ACU CRONULLA SHARKS HAVE UNFINISHED BUSINESS LEADING INTO AWL

ACU Cronulla Sharks will have some unfinished business when they take to the pool at the the Australian Waterpolo League in Brisbane later this month.

Cronulla women bolstered their ranks at the beginning of last season, with the addition of Aussie Stingers Maddy Steere teaming up with her national team mate Lena Mihailovic.

The pair complemented what was an experienced line up right across the board, according the ACU Cronulla Sharks Vice President Patrick Falson.

“Our girls were itching to make finals last season, and I know their mindset hasn’t wavered since,” Falson said.

“They’ve been training together since September and even though they didn’t know what they were training for, they were spurred on by motivation to tackle whatever the season was going to look like.

“This season is going to be a totally different type of competition with back to back games which means managing fatigue in what we’re expecting to be an intense week long tournament.

“But it’s also going to prepare our top players really well for the Olympics. So while we’ll adapt a different approach - it’s going to be a good learning experience for everyone involved,” he said.

Patrick Northam will debut as coach of the Cronulla women this season, after making his way through the playing pathway. Northam’s elevation to coach is something that Cronulla are very proud of.

Falson added that while Northam’s Cronulla women will be the ones to look out for this season, the men should not be underestimated.

“We’ve got quite a young team with a lot of fresh players - for some of them it will be their first national league season,” Falson said.

“But they’re ready and eager to learn. A few of them are part of Australian junior squads and they’ve all got high hopes of a really good national league result.

“They’ve been training together for a long time, even through winter, so they're just itching to get out there and play some high quality polo,” he said.

As a club that also boasts a number of underage teams, the entire Cronulla contingent will travel to Brisbane and Falson is excited to see all the action.

“Water Polo Australia have done a really good job of securing what they could, even though this season is going to be completely different to what we know it’s going to be super exciting,” Falson said.

“As a club, we’ll have a number of teams competing at the Australian Youth Water Polo Championships.

“Having the AWL finals on the first day of competition for the youth is going to be an amazing opportunity for our kids.

“I go back to when I was a junior, and I used to go and watch players like Craig Miller and Nathan Thomas.

“You learn so many things when you’re young, and for them to be able to be a part of AWL finals is going to be a great learning experience.

“Witnessing that high quality water polo at a young age is what spurred me on to represent my club, Cronulla, for a long time,” he said.

The 2021 Australian Waterpolo League will kick off in Brisbane on Wednesday 31 March, with teams battling it out across seven days of competition before the all important finals at Brisbane Aquatic Centre on Wednesday 7 April.

The 2021 Australian Waterpolo League is a COVID Safe event in compliance with QLD Health guidelines.

For tickets to the 2021 Australian Waterpolo League - click here

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