Georgia Gayle out to redeem herself and send Sheffield Hatters to SLB play-off final

A year ago, the third-seeded Hatters were shocked by the Eagles in a one-off play-off tie at the Canon Medical Arena, a defeat Gayle felt personally responsible for.

And as she prepares for the rematch with a place in next Sunday’s final at London’s O2 Arena on the line, Gayle admits the memory of that defeat has been hard to shake this week as this year’s second seeds prepare for the visit of third-seed Newcastle.

The homegrown talent, pictured, said: “It was probably one of the worst games I had all season, and it’s definitely in my mind at the moment.

“But hopefully I can redeem myself this year and get us to the O2.

“It definitely plays on your mind. And I’ve been injured this week too, so it’ll be interesting to see how I come out and play with not practising as much as usual.

“I’m the type of person who will always play if I’m injured, especially if it’s a big game.”

As the daughter of Hatters founder Betty Codona and niece of head coach Vanessa Ellis, as well as a player who came through the system, success with her home club brings extra resonance and pressure.

As does the fact Gayle was this week named in the league’s British team of the year.

But she said: “I’ve just got to play my game, trust my team-mates and hopefully everybody comes ready to play. “It’s not just about me doing it, it’s about everybody doing what’s needed.

“We’ve beaten Newcastle every time we’ve played them but the last few games have been close so we’re fully expecting it to be the same again. It’s hard to beat a team every single time, so it will be interesting and won’t be an easy game.”

That game tips off at 1pm at the Canon Medical Arena, with the men’s team, Sheffield Sharks, playing the second leg of the SLB play-off semi-final against Leicester Riders, in the East Midlands, at 3pm.

Sharks contested the home leg of the semi-final on Friday night as they bid to reach a first play-off final since 2016.