London Pulse head coach Sam Bird draws inspiration from the Chicago Bulls and Dallas Cowboys as her team prepares to defend their Netball Super League title. Only four teams have achieved back-to-back NSL victories, but Bird studies Michael Jordan’s dominant Bulls squad, which secured three consecutive NBA championships twice, and the Cowboys, who claimed two straight Super Bowls in the 1990s.

Inspiration from Basketball and American Football

Pulse captured their inaugural NSL crown in 2025 by thwarting Loughborough Lightning’s potential three-peat. Now the favorites, they launch their campaign on February 27. Bird examines successes in other sports to guide her strategy.

Bird stated: “I have taken the time to really look at other sports where they have retained titles in basketball and NFL. In the Super League, we have had Team Bath who have won back-to-back, and Loughborough, so we are taking what they have done and trying to really think carefully about what has made the difference, whether that is culture, standard of a roster, what your preparation time is, those types of things.”

“I was looking at Jordan, I am very much a Michael Jordan fan, so I have been looking at the Chicago Bulls retaining their title. For older fans, Dallas Cowboys did the double and I was big fan of the Dallas Cowboys when American Football first came to England. I was looking at those teams and their culture. How they pushed on, how they improved and got even better in their subsequent season.”

Squad Stability Fuels Ambitions

Maintaining continuity proves vital for title defenses, and Pulse retains nine players from last season’s champions. South African Kamogelo Maseko joins as the sole newcomer. Crucially, they secured star defender Funmi Fadoju, named Player of the Final and a key figure for both Pulse and England, despite overtures from Australia’s Suncorp Super Netball.

Bird noted: “A fair few clubs in Australia have been after Funmi for many years, this year was not unusual, and it is usually multiple clubs interested. Funmi is very connected to London, very happy in our club, and she is still improving in her netball, in the England programme and at Pulse. Athletes need to be happy away from the court and she has got a really good netball-life balance here. Knowing the club is super ambitious and knowing that we want to push Funmi on to continue to become an even better player made the decision quite a comfortable one for her. At some point, she will probably end up in Australia but it has to be the right time for Funmi, and people forget how young she is still.”

Season Kickoff and Grand Final Excitement

Pulse opens against fierce rivals Manchester Thunder at home, with the return match set for Liverpool. Manchester Thunder hosts the inaugural northern Soft & Gentle Grand Final on June 20, shifting the spotlight from Pulse’s triumphant 2025 win at London’s O2 Arena.

Bird expressed enthusiasm: “The fanbase and netball in Manchester are both strong. Manchester-London is a natural rivalry and has been for years. Thunder fans are really loud. It will be a real hothouse. The difference with our team now to maybe two or three years ago is they will almost absorb that and use that energy for themselves. Before it might have been a threat but now they are comfortable and confident enough to play in any environment. It is almost a nice spin for us, having won in London, to try and win in Manchester it is another ambition for us to try and meet.”