Here If You Need - The Netball Pod

Emily & Nia

Hosted by Nia Jones and Emily Wilson, Here If You Need - The Netball Pod is the place for honest netball conversation. As the Netball Super League enters its professional era, we break down the progress, the problems, and the decisions shaping the sport - from NSL squads to England Netball selections. Real analysis, strong opinions, and proper netball chat for the community that loves and plays the game.

  1. Jun 10

    Brilliant Netball, Basic Broadcast Errors & Thunder Into The Final

    Liv Tchine deserved better. Loughborough made a statement. Thunder are into the Grand Final. Episode 17 has plenty to unpack. This week on Here If You Need - The Netball Pod, Emily and Nia react to a huge NSL semi-final weekend, from the serious off-court conversations to the big on-court performances. We discuss: - The NSL apology after Liv Tchine was misidentified in a 100-cap post, why it was so hurtful, and why “sorry” cannot be where this ends - More broadcast issues across semi-final weekend, including dark pictures, missed restarts, sound problems and a rogue pre-recorded interview moment - Loughborough Lightning beating Nottingham Forest 77-57, and why the scoreline does not tell the full story - Whether Forest emotionally peaked by making top four, and why that does not take away from a brilliant first season - Loughborough’s knockout experience, shooting accuracy and Jo Trip’s brilliant job shutting down Suncorp star Shamera Sterling-Humphrey’s impact - Manchester Thunder beating London Pulse to reach the Grand Final - Why Thunder look like they are peaking at exactly the right time - Liv Tchine growing into the game after a difficult week - Alicia Scholes returning and changing the feel of Pulse’s attack - Sam Bird’s emotional post-match reaction, and whether it helps or worries Pulse going into the prelim - What Pulse need to fix with their live turnover to goal rate Then we’re joined by Manchester Thunder team manager Phil Thomas, also known as Jeeves, to talk about life behind the scenes at one of the league’s most successful franchises. Phil tells us: - What a team manager actually does - Why team managers are absolute gold dust - Washing dresses, sorting sweets and chasing match-day logistics - The Thunder players who always pick up the bags - The time Karen Greig had to buy a microwave before a game - Why players come back to Manchester Thunder - How Thunder have grown from a poor Super Cup to a Grand Final - What NSL 2.0 has changed behind the scenes - Men’s, mixed and para netball at Thunder - Why arena games matter, but why double headers might be the smarter route Plus: - Nia is officially the Louis Theroux of netball - Emily gives a pregnancy and Mini Eggs update - We discover Jade Clarke is very good at Fantasy Netball, because of course she is - Nia explains why players do “top ups” after matches - Prelim final predictions: Loughborough by seven or Pulse by two? Big semi-final energy. Big behind-the-scenes insight. And yes, netball still has some standards to sort out.

    1h 24m
  2. Jun 3

    Beth Durant on retirement, Housby Out & NSL Semi-Finals Set

    Beth is retiring, Helen’s not going to Glasgow and there's a pregnancy announcement. Episode 16 has a lot going on. This week on Here If You Need - The Netball Pod, Emily and Nia wrap the final regular round of the NSL before Beth Cobden, now Beth Durant, joins us to talk about life, legacy and what’s actually next. We discuss: - London Mavericks winning the Next Gen League, and whether a grand final format would make it even better - The Roses full-time programme drop, why this squad felt mostly uncontroversial, who’s missing and why - Helen Housby being ruled out of the Commonwealth Games, and how big a blow it really is - Panthers beating Rhinos in a result that left both teams reflecting on difficult seasons - Mavericks going down to Dragons, and why Dragons deserve their flowers for a genuinely brilliant campaign - Thunder vs Lightning by one goal, including the match-winning layup, the water break debate and Karen Greig loving life on camera - Pulse beating Forest with Chelsea resting three starters, plus a daughter-coaching-daughter moment from Sam Bird Then Beth joins us to talk about: - Announcing her retirement, and why saying it out loud actually felt like a relief - Three ACLs, what each one took from her, and what the third one in Australia really did to her mentally - Commonwealth Games gold, shaking Lewis Hamilton’s hand, being on the front of every newspaper and why the medal is still “just in a box” - Coming back from injury each time, and why she “didn’t want to let it beat me” - What the England full-time programme is actually like week to week - Anna Stembridge coming in, and why having her already in the setup makes the transition easier - Loughborough’s resilience this season, including a combination they had never done in training nearly beating England’s attack - The “boring” label, and why Loughborough have learned to laugh about it - The Loughborough friendship group and the emotional moment when she told them she was retiring - Coaching, commentating or going full finance degree, and what might actually be next for Beth Plus: - Emily reveals she’s pregnant via the world’s first "Here If You Need" baby grow - Nia explains what those bench number signs actually mean, and reveals a defensive tactic called “scum” - Semi-final predictions: Emily goes Forest and Pulse, Nia goes Lightning and Thunder - Fantasy Netball final standings, where we finished fourth and are blaming Chelsea Pitman Big news, big feelings and a very Beth Cobden episode.

    1h 28m
  3. Apr 29

    Storm Mates Turned Rivals, £20 Super Shots & Lightning Lock In | Leah Middleton & Niamh Cooper

    Round 9 is in the books and we've got a stacked one for you. We open with Sammy Ngubane's instant impact on her Birmingham Panthers debut, why Tiana Metuarau's hip injury is heartbreaking for the Panthers camp, and South Africa quietly stacking the NSL ahead of the Comm Games. Then the Amex Super Shot reveal. £20 a pop. Underwhelming or a stepping stone? We talk it through. Plus Loughborough Lightning becoming the first team to lock in a top four spot, Mavs v Thunder from Nia's commentary box in Brighton (Thunder are the comeback queens now), and how Pulse dismantled Panthers 61-35. Then the main event. Best mates from their Surrey Storm days, on opposite sides of this weekend's Forest v Dragons. Leah Middleton and Niamh Cooper sit down for one of our favourite chats yet. The bus they first met on. The Christmas Niamh nearly drowned in Australia. The 1AM phone call about a fly stuck in a cast. The horror ankle injury and the comeback. Forest's football grade professionalism. The Loughborough score error story you haven't heard the inside of yet. Niamh's day job as an A&E doctor. Leah's Welsh eligibility origin story and the post touching saga that started it all. Whether they actually pass intel on each other (and what they'd never share). And the win loss tally between them, settled on the record. We close out with our Round 10 predictions. Bonus point system in full effect. Plus a Nia diesel story you didn't ask for but absolutely deserve.

    1h 20m

About

Hosted by Nia Jones and Emily Wilson, Here If You Need - The Netball Pod is the place for honest netball conversation. As the Netball Super League enters its professional era, we break down the progress, the problems, and the decisions shaping the sport - from NSL squads to England Netball selections. Real analysis, strong opinions, and proper netball chat for the community that loves and plays the game.

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