#6 Predictions

I love a prediction - I do it all the time in Vitality Superleague and Suncorp Super Netball, but here’s the thing......I am absolutely RUBBISH at it!

So, you may well ask, why am I writing a World Cup themed blog entitled ‘predictions’?!

My answer is: you can predict more than just results!

So, here’s my World Cup netball predictions, some are light hearted and not to be taken too seriously, some are sad but inevitable in elite sport and some are just me trying to take an educated guess at what may pan out at the most exciting international netball tournament..........ever!

👩🏼‍⚕️ There will be a serious injury and it’s likely to be an ACL. It seems not a week goes by in the Suncorp Super Netball where we don’t have an ACL or suspected ACL injury. It’s an all too common netball injury that clearly needs more research, not just for elite players! (Yes,  I’m nearing the end of my rehab after 2.5 years. No, I’m afraid my right knee will never be the same again 😢)

🇯🇲 Jamaica will cause a big upset. They are the team that is the most unknown. They have a very different style and they will be ‘up for it’ big time after losing to the eventual winners 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🌹 by just 1 goal in the Commonwealth Semi Final. You can argue that all of the ‘Big 5’ have a point to prove, but none more so than Jamaica.
                                          

🍾 I will get drunk. I’m away for 4 nights. An overnighter for the opening ceremony and then the whole of finals weekend. I’m away from the kids with my bestest girlie friends, which also includes the women who taught me to play netball. It is bound to get messy. I will try not to blog when I’ve had more than one glass of wine. (I’m out of practice these days and it doesn’t take a lot for me to get     merry!)

🔴 There will be a controversial sending off. The game is physical and elite players more athletic and stronger than ever before. It’s inevitable. Then there will be a huge postmortem on whether the sending off will have an impact on the standings of the whole competition. It will be a big talking point!

😳 I will be asked if I’m ‘NetballCoachNow’. It happened at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and I’ve tweeted more and got more followers since then!

It’s one of the things I am looking forward to most, the netball family coming together, catching up with people I haven’t seen for ages or haven’t met at all, other than online!

📸 There will be celebrity endorsements! We’re seeing it already with the little-hyped (at the moment) celebrity exhibition match and the ‘secret netballer’ spot on the brand new ‘Netballers’ podcast from Sasha and Kadeen Corbin & Radio 5 Live! (Someone from Love Island on the first episode - I don’t watch it and unfortunately cannot remember / have no inclination to look it up! 😉) Famous Netball fans off the top of my head include Manchester United football legend Paul Scholes, reality TV star Fern McCann, comedy genius Jennifer Saunders and Strictly Come  Dancing’s Oti Mabuse. I wonder who else will be getting on the CelebrityNetball Express at the Liverpool stop!