Sport

Manchester Thunder are attempting a Netball Super League record and you can help them break it

The Battle of the Roses is back and could be a history-maker.

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 21st March 2023

Reigning netball champions Manchester Thunder are returning to the AO Arena once again this spring and are hoping to smash a league record in the process.

The best part is, you can help them break it by simply grabbing a ticket.

The high-flying Northern side are enjoying yet another impressive season, currently sitting second in the Netball Super League with a game in hand on Surrey Storm at the top of the table.

However, as well as hoping to retain their NSL title and win their fifth trophy in just over a decade, the Thunder are also looking to earn themselves a league record in their upcoming game against local rivals Leeds Rhinos at the AO and it’s looking very doable.

Heading back to the AO Arena for the first in over a year since their last meeting at the legendary Manc venue back in March 2022, the fixture promises to be “bigger and better than ever”.

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After besting the Rhinos (52–67) over at Leeds Beckett earlier this month, Manchester Thunder are now looking to surpass the blockbuster scenes from last year’s arena match, where more than 4,000 fans turned up to see them take on the league’s newest team, with a target of at 5,960 attendees now set.

Dubbed the ‘Battle of the Roses’, the Lancashire lot’s aim is to not only beat their Yorkshire counterparts once again but to beat the official NSL record for the most supporters at a home netball game, which currently stands at 5,959.

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Netball Manchester Live 2023 is already one of Manchester’s biggest annual sporting events but with this milestone now up for grabs, it’s set to be a big afternoon whether you’re a netball fan, a fan of sport in general or just want to play your small part of history.

Credit: Manchester Thunder

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The sport as a whole is riding quite the high in recent years, with a record crowd of nearly 9,000 fans piling into Birmingham’s Utilita Arena for the season opener back in 2020, where all 10 teams compete in a massive day of netball action.

Cementing themselves as one of the best teams in the NSL, Manchester Thunder are hoping to keep pushing that momentum further and, who knows, with the AO Arena capacity at around 21,000, they could even go on to break international records in the 10,000s.

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With over 2,000 tickets already sold, Manchester’s premier netball team are on track to reach a record attendance, but every friend, family member and netball-lover you convince to come along helps them move a step closer to achieving this amazing feat.

Tickets for Manchester Thunder vs Leeds Rhinos Netball at the AO Arena on 7 May are on sale now. You can grab yours HERE and we hope to see you there!

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Image — Manchester Thunder

Sport

Wigan Warriors boss Matt Peet named coach of the year after historic quadruple-winning season

Danny Jones Danny Jones Matt Peet wins SJA Committee coach of the year award after quadruple-winning season

Wigan Warriors boss Matt Peet has been named coach of the year by the Sports Journalists’ Association Committee (SJA) following his record-breaking season with the champions.

Peet led the Greater Manchester side to four Grand Slams in a single calendar year, a feat never seen before in the Super League era, achieving the historic feat with a Grand Final win over Hull KR at Old Trafford last month.

In recognition of his incredible 2024 campaign in charge of the Warriors, the Wigan-born local hero was awarded the SJA Committee Award, handed over to the most outstanding coach each year, on Wednesday, 20 November for the second time in his career.

The 40-year-old won the prestigious accolade during his first season with the club back in 2022 but it’s fair to say this one will feel even more special.

The Warriors began the season by defeating Penrith Panthers at The Brick Community Stadium to lift a record-equalling fifth World Club Challenge before success in the Betfred Challenge Cup Final saw Wigan beat fellow North West outfit, Warrington Wolves, at Wembley Stadium in June.

Having sealed the League Leaders’ Shield following a final-round win against local rivals Salford Red Devils, the Warriors then went on to beat Hull – who were competing in their first Grand Final – to become the first team of the Super League era to lift all four trophies within the space of just 12 months.

Speaking on the award via an official club statement, Peet said: “I’m very proud and very grateful to be selected by the committee. It reflects really well on our organisation, our club, players and rugby league in general.

“We never set out with an ambition to win the quadruple, we just set out to improve and learn. It’s not an award rugby league is synonymous with, so to know our sport is getting some recognition, it makes me very proud to be at the forefront of it.”

He went on to tell Sky Sports that it was the “energy and the atmosphere” of Wigan that helped get them across the line after so many games, insisting that they “had the whole town behind [them]”.

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It’s a truly fantastic achievement and to have the award brought home to Greater Manchester once again is wonderful news no matter who you support.

The fixtures for the 2025 Super League season are set to be released tomorrow (Thursday, 21 November), with the action getting underway in February as usual. The Summer Festival of Rugby League will also return after a year off with a blockbuster May Bank Holiday weekend in Newcastle.

Not only will it be a decade since the event was first held in the Toon but it also marks the Magic Weekend’s 18th birthday.

As for SJA coach of the year Matt Peet and the Warriors, it’s looking like a question of just how many titles can they defend next year.

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Sky Sports

Sport

Pep Guardiola agrees new contract to stay at Manchester City for at least one more year

Danny Jones Danny Jones Pep stay at Man City for one more year new deal

Blues will be delighted to hear that Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is staying after agreeing to sign a contract extension that will keep him at the club for at least one more year.

The Catalan coach and supremely talented tactician has won all there is to win with Man City and after completing not only a record-matching treble but making history by becoming the first English team to win four Premier League titles in a row, you could argue his Etihad project is well and truly completed.

Guardiola, who joined City back in 2016, has gradually been creeping towards the end of his most recent contract, leaving those slowly searching for his replacement and the fan base wondering what the future holds for their next chapter.

But it turns out they don’t have to worry about life after Pep for a little while longer, as the 53-year-old has now extended his stay for at least another season. The blue moon that has loomed over Manchester for the best part of a decade isn’t going anywhere just yet.

Breaking the news on Tuesday evening, 19 November, The Athletic‘s Sam Lee revealed that Pep Guardiola will remain head coach for another season after agreeing to a new one-year deal.

The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager, who is comfortably one of the most decorated and celebrated coaches in football history, was due to leave the club at the end of the current campaign.

However, although his contract would have seen him depart by June of next year, this new deal will now see him stay in post until the summer of 2026, which will talk his tenure to a full 10 years.

Although City themselves are yet to confirm the signing amid the international break, it’s only a matter of time before they deliver the news all Blues have been waiting for – news that will no doubt come as a huge relief given the immense success he has brought to East Manchester.

Despite waiting until now to seemingly decide his future, the man himself has actually been pretty clear on the matter, insisting that he “fell in love” with the club from the moment he got here and saying as far back as 2020 that “unless they [CFG] sack me, I will stay here.”

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Better still, while the details of the agreement are yet to be fully detailed, the report says that his new contract also includes the option to extend for a further year beyond that, meaning we could be looking at Pep in the dugout until 2027.

Should City go on to close the gap on current league leaders Liverpool, it would mean Guardiola would have overseen five title wins with the same team in a row: a feat only matched by very few in European football, most notably Juventus and Bayern Munich, the latter having managed 13 consecutive years.

Who knows if/when Guardiola will actually leave the Etihad Stadium for a new challenge, all we know is he changed modern football forever and has given Manchester – a city already spoilt in this respect – some of the most impressive football it’s ever seen.

All we do know is that the beautiful game’s passionate, bald, tiki-taka extraordinaire known simply as Pep is staying in 0161 for the time being and there are countless fans who are absolutely buzzing about it.

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Optus Sport/Sky Sports (via YouTube)/Rufus46 (via Wikimedia Commons)

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