AUSTRALIAN WATERPOLO LEAGUE - FINALS ROUND 1

The Australian Waterpolo League Finals started today at Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre.

The new finals format sees a four-team round robin played out over three days to determine Sunday's grand finalists.

Click here to rewatch all the matches via KommunityTV.

Catch up on today's round one fixtures below.

Men | UNSW Wests Magpies v Drummoyne Devils

UNSW Wests Magpies held off a second half comeback to open their AWL Men’s Finals campaign with a 9-8 victory over Drummoyne Devils.

The Magpies established a five-goal advantage at one point but were able to keep out the fast finishing Devils to win by the narrowest of margins.

“It was a bit of a shaky third quarter to say the least, but good to get a win in the end,” said Magpies captain Michael de Gail. “It was a quick start and obviously a bit of a mental lapse in the third quarter but we were able to turn the screws and get a win in the end.”

De Gail said the Magpies would put the win behind them and focus on their remaining fixtures over the coming days. 

“It’s a good start, but it’s just a start though,” he said. “Got to repeat tomorrow, then go again Saturday and hopefully play for the gold medal on Sunday.”

Men | Sydney Uni Lions v ACU Cronulla Sharks

Sydney Uni Lions signalled a warning to their AWL Men's Finals series opponents with a commanding 11-5 win over ACU Cronulla Sharks.

The Lions launched to a 5-0 lead in the opening quarter and extended that to an eight-goal advantage before the Sharks got on the board midway through the third quarter.

The lead was out to as much as nine in the final quarter before the Sharks scored the final three goals of the match.

"We really focused on defence this year," said Lions skipper Keegan Wicken. "We think if we can keep teams to under six goals we're going to win the game, so keeping them to nil for most of the game was really good."

Wicken does not expect the competition to get any easier over the coming days with tough fixtures ahead against Drummoyne and UNSW Wests Magpies.

"A lot of Australian players in their teams so I think we're going to take this win but we're also not going to relax and we'll take the next two games really seriously," he said.

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The AWL Men's Finals continue tomorrow with ACU Cronulla Sharks and UNSW Wests Magpies doing battle at 1pm before Sydney Uni Lions meet Drummoyne Devils at 2:30pm.

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Women | Sydney Uni Lions v Griffith University Queensland Thunder

Sydney Uni Lions have started their Australian Water Polo League Women’s Finals campaign in emphatic fashion with a dominant 14-7 victory over defending champions Griffith University Queensland Thunder at Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre.

Lions captain Isobelle Pamp was happy to start the finals on the front foot with challenging matches to come over the next three days. 

“Its So good to get a good statement win out first,” said Pamp. “All of these games are going to be tough. Today was more about the mindset of being in finals.

“Tomorrow, UWA is going to be hard and that’s our next focus. And then on Saturday, Fremantle, they’re going to be just as hard.”

Women | UWA Torpedoes v Fremantle Marlins

Also recording an AWL Women’s Finals win this morning were Fremantle Marlins who edged cross-city rivals UWA Torpedoes 11-9.

Nothing could separate the West Australian teams at full-time, with the Marlins claiming victory in a penalty shootout.

Marlins captain Glencora McGhie was relieved to come away with the win and believes the team can continue to build as the finals series moves on.

“It was a hard game, a very shaky start,” said McGhie. “We are super lucky to make it through with a penalty shootout win and hopefully we can make some big improvements moving forward.”

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The AWL Women’s Finals continue tomorrow at Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre with UWA Torpedoes facing Sydney Uni Lions at 10am, followed by Fremantle Marlins v Griffith University Queensland Thunder at 11:30am.