Nat Panagarry is determined that the England Roses will retain their Netball Europe title in Cardiff this weekend.
The Roses have been working hard in training and there’s a buoyant mood in camp ahead of the trip.
And the Loughborough Lightning star can’t wait to pull on the red dress and take to court.
Panagarry said: “I’m really looking forward to it!
“It’s great to kind of have the whole squad here now everyone’s back from tours and a little bit of time off.
“Training’s going really well and we just can’t wait to get to Cardiff now.
“We’ve got a brilliant squad – there is a bit of youth here and a little bit of experience and that works really well.
“So I know we are really excited and we obviously want to retain that title, get the number one spot and I’m so excited to see some of these girls get their first caps. It’s thoroughly deserved.”
As one of the more experienced members of the squad, Panagarry has the added responsibility of forming part of a three-strong leadership team with captain Sasha Corbin and fellow vice captain Nat Haythornthwaite.
She said: “It’s really nice and I’m obviously very privileged to get the vice captain role with Nat and just be under Sash with her as captain so that’s really exciting.
“It’s nice to lead these girls and kind of be a little bit of an older head.
“Obviously being captain at Lightning, it’s just about bringing positivity, energy and a bit of a smile and just kind of get on that court and do our job.
Panagarry enjoyed a stellar season with Lightning, agonisingly missing out to Wasps Netball in the Grand Final.
And the mid-courter is hoping to continue her fine form from the league and British Fast5 All-Stars Championship at Netball Europe.
She said: “I’m feeling really good. I’m still kind of working on fitness as the season’s quite a long way away for Lightning so still getting sharp and working on ball skills.
That’s what’s really nice about this camp – we’re kind of gaining that trust now with each other, especially the attack and defence and that will just keep building.”
All of the players are chomping at the bit to take their chance and impress at Netball Europe with the 2018 Commonwealth Games and 2019 Netball World Cup fast approaching.
Panagarry said: “It’s really important. I think kind of from now we’ve got to put ourselves out there, play our best and show the best of our abilities.
“Then it’s just down to the coaches and what they want to choose for that Commonwealth Games squad.”
The Roses will be in action on the following dates:
Friday 6th October:
England Roses v Scotland, 12pm
England Roses v Northern Ireland, 8pm
Saturday 7th October:
England Roses v Fiji, 8pm
Sunday 8th October:
Wales v England Roses, 12pm
Follow the England Roses at Netball Europe on our official @England_Netball twitter account and watch live through @NetballEurope and @QTV_Sports.
England are next in action on home soil for the three-match Vitality Netball International Series against Malawi this November, get your tickets now!
