Ellie Rattu is hoping her switch to Saracens Mavericks will  lead to glory for both her new team and individually.

The 23-year-old starred for England as they won silver on home soil at the recent Nations Cup.

And while the defender’s attentions now turn to the Netball Superleague, with the Hatfield-based Mavericks, she is still looking at more international honours.

She said: "As much as you hope, dream and you want things to happen, I didn't think it would pan out for me that way with England, but it's been amazing.

"It's been such a great experience for me to learn and be thrown in the deep end, just to be in an environment that is constantly challenging and expecting more of you. 

"And I think that's the same at Mavericks, It is the same environment that I've got there so I think that's only going to serve me well for the future.

"The dream is to keep playing for England and I'm hoping that this season with this great team will help me step in the right direction towards that. 

"But I'm not thinking too far ahead."

Rattu helped London Pulse top the regular season table in 2023 before losing to Loughborough Lightning in the final.

But her minutes dwindled for London Pulse last season and a desire to spend more time on court was part of what prompted her move.

She said: "It's always challenging coming into a new team, but I feel like they've made me feel really welcome. 

“I feel part of the squad and I’m excited to see what we can build throughout the season together.

“There are a lot of reasons why I joined Mavericks, court time was definitely one of them. 

“And it's also just good to be challenged. Moving to a team like this is going to challenge me physically and mentally and give me something new to try and work through.

“We've got a great team, we've got high aspirations as well, so I'm not sacrificing any of the want for success. 

“I’m really looking forward to seeing what we can create, and all the challenges that I’ll have to work my way through as an individual.”

Saracens Mavericks begin their season against last year’s bottom side Cardiff Dragons in the final game of the season opener in Nottingham.

They have been the nearly team in recent years, finishing fifth in the last five completed seasons.

But Rattu believes two-time champions Mavericks have what it takes to make it back into the all-important top four and is it not shying away from saying so.

She said: "That's been the club's goal since the Superleague started, I think it should be everyone's goal. 

"We're proud to say that and we want to go after that. You've got to be clear on what you want to achieve. 

"We have expectations as a club and as a team. So, if we train and we play the way we should do then I believe that we should be up there."

The season opener marks the start of the 2024 Netball Super League season and takes place on Saturday.

For tickets go to the England Netball website.