Jo Franklin plays goalshooter for Bishop’s Cleeve Netball Club and she’s pretty good at it.

She reckons on scoring about 40 goals every game so if she plays 18 games in the Gloucestershire League Premier Division this season it means she should score something like 360 goals.

That’s some going and those are figures that even multi-million pound superstar footballer Lionel Messi can only dream about.

Just think how much money Jo could have earned if she had followed her husband Neil into professional football!

Jo, of course, plays netball for fun and the enjoyment she gets from the game is obvious. She must have said the word “brilliant” almost as many times as the number of goals she scores in a game when talking to The Local Answer about her club, netball in general or playing the game.

The 40-year-old plays for Cleeve’s Knights team – their number one side. The club, which was founded by Sammy Saville and Louise Brown, has another team – Saints – that also plays in the Premier Division, and the Warriors, who play in Division One.

“It’s quality, not quantity,” laughed Jo. “We’re an adult only club and we’ve got players aged from 16 to 45. We’ve got about 36 members including Sammy who still plays. Netball gives you a sense of identity. It is getting much more recognised and it’s such fun.”

Jo herself has been playing for Cleeve for the past seven years after taking time out from the sport she learned at Chosen Hill School to get married, have children and earn a living.

“It’s been a big part of my life,” she said. “I played a lot in my youth and it’s something I love doing.”

She may love playing the sport but the 6ft 2in hotshot is deadly serious once out on the court.

“I’m very competitive,” she said with some pride. “I’m quite aggressive on court. I get my game face on.

“I’m not built for speed, I’m built for stamina and my job is to score goals. Height is my biggest asset – I might not be in the team if I wasn’t so tall!”

So, what are games like when the Knights and Saints go head to head?

“Very competitive,” she laughed. “We always think it won’t be but it all gets quite serious. I suppose it is a derby game.”

The club have a new coach this season – Stella Ben Hania – who also doubles up as a Hucclecote coach.

Jo is impressed. “She’s a force to be reckoned with,” she laughed. “She had us quaking in our boots in pre-season.”

The Knights didn’t have the best of seasons last time out and are looking to improve on their mid-table finish.

“Last year we had a lot of new players and it was all about staying in the division,” said Jo. “Hopefully we can build on that this season – our aim is always to finish in the top two and try to qualify for the South West League.”

Jo lives in Shipton Oliffe with Neil – a one-time footballer with Huntington Beach in California – and their two sons.

She is already looking excitedly ahead to December but sad to say from the boys’ viewpoint, it’s not the 25th that she has ringed in her diary.

The big date in the month for Jo is Saturday 9th December when Cleeve are playing a touring team from Australia.

“It’s at the recreation centre in Cheltenham and kicks off at 5.30pm,” she said. “Hopefully we’ll be able to go to Australia and play the return leg at some stage. That would be brilliant!”