Manchester Thunder are an English netball team based in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

. Their senior team plays in the

Netball Superleague The Netball Super League is a top level netball league featuring teams from the United Kingdom. The league is organised by England Netball but features teams based in England, Wales and Scotland. The league was commenced playing at the 2005–0 ...

. In 2005–06, Thunder were founding members of the league. They were Superleague champions in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

and

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...

. Between 2001 and 2012 they played as Northern Thunder and were originally based in Bury, Greater Manchester.

History

Northern Thunder

Between 2001 and 2005 Northern Thunder, together with five other franchises –

Northern Flames Team Northumbria is an English netball team based at Northumbria University. Between 2001 and 2005 they played in the Super Cup as Northern Flames. They also played as Team Northumbria Flames. Between 2005–06 and 2018, their senior team pla ...

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, London Hurricanes, University of Birmingham Blaze and Team Bath Force – competed in the Super Cup. Northern Thunder won the 2002 Super Cup. Northern Thunder players from the Super Cup era included Amanda Newton,

Tracey Neville Tracey Anne Neville (born 21 January 1977) is a former England netball international and a former England head coach. As a player, she was a member of the England teams that won bronze medals at the 1998 Commonwealth Games and the 1999 Worl ...

Jade Clarke Jade Bridget Clarke (born 17 October 1983 in Manchester, England) is an English netball player. Primarily a midcourt defender, Clarke was selected for the England national netball team in 2002, making her senior debut the following year agains ...

and

Sara Bayman Sara Francis-Bayman ( Bayman, born 23 December 1984) is a netball player and coach from Billinge near Wigan, England. She represented England in the 2010 Commonwealth Games. At a club level, Bayman has represented Team Bath, Manchester Thunde ...

In 2005 Northern Thunder were named as the North West England franchise in the new

. Together with

Brunel Hurricanes Surrey Storm is an English netball team based at the University of Surrey. Their senior team plays in the Netball Superleague. Between 2001 and 2005 they played in the Super Cup as London Hurricanes. After forming a partnership with Brunel U ...

Celtic Dragons Celtic Dragons are a Welsh netball team based in Cardiff. Their senior team plays in the Netball Superleague. In 2005–06 they were founder members of the league. Their best performance in the Superleague came in 2013 when they finished as r ...

Leeds Carnegie Leeds Carnegie was a brand name used by several sports teams associated with the Carnegie School of Physical Education, now part of Leeds Beckett University. These include: Current * Leeds Carnegie Handball Club Changed name * Leeds Carnegie ...

Galleria Mavericks Saracens Mavericks is an English netball team based at the University of Hertfordshire in Hatfield. Their senior team plays in the Netball Superleague. In 2005–06 they were founder members of the league. They were Superleague champions in ...

, Team Bath, Loughborough Lightning and Team Northumbria, Northern Thunder were founding members of the league. In

, Thunder won their first Superleague title.

Janelle Lawson Janelle Lawson (born 9 August 1987) is an Australian netball player. In 2012 she was a member of the Northern Thunder team that won the Netball Superleague title. During the Commonwealth Bank Trophy era she played for Perth Orioles and AIS C ...

scored 33 goals as they defeated Surrey Storm 57–55 in the grand final.

Manchester Thunder

Thunder relocated from Bury, Greater Manchester to

Gorton Gorton is an area of Manchester in North West England, southeast of the city centre. The population at the 2011 census was 36,055. Neighbouring areas include Levenshulme and Openshaw. A major landmark is Gorton Monastery, a 19th-century Hig ...

. They subsequently changed their name from Northern Thunder to Manchester Thunder ahead of the 2013 season. In

Thunder won their second Superleague title after defeating Surrey Storm 49–48 in the grand final. In

Thunder won their third Superleague title. In the 2022 season Manchester Thunder finished the regular season undefeated, becoming the first team to do so over 20 games. They defeated Team Bath in the semi-finals and then beat Loughborough Lightning in the final to claim their 4th Superleague title.

Senior finals

Super Cup

Netball Superleague Grand Finals

Mike Greenwood Trophy

Since 2012 Manchester Thunder have hosted the Manchester Invitational Tournament. The winners are awarded the Mike Greenwood Trophy, named in honour of the former Northern Thunder head coach who died in 2011. It is usually played during pre-season.

Home venues

Thunder train and play their home games at several venues and locations throughout

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tam ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

and Cheshire. Between 2008–09 and 2011, Northern Thunder played their home Superleague games at Castle Leisure Centre in Bury, Greater Manchester. In

Manchester Thunder began playing their home Superleague games at

Wright Robinson College Wright Robinson College is a coeducational secondary school in Abbey Hey, Gorton, Manchester, England. The college caters to pupils of all socio-economic and religious backgrounds and was previously a specialist college of Sport and the Arts. ...

. When Manchester Thunder played home games there, the arena was referred to as the ''Manchester Thunderdome''. They have also played home Netball Superleague matches at

Manchester Arena Manchester Arena, currently referred to as the AO Arena for sponsorship reasons, is an indoor arena in Manchester, England, immediately north of the Manchester city centre, city centre and partly above Manchester Victoria station in air rights s ...

. In

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

Manchester Thunder will play their home Superleague games at the

National Basketball Performance Centre The National Basketball Performance Centre (NPBC) is a 2,000 capacity, three-court basketball arena located in Manchester, England. Background Construction on the £11m Belle Vue Sports Village, including the 2,000 seat FIBA-standard arena, b ...

in the Belle Vue Sports Village.

Notable players

2023 squad

Internationals

; ; * Erin Bell ; * Joyce Mvula ; *

Liana Leota Liana Leota ( née Barrett-Chase; born 31 October 1984) is a New Zealand netball player. She is a member of the national netball team, the Silver Ferns, and plays for Severn Stars in the British Netball Superleague. Leota was a member of the S ...

* Anna Thompson ; *

Caroline O'Hanlon Caroline O'Hanlon is a Northern Ireland netball international and an Armagh ladies' Gaelic footballer. She has also represented Ireland at international rules. She was a member of the Northern Ireland teams at the 2003, 2011 and 2019 Netba ...

; * Shadine van der Merwe

Head coaches

Honours

**''Winners'':

: 4 **''Runners up'':

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

: 1 * Super Cup **''Winners'': 2002: 1 **''Runners up'': 2004: 1 *Mike Greenwood Trophy **''Winners'': 2012, 2013, 2014, 2018, 2019: 5 **''Runners up'': 2015: 1

References

External links

Manchester Thunder on Facebook

Manchester Thunder on Twitter
{{Netball in the United Kingdom Netball teams in England Netball Superleague teams Sport in Manchester Sports clubs established in 2001 2001 establishments in England