Blaze win fifth straight Netball Super League title

SINGAPORE – Over the years, the Jurong East Sport Hall has been the scene of great joy, but also heartbreak for Blaze co-captain Laura Low.

On March 29, it proved to be her happy place, as the team lifted the Deloitte Netball Super League (NSL) trophy for the fifth consecutive time after beating Sneakers 65-46 in the final.

While the outcome appeared to be routine for the champions, it was anything but for Low.

Amid the celebrations, the 26-year-old was visibly emotional as she savoured the win with her teammates.

The victory carried personal significance for Low, as she completed her first full NSL campaign since tearing her right anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in the competition in 2024.

“This is my first season coming back from injury, so it means a lot more to me and being able to lead this team,” she said.

“Two years ago at the same place, I tore my ACL playing against Mannas in the first round. Coming back here has been a tough mental battle but I’m very thankful that the coaches, my teammates believe in me – that’s one of the things that keeps me going.”

The injury saw her sidelined for about a year, causing her to miss the 2025 competition.

When she returned to the venue for the 2026 NSL season, she was faced with the fear of getting injured again.

The junior doctor recalled feeling nervous before the season-opener against Sneakers, but Blaze head coach Wang Jing Qing encouraged her to stay calm and stick to what she was comfortable with, reminding her that the team would support her on court.

Over the season, Low’s confidence has grown, giving her belief that her comeback journey is on the right track.

She said: “I’ve made small steps. I’m definitely a lot more confident on court now. Playing in this NSL has given me renewed confidence in my knee – that it can do changes in direction, I can jump, I can land.

“But I still need to keep working on it, because when I play I still tape up my knee, I still worry about the injury. But moving forward, I will try and get the tape off and be faster, more dynamic and more agile on the court.”

Low was also proud of her team’s resilience through a challenging season that featured back-to-back weekend matches across the competition’s two rounds.

In a rematch of the last four NSL finals on March 29, Blaze had a strong start. The decision to field international player Tendai Masamba from Malawi from the outset paid off as they quickly took a 4-0 lead.

Their rivals struggled with early errors, allowing Blaze to extend their advantage to 17-12 by the end of the first quarter.

The defending champions maintained control in the second quarter, heading into the interval with a 31-24 lead.

They continued their dominance after the break, stretching their lead to 50-36 in the third quarter, before sealing their win by outscoring Sneakers 15-10 in the final period.

Wang praised her team’s effort, adding: “I’m very happy that the team stepped up today. It’s the best performance this whole season; everybody stuck to the game plan.”

She was also pleased with how the team had applied the lessons learnt from their previous two encounters with Sneakers this season, with the teams taking a win each.

Goal-attack Goh Wei Ping said: “We were able to pass the ball with speed, make use of the skills that we have and play to our strengths.

“Sneakers put up a really good fight and they have amazing super shots, so we’re really happy to clinch the championship again.”

Amandeep Kaur Chahal, who plays in goal-attack and goal-shooter for Sneakers, admitted that nerves and pressure could have affected them early in the match as they sought to prove themselves.

While they fell short in the final, she remained encouraged by their overall progress.

“This season was a fresh start for us from last year because we had a lot of new people coming in and we also had a lot of people who had to step up as seniors as well,” she said.

“We always hope to put up our best and give it our best for every game. We weren’t really focused on the outcome as much this year, so we could focus on our process, improving our court play game by game, and we proved to ourselves over the season that we were better than we thought we were.”