New to the Blue & Gold are shooters Sloan Burton and Emma Barrie, from Australia and Scotland respectively; Lisa Putt, a dynamic defender from New Zealand; and tenacious mid-courter Ellie Ervine, the latest player to progress from Team Bath’s Academy to Super League.

Tash Pavelin makes a welcome return after missing the 2023 campaign through injury and is joined in the squad by fellow England Future Roses player Phoebe Maslen, who steps up from Training Partner after making a thrilling impact in her Super League appearances last season.

Back for another season in Blue & Gold are player-coach Kadeen Corbin and Bethan Dyke, who excelled at the Netball World Cup with Barbados and Wales respectively; 2023 captain Lily-May Catling; wing-attack Kirsty Harris; Vitality Roses squad member Jayda Pechova and fellow University of Bath sporting scholar Sophie Kelly.

Shooter Lily Jones, who made her Super League debut last season, is again a Training Partner along with fellow 2023 NPL U21 player George Ford and mid-courter Ellen Morgan, who helped Team Bath win silver on her senior Blue & Gold debut at this summer’s British Fast5 All-Stars Championship.

Asha Francis, Team Bath Netball Head Coach, said: “I’m delighted with the squad we have put together, there is a great mix of returning players and new arrivals who will bring experience and leadership to the group.

“It was important to have a large cohort of players returning from last season so we can build on what we started in 2023. They can see the value of our long-term plan and want to continue pushing and developing both as individuals and a group.

“We saw some really exciting performances towards the end of last season and, with the core of that group still in place, key to our recruitment was bringing in players with the quality, character and physicality to ensure we push on.

“It is a young squad, with an average age of 24, so we wanted to add a bit more leadership to help players thrive on and off the court. Sloan and Lisa will bring those qualities, while Emma, Ellie and Phoebe are all fearless young players with an appetite to learn and improve.

“This is Year 2 of our four-year plan. Last season saw us plant the seeds of change and now it’s about growing the roots and cementing the connections as we develop the new Team Bath way.”

Australian shooter Burton arrives from West Coast Fever, where she was a Training Partner when the Perth-based club won their maiden Suncorp Super Netball National League Premiership title in 2022.

She has just represented Fever Reserves in this year’s Australian Netball Championships, helping them place fourth overall, and scored 302 goals for Curtin Hamersley Comets as they won the 2023 Gold Industry Group (GIG) West Australian Netball League title.

Francis said: “I’m looking forward to seeing what Sloan can do at Super League level and excited about her joining us for the 2024 season. She is super keen to get stuck into the Team Bath environment and add her skills and personality to the squad. She is a smart player, with great accuracy from range, I can’t wait to have her as part of the mix.”

Joining Burton, Corbin and Kelly in Team Bath’s attacking options is Barrie, fresh from representing Scotland at her second World Cup. Still only 21, she also competed at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games and has four years of Super League experience with Strathclyde Sirens.

“Emma has so much exposure to top-level netball already but still has bags of potential for growth,” said Francis. “She’s moving to a new city to develop her career and when you have someone willing to step out of their comfort zone like that, you know they are going to give it 100 per cent.”

Another 21-year-old moving to a new environment is Putt, a versatile defender from Auckland who made her ANZ Premiership debut this year with the Robinhood Stars having previously been captain of their development team, the Comets. A former long jump and triple jump athlete, Putt uses that spring in her netball where she is renowned for her powerful leap and athletic ability.

“Lisa is really dynamic on court and her values match up with how we want to play and how we want to do things,” said Francis. “She is coming here from a professional environment and I’m confident she’ll be the leader we’re looking for, demanding high standards from others and bringing a real work ethic to training and playing.”

Making their first appearances in a full Super League squad are high-energy mid-courters Maslen and Ervine, aged 19 and 20 respectively. Maslen won the Most Valuable Player award on her Super League home debut against Manchester Thunder in May, while Ervine earns her chance after catching the eye with Team Bath’s U21s and the University of Bath, where she studies Sport and Exercise Science.

“Both Phoebe and Ellie encompass everything about how we want to play and grow,” said Francis. “They are fearless, take everything on board and have tremendous scope for development.

“Phoebe took it in her stride when she came into the Super League team at the end of last season and Ellie’s attitude when she joined us for match-play training was fantastic. She didn’t care who she was playing against, she got stuck in and ruffled a few feathers. Both are as fit as anything and brilliant to work with as a coach.”

Fixtures and ticket information for the 2024 Super League season will be announced shortly. Get all the news first by signing up to the Team Bath Netball newsletter at netball.teambath.com/newsletter

Team Bath Netball is supported by Bath Building Society and Rengen Developments, who are both overall Team Bath Partners, and Centurion Chartered Financial Planners. Team Bath Netball has recently also confirmed an exciting new partnership with Flyhawk.

Team Bath Netball 2024 Super League squad: Emma Barrie, Sloan Burton*, Lily-May Catling, Kadeen Corbin, Bethan Dyke, Ellie Ervine, Kirsty Harris, Sophie Kelly, Phoebe Maslen, Tash Pavelin, Jayda Pechova, Lisa Putt. Training partners: George Ford, Lily Jones, Ellen Morgan. * Subject to visa

Head Coach: Asha Francis | Assistant Coach: Chani Wopara | Technical Coach: Kadeen Corbin | Performance Mentor: Mark Bennett | Team Manager: Tracey Phillips.