NXT Gen Netball: An Overview

Netball Super League ball and post | photo taken from @jlf_visuals on instagram

Ahead of the new revamp, England Netball and Netball Super League 2.0 introduced the new U23 league, NXT Gen.

This replaced the old U21 NPL League where emerging talents broke through. NXT Gen consists of nine teams, all of the Netball Super League sides and the addition of Team Bath. 

The competition started before the new Super League season on 7th February, with most teams playing the same side they would face in the league as they would in the NXT Gen. This essentially creates a “double header” sort of atmosphere with fans able to watch the game with their match ticket. 

The Netball Super League player pool was reduced this season with 11 teams becoming 8 and 12 player squads becoming 10 which makes it more of a struggle to get into the first team. This has given them the opportunity to get into the league as they know that the first call to the senior bench is performing well in the league. 

Many of Team Bath’s players moved on since their removal from the league but some stayed with the group and joined their NXTGen side. Ellie Ervine played for the side in last year's Netball Super League during her first season. She was competing alongside her studies at University of Bath and has stayed with the side while finishing her studies. Phoebe Maslen currently is with the side despite being a temporary replacement with Birmingham Panthers and currently has performed well for both sides. 

Some players play alongside university, have been in the NSL squads previously or even have played in the senior squads as temporary replacements. Some Players to watch across the league would be Loughborough Lightning’s Antonia Mitchell, Thunder’s Jade Clarke and Team Bath’s Alanna Pullen and Ellie Ervine. 

Lightning’s Antonia Mitchell is predominantly a goal shooter and has been a vital part in both squads while looking to cement her place in the senior squad for the 2026 season. Manchester Thunder’s Jade Clarke became only the second netballer to reach 200 international caps for England Netball. She was with the London Pulse squad for the 2023 season and is now with the NXTGen side for Manchester Thunder for 2025.

At the start of the year, Alanna Pullen was part of the England U21 side who travelled to Australia alongside other University of Bath Student Athletes such as Phoebe Maslen. She thrives in the centre court particularly wearing the bib of Wing Attack or Centre with her netballing role model being Serena Guthrie after showing commitment to the team.

The games are shown on englandnetball.tv with fans also able to watch the games when in attendance watching the senior side in the NSL.

The website offers fans to watch the NXT Gen games as well as the younger players in action such as the PL1 and NPL. Users can pay £59.99 or £49.99 for a yearly pass depending on the leagues. Single tickets cost £5.99 per match with the ticket valid for 2 days after use.