Now a month since their arrival from Melbourne, The Netball Post caught up with Aussie duo Sacha McDonald and Tayla Honey to see how they were settling into London life ahead of their first season with Vitality Netball Super League club London Pulse.

Both players took to the court at the pre-season Rise Again Festival in December, which was the first trip for both players to Manchester.  

Midcourter Tayla Honey said it was a great experience for her, as she joins the franchise for the first time.

 “It was great to get amongst all the girls in the team. The last few weeks there has been a lot of England camps, so players have been pulled out left, right and centre,” she said.

“For this weekend, it was really important that we all finally got to play all together.”

While sometimes it can take a while to get used to different combinations in a netball team, Honey said it was a positive experience for her and the players around her.

”It was pretty seamless, leading up to the Manchester weekend we had a day match play against the Pulse U21s and it didn’t take us long to gel with the other girls and the other mid-court, especially with Liv Tchine back in GS who presents really easily which has made our job a lot easier.”

Goaler Sacha McDonald had similar thoughts and said working with former Diamonds coach Lisa Alexander was a great experience.

 “[The style of play here is] pretty similar,” she said.

 “They’ve been really awesome, there’s a fair few coaching styles. But central to all is getting the best out of each player.”

The Vitality Netball Super League is set to begin next month! Watch Tayla Honey and Sacha McDonald playing with the London Pulse as they take on Loughborough Lightning on February 5, 2022.