In a London 2012 rematch that will set the pool alight, the Australian  women’s water polo team will take on Hungary in the bronze medal playoff at the FINA World Championships.

The stage is set for a 2012 Olympic showdown when these two sides battled it out for the Olympic bronze medal, Australia finishing on the podium defeating Hungary in overtime.

It’s a rivalry that Captain Rowie Webster knows all too well, the dual Olympian forming part of the bronze medal side in 2012. 

“It’s a direct rematch of the 2012 Olympic Games and there is a huge rivalry between Hungary and the Stingers.

“Hungary are a highly skilled team and we cannot afford to relax at any stage. They love to score goals, so we will attempt to frustrate that part of their game by being really solid in defence,” she said.

Both sides come into the match with four wins and two losses and will be determined for a podium finish with the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games just 12 months away. 

“We are excited to be playing for a World Championship medal. After a tough loss to USA we will plan to come out firing and leave nothing in the tank after four quarters.

“It’s awesome to look up into the crow and see all our Aussie supporters and we will endeavour to do them and ourselves proud.  We will fight to bring home that bronze medal,” she said. 

Aussie Stingers Assistant Coach Rebecca Rippon, knows first hand what the team will be going through, herself a dual Olympian. 

“The girls are ready, they’re focused for the game… they’ve got everything still to play for. 

“We’ll let the game against USA go, take what we need from the game to move forward and come up against Hungary ready for a big game,” said Rippon.

Australia vs Hungary, Friday 26 July, 6:00pm AEST - watch live on www.finatv.live or follow @WaterpoloAus

QUARTER FINAL I AUS v USA 

The Aussie Stingers will go through to the bronze medal playoff of the FINA World Championships after going down to reigning World Champions USA,7-2. 

The Aussie Stingers weren’t able to hold off the USA who are looking to take their third consecutive World title. 

They will now face Hungary on Friday 26 July at 6:00pm AEST for the bronze medal playoff. 

Aussie Stingers Assistant Coach, Rebecca Rippon, said despite the score-line the Aussies delivered a good defensive game. 

“There were a couple of goals let in that we shouldn’t have, but we were happy with our defence. 

“In the second half we were a bit more aggressive on attack. We will now watch the next semi-final and find out who our opposition will be and do an analysis on ourselves and them. We will look for areas to improve and fix them,’ said Rippon.

The Aussie Stingers struggled to convert goals until the second half when Captain Rowie Webster blasted her 13th goal of the tournament.

There was a further ten minutes with no goals recorded before Bronte Halligan produced a great goal to put the score at 2-6. But with just two minutes left on the clock there was little time for the Aussie Stingers to recover.

While the scoreline didn’t go the Stingers way, their ability to keep the world’s best team to only one goal a piece in the final two quarters shows the strong defensive abilities of the team. 

SEMI FINAL I UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 7 AUSTRALIA 2

Quarters: 3-0, 2-0, 1-1, 1-1

AUSTRALIA: Gabriella Palm, Keesja Gofers, Hannah Buckling, Bronte Halligan, Isobel Bishop, Bronwen Knox, Rowie Webster, Amy Ridge, Zoe Arancini, Lena Mihailovic, Elle Armit, Madeleine Steere, Lea Yanitsis. Head Coach: Predrag Mihailovic.

Quarter Final: Australia vs Russia 

The Aussie Stingers will line up in the semi final of the FINA World Championships after a solid 9-7 win over Russia in today’s quarter final.

From the outset the Aussie Stingers took control of the game to push the Rio Olympic bronze medalists, setting up a solid first half lead which gave them the confidence to bring home the win.

Queensland young gun Gabi Palm is having a stand out World Championship debut, the goal keeper today taking out ‘Player of the Match.’  The 21-year-old was crucial in goals and delivered a strong defensive performance.  

“We went into the whole game to shut down their counter-attack and have strong defence,” said Palm.

“We held them to one goal in the first half. We held strong against their counter-attack and controlled the game. I’m so stoked to go to the semi finals,” she said.

“We weren’t individuals, but worked as a team. The last time I played Russia was in the semi final at the World Cup (2018) where we went down by two and I made two big saves. Their (Aussie defence) make it easy for me to play,” she said.

Dual Olympian and Captain of the Aussie Stingers, Rowie Webster, couldn’t be happier with her team’s effort. 

“Absolutely cracking team. We went up and down the pool for four quarters and having Gabi (Palm) in goal was just amazing. The team goals and the way we were grinding it out, was just brilliant,” said Webster. 

Rio Olympian Hannah Buckling opened up the scoring for the game, followed up quickly by Zoe Arancini, putting the Stingers ahead 2-1 at the break.

Strong defensive effort from the Australians kept the Russians scoreless in the second quarter, while Buckling got her second for night and Captain Rowie Webster converted a penalty goal to push the half time lead out to 4-1.

But the strong Russian side, who were looking to better their bronze medal from 2017 World Championships, came out firing in the third quarter and delivered two goals I quick succession to keep themselves in the match.  Two goals courtesy of Bronte Halligan in the third period allowed the Aussies to hold on to their lead, 6-4, at the end of the break.

The final quarter had Aussie fans on the edge of their seat, with Russia staging a solid come back to level the score 6-6 with just over four minutes left in the game.

The Aussie Stingers kicked into a new gear with a trifecta of goals, including another penalty shot from Webster. It gave the Australians all the momentum leading into the dying seconds of the match to round it out with a 9-7 win.

Australia will now meet the reigning World Champions USA on Wednesday 24 July at 6:00pm AEST (5:00pm local). Watch all the action live on www.finatv.live 

RUSSIA 7 AUSTRALIA 9

Classification 1-8 Quarterfinals

Quarters: 1-2, 0-2, 3-2, 3-3

AUSTRALIA: Gabriella Palm, Keesja Gofers, Hannah Buckling (2), Bronte Halligan (2), Isobel Bishop, Bronwen Knox, Rowie Webster (3), Amy Ridge, Zoe Arancini (1), Lena Mihailovic, Elle Armit (1), Madeleine Steere, Lea Yanitsis. Head Coach: Predrag Mihailovic.

Game 4: Australia vs Kazakhstan 

The Aussie Stingers won their third match of the 2019 FINA World Championships with a convincing 13-3 victory over Kazakhstan in the crossover round.

The Stingers raced to a four-nil lead with first quarter goals coming the way of Rowie Webster, Bronte Halligan, Amy Ridge and Zoe Arancini.

The Aussie defence held strong for the first half as Keesja Gofers extended the lead to 5-0.

Kazakhstan made an opportunity stick but Australia responded through nice team work that was topped off by Hannah Buckling and it was 6-1 at half-time.  

Halligan was back on the attack early in the third-quarter, followed by Arancini who also found the net for the second occasion in her 250th international. 

Kazakhstan broke through the Aussie defence for two quick goals, but Halligan was back on the offence and she added her third goal for the night to make it 9-3 at three-quarter time.

The Aussies kept their opponents scoreless in the final quarter and finished the way they started adding four more goals to the scoresheet courtesy of Gofers, Elle Armit, Maddy Steere and Halligan who dropped-in her fourth goal of the night.

The win has set-up a quarter final showdown against Russia and a shot at the medal round.

“For us we started well, but we were not consistent,” Zoe Arancini said.

“The next game is Russia and they capitalise on your mistakes. Our defence was to press and be dominant. Defence is one point we are happy with going into the next game,” she said. 

KAZAKHSTAN 3 AUSTRALIA 13 

Quarters: 0-4, 1-2, 2-3, 0-4

AUSTRALIA: Gabriella Palm, Keesja Gofers (2), Hannah Buckling (1), Bronte Halligan (4), Isobel Bishop, Bronwen Knox, Rowie Webster (1), Amy Ridge (1), Zoe Arancini (2), Lena Mihailovic, Elle Armit (1), Madeleine Steere (1), Lea Yanitsis. Head Coach: Predrag Mihailovic.

Game 3: Australia vs Japan 

The Aussies Stingers have wrapped up the preliminary rounds of the FINA World Championships with a 9-7 win over Japan.

The win will see Australia finish second in their pool, with the cross over matches for Saturday still to be determined.

Dual Olympian Rowie Webster captained the side to victory, celebrating in her 300th game for Australia.

“It’s a massive honour to be in the 300 club along with Mel Rippon and Bron Knox. It’s pretty cool that I’m still playing with Bron now.  I think it just shows the longevity and love for our sport in Australia,” said Webster.

While Webster said they were pleased to get the win, she admitted that Japan really pushed the Aussies.  

“We did come away the win… but Japan took us all the way through four quarters.  They started really well, they played their game, we got a little frazzled through there.

“But we stayed confident, stuck to our systems and eventually finished the game out with some good goals at the end.  I’m pretty proud of the girls,” said Webster.

Aussie Stingers Assistant Coach Bec Rippon, said they knew Japan were going to be tough.

“We have been training a fair bit with the Japanese lately so we know they are strong and have a great shooter in No 2 (Yumi Arima). We had to shut her down and play to our strengths and take away their strengths.

“We know we can score and we know they can just as well.

“At three-quarter time we told the players to play better and press the pass and let the defence do their job. We spoke about being more mobile in attack and we changed that later,” said Rippon.  

While Japan got the first points on the board, goals from Webster, Arancini and Gofers gave Australia a 3-2 lead, at the end of the first period.

In a low scoring second period it was clear this match was going to go down to the wire, with Bishop the only Aussie to get points on the board and scores locked 4-4 at half time.

The Aussies wrangled back a one-point lead at the end of the third period courtesy of goals from Arancini and Buckling, heading into the final period up 6-5.

But Japan were determined to finish strong and scored first to once again lock up the scores. It was Buckling, Bishop and Buckling again who helped secure the win with a three-goal advantage with two minutes remaining. Japan got one more on extra with 35 seconds left in the match, but the Aussies had done enough to secure the win and finish second in their pool.

Australia are through to the cross over stage and will play again on Saturday, with their opponent still to be determined.

JAPAN 7 AUSTRALIA 9

Quarters: 2-3, 2-1, 1-2, 2-3

AUSTRALIA: Gabriella Palm, Keesja Gofers (1), Hannah Buckling (3), Bronte Halligan, Isobel Bishop (2), Bronwen Knox, Rowie Webster (1), Amy Ridge, Zoe Arancini (2), Lena Mihailovic, Elle Armit, Madeleine Steere, Lea Yanitsis. Head Coach: Predrag Mihailovic.

Game 2: Australia vs China 

The Aussie Stingers have rebounded well to take a 14-12 win over China in game two of the FINA World Championships.

It was a fierce battle between the two sides who are very familiar with each other, often meeting on the international stage.

From the outset it was clear this contest would go down to the wire, with the game tied at various points throughout, including at the end of the first quarter where the score was4-4.

Half time the Aussie Stingers managed a two-point advantage to lead 9-7at the break. That two point lead proved vital, with the second half seeing both sides scoring an equal number of goals in the third and fourth period.

Returning to the Aussie Stingers line up for the first time since became a mum, Lea Yanitsas proved formidable in goals as she celebrated her 150th cap for Australia.

Yanistsas said the team were pleased with how they stood up against the Chinese, especially in their attack.

“We got off to a really good start, it was frustrating to let them back into the game, but awesome to grind it out to the end.

“Our attack was awesome, we took our opportunities and we had good execution,” she said.

The Aussie Stingers will now take on Japan in the final game of the pool stages on Thursday 18 July 2019 at 12:10pm (AEST). Watch live on www.finatv.live

AUSTRALIA 14 CHINA 12

Quarters: 4-4, 5-3, 3-3, 2-2

Extra man: AUS: 2/5. CHN: 5/9

AUSTRALIA: Gabriella Palm, Keesja Gofers (3), Hannah Buckling (2), Bronte Halligan (1), Isobel Bishop, Bronwen Knox (1), Rowie Webster (3), Amy Ridge (2), Zoe Arancini (1), Lena Mihailovic (1), Elle Armit, Madeleine Steere, Lea Yanitsis. Head Coach: Predrag Mihailovic.

GAME 1 AUSTRALIA VS ITALY 

Gwangju, South Korea: The Aussie Stingers have suffered a narrow loss to Italy in the opening match of the FINA World Championships in South Korea, with the final score 9-10.

The game went down to the wire, as the Aussie Stingers showed great fight in the second half to claw themselves back within striking distance.

The Olympic silver medalists, Italy, showed why they are a force on the international stage coming out strong to set up a 3-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.

In second quarter saw the Aussies put the first two points on the board courtesy of great goals from Hannah Buckling and Amy Ridge. But the Italians weren’t about to relinquish their lead and delivered another three goals before half time to put the score at 2-6.

The Aussie Stingers scored three of the first four goals of the third period to close the gap to 5-7. But Italy once again kicked into another gear to take two consecutive goals and push their lead out to four goals and the end of the period, 5-9.

Aussie Captain Rowie Webster’s penalty shot once again put the Aussies in the hunt, with Keesja Gofers converting extra-man attack and Buckling off a cross pass on counter put the score at 8-9 at 5:05.

Webster's goal was disallowed (before the ball crossed the line) but her next attempt on the following attack lobbed off the bar into goal to put the score at 9-10 with 45 seconds left in the match. While the Aussies regained the ball with 19 seconds on the clock and Bronte Halligan sent in the hopeful equalising, hitting the left upright and bouncing back to Italy's favour for the heart-stopping finish to the game.

Rowie Webster was pleased with how her team stood up in the second half but admitted allowing Italy’s early lead in the opening quarter cost them.

“We had a tough loss. There were times where we didn’t necessarily execute our opportunities but it was a really good comeback from the girls and something to build going further into this tournament.

“We are disappointed and not necessarily satisfied. But credit to the girls in the team, standing up and taking their shots and we’ll go forward from here.

“I think we showed a lot of courage in the second half, our stumps were down. They're a class team and you can't let them get to 3-nil.

“We have China and Japan up next… we have to reassess the game (against Italy) and leave it in the past and look ahead to who we have coming up,” she said.

Game two of the preliminary rounds will see Australia take on China on Tuesday 16 July 2019 at 17:30 (AEST). All matches are streamed live on www.finatv.live

AUSTRALIA 9 ITALY 10

Quarters: 0-3, 2-3, 3-3, 4-1

Extra man: AUS: 1/9 ITA: 5/7

Penalties: AUS: 1/1.

AUSTRALIA: Gabriella Palm, Keesja Gofers (1), Hannah Buckling (2), Bronte Halligan, Isobel Bishop, Bronwen Knox, Rowie Webster (4), Amy Ridge (1), Zoe Arancini, Lena Mihailovic (1), Elle Armit, Madeleine Steere, Lea Yanitsis. Head Coach: Predrag Mihailovic.