Emma Dovey has re-signed for another season with Superleague Champions, Manchester Thunder, and will continue to boost the squad with her invaluable experience and effective leadership style.
Following Sara Bayman’s departure from Thunder in 2016, Dovey inherited the team captain crown and will now enter her fourth consecutive season at the helm. The Lancashire-born Physical Education teacher has shown great dedication to the North West based franchise and has committed her whole senior career in netball to Manchester Thunder.
Throughout her Thunder journey, defender Dovey has led the team to memorable victories such as becoming back to back winners of the Mike Greenwood Trophy in 2018 and 2019 and she also played a pivotal role for England Roses in the Fast5 World series squad in Australia in 2018.
After the cancellation of the 2020 Vitality Netball Superleague after only four matches, Dovey and the rest of the team are now itching to get back to both training and competition and are looking to replicate Thunder’s victorious 2019 season.
Dovey said, “We are now hungry more than ever to get back out there and show everyone what we can do as a squad. We had a brilliant start last year, and I am beyond excited to get back into the Black and Yellow this year. I feel incredibly lucky to act as a captain to a squad with such amazingly talented young players.”
Manchester Thunder Director of Netball and Head Coach, Karen Greig said, “We’re really excited to have our captain back, Emma has been irreplaceable at Thunder. She quietly goes about her job and comes out with interceptions and tips when others least expect it. As a player she can really turn a game around and will be once again solid, in leading our defence unit. Her experience and leadership are vital components in bringing this squad together and have resulted in some outstanding performances. I am looking forward to seeing Emma push on again this season as I feel she still has a lot more to give.”
Dovey, 29, is well respected by both her teammates and the wider netballing community and has earned the status as a role model to young netballers.
As one acts of Thunder’s most qualified players, she will be in her prime as she leads the squad’s resilient defence and dominant attackers into the 2021 Superleague season.