Leeds Rhinos Netball boss Dan Ryan bullish Superleague season will start on time in February

The 2020 Vitality Superleague season had to be abandoned after just a month of competition due to the global pandemic.

By the time the 2021 season begins on February 6, there will have been no domestic netball for 11 months.

Leeds Rhinos have been building towards their debut for 18 months, with Ryan, their Australian head coach now into the ninth week of training with his squad. And he believes that fresh from a government bailout of £4m (£2m to England Netball, £2m to the Superleague) the season will start on time.

“Everything is looking positive for February 6 and England Netball have been very proactive reassuring franchises that we will have a league,” said Ryan.

“It’s almost non-negotiable for them considering this year’s league nearly didn’t take place.

“That’s a high priority for them and they’re making a big investment into the competition to get it off the ground and make sure it’s visible. We’re lucky, as an elite netball team, that we’ve been able to train through lockdown consistently.

“Community netball has been impacted greatly but, hopefully, there’s light at the end of the tunnel in that space.

“As for us, we keep forging under the elite framework.”

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