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Strathclyde Sirens co-captain Bethany Dix dreaming of top-four finish

Sirens co-captain Bethany Dix joined the side ahead of the 2021 Super League season and has since become an integral part of the club (NAOMI BAKER)

By Ben Fleming, Sportsbeat

New Strathclyde Sirens co-captain Bethany Dix is dreaming of leading her new side into a top-four position in the 2023 Netball Super League.

Dix, who will share the captaincy with Scotland international Emily Nicholl, took over the joint role following the retirement of former skipper Gia Abernethy at the end of last season.

The 24-year-old joined Sirens ahead of the 2021 Super League season but has been an integral part of the club who were founded in 2017.

Dix said: “Co-captain is a role that I am so honoured to have.

“I was very close to our captain last year Gia [Abernethy] and I hope I can fill the hole that she left - that’s probably why it’s taken two of us.”

The Glasgow-based side finished sixth and eighth in the 2021 and 2022 seasons respectively.

English-born Dix wants to set her sights on the top four and a place in the finals series this campaign.

She added: “I am hoping for the top four. We made eighth last year so I am hoping that we can do better than that this year.

“We have to just keep improving. The top four will be extremely competitive but the team and I are there and ready to fight. If we win our must-win games we can compete with the best in the league.

“I feel like we have been in pre-season forever so very excited to get back out there and get the band back together.”

As the only Scottish franchise, the Sirens have a strong connection with the national side with six players from head coach Lesley MacDonald’s squad featuring for the Thistles at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham last summer.

Their strong Scottish roots does not come at the expense of diversity, though, with the likes of Ugandan goal attack Stella Oyella and Malawi-international Towera Vinkhumbo set to play a key part this season, something that Dix believes only serves to benefit her side.

She said: “There are quite a few new personalities as well as keeping a core group, I think that’s quite exciting – it’s a nice balance between the two.

“We have got some flair players coming in which is exciting, a bit of feistiness about us and I think we are a really dogged team, we are going to go to the end of every game.”

The 2023 Netball Super League season gets underway on Saturday 11 February, live on Sky Sports. Tickets to games across the season can be found at: //netballsl.com/tickets