Geva Mentor upstaged as Leeds Rhinos fall flat in Netball Superleague opener

Rhinos were heavily beaten 57-41 by Severn Stars in the first game of the season-opening weekend of fixtures in Nottingham.

It was a young defender at the other end of the court that had the biggest impact, Jas Brown of the Stars winning player-of-the-match with six deflections and eight gains.

Brown’s impact was instant, turning over the first centre pass of the 2024 season as former Rhinos player Sigi Burger converted and Stars opened up a five-point lead in the first quarter that they never relinquished.

Rhinos, fresh from a much more structured close season with all their players in attendance, grew into the game but could never claw their way back to parity

It left Leeds’ second-year director of netball Liana Leota frustrated.

She said: "We need to take a breath, take a moment to reflect. We didn’t know where we were or where Stars were going to be, so whether we won or lost, today we needed a benchmark about where we’re sitting and how our structures are faring compared to the others, and what we can do next.

"So for me disappointed with the loss in terms of goals, we could have been closer and even taken that game if I’m honest.

"But there were just too many individual errors, we threw away far too many balls especially early in the game when we didn’t get on that scoreboard.”

The game marked Caroline O’Hanlon’s 150th game in Superleague as the Northern Ireland international embarks on her second season with the Rhinos.

A title-winner with Manchester Thunder in 2022, she said: "I’m very proud to get to that number but just disappointed we didn’t get the result.”

Huddersfield-born Imogen Allison, who starred for England at last year’s World Cup and at the recent Nations Cup series in Leeds, had a big impact for her new club Manchester as they opened their campaign with a 56-40 win over London Pulse.