Daisy Harrison, Lily Rutland and Sophie Egbaran (L-R) pose with their NPL Player of the Season trophies
Lily Rutland (Team Bath), Daisy Harrison (Team Bath) and Sophie Egbaran (Central Warriors), have scooped the 2022-23 NPL Player of the Season Awards at U17, U19 and U21 level respectively.
After teams played out the final round of fixtures at the David Ross Sports Village in Nottingham, London Pulse (U17 South and U19) and Manchester Thunder (U17 North and U21) took the titles.
414 athletes featured for at least three quarters during the season in the league, which provides players with a high-intensity performance environment aiming to prepare them for top-level competition.
14 of those athletes, 85% of whom are involved across and developing in our England programmes, have even gone on to take to the court in the 2023 Netball Super League.
At U17 level, Rutland played every quarter in every game (nine times at goal attack, five times at goal shooter and two times at goal defence) as she helped Team Bath to a second-place finish in the South division.
Team Bath’s Lily Rutland with her Player of the Season award.
After starring as Team Bath’s U15 squad finished third in the 2022 School Games, Rutland continued her fine form through the U17 NPL season where in one game at goal attack she made 28/32 attempts.
Rutland’s fellow Team Bath athlete Harrison took the U19 accolade. Harrison didn’t miss a single quarter, playing 24 times at goal defence and 12 at goal keeper, as her side recorded a fourth-place finish.
Team Bath’s Daisy Harrison with her Player of the Season award.
Off the back of her stellar performances, Harrison, who also plays for Exeter in Premier League 2, was invited to attend the Roses Academy in April.
U21 Central Warriors and Roses Academy athlete Egbaran featured in 35 of a possible 36 quarters in 2023-24 and was one of the best rebounders in the league.
She averaged 10 goals per quarter taking 54 attempts in one game with 87% shooting success.
Central Warriors’ Sophie Egbaran with her Player of the Season award
The winners were chosen based on each league game’s Player of the Match Awards.
At the end of each game, both teams picked a Player of the Match from the opposition team. The winning team’s Player of the Match was awarded three points, and the losing team’s player received two points.
These scores were then tallied up across the season to determine the players with the most points in each age category and trophy winners.
Congratulations to our three winners! You can read more about the end of the NPL season here.
