Nottingham Forest v London Mavericks (15:00)15 May: Loughborough Lightning v Nottingham Forest (19:00)24 May: London Pulse v Dragons (17:00)Related topicsNetball
