Pulse finished last in their debut season in 2019 but by 2022 reached the Play-Offs, and a year later their first Grand Final, where they were beaten by an experienced Loughborough Lightning outfit.
A semi-final exit last season could have been seen as a step back, but some small tweaks to the youngest squad in the League were all that was required to complete a historic treble.
Pulse’s Grand Final triumph over Lightning typified much of the basis of their success. Four of the starting seven at The O2 – Halimat Adio, Funmi Fadoju, Zara Everitt, and Olivia Tchine – have been with the club since the start of Bird’s tenure in 2020 while another – Alicia Scholes, who joined in 2022 – brought the tally of Vitality Roses to five, all of whom made their international bows while at Pulse.
That homegrown quintet has formed the basis of Pulse’s success, having finished in the Play-Offs in the three seasons prior to finally getting their hands on the trophy.
The connections that continuity has brought is evident on the court, with Adio and Fadoju comprising a fearsome duo in the defensive circle, but of equal value has been the friendships and bonds formed off it.
“It makes a huge difference,” said captain Everitt. “It is obviously easier to be friends when you are winning all the time. In tough moments this year, we have stuck together and that foundational friendship that we have has really helped us. Most of us have known each other for years and then the girls that have come in have folded in so nicely. They are some of my best friends, winning with them is just so much fun.”
Head Coach Sam Bird added: “A shoutout to their loyalty. We have invested in some players that have gone, that hurts me when that happens. I put so much into players that I recruit, and I want them to come on the journey with us, but that hasn’t always happened.
“But the majority of these players have stuck it out; they have got over the losses and stayed loyal to the club. They have improved and they really deserve this win for that loyalty. We have just recruited talent, brought talent up through the pathway and you saw the proof of that, over five years of hard work.”