AYWPC wrap | Day 5
Published Wed 16 Jan 2019
The penultimate day before finals at the Australian Youth Water Polo Championships has wrapped up and the gold medal matches are set across U14 and U18 age divisions.
The stage is set for a jam packed day of finals action the will be capped off with the highly anticipated Australia vs Japan Test Match Series.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL RESULTS & UPCOMING FIXTURES
U18 Men’s gold medal match: Sydney Uni Lions vs UNSW Wests Magpies
The gold medal game is set to be fierce in the U18 Men's division, with cross town rivals Sydney Uni Lion and UNSW West Magpies to take centre stage at 5:00pm (local time).
Sydney Uni Lions will be out for redemption after the UNSW West Magpies took out the NSW Championship title in 2018. This rematch will be one to watch on the big day of finals.
Local Brisbane boys Rivercity will have the home crowd advantage as they head into the bronze medal match against Melville Sharks. After defeating ACU Cronulla Sharks in the quarter finals, they were riding a high - but were unlucky to go down to 5-7 UNSW West Magpies in the semi final.
Speaking after the quarter final, River City's Jack Gallagher f said the emotions were running high.
“There were a lot of feelings going into that one because for most of us it’s our last junior competition, but the boys really came together at the end which was good.
“It was a hard fought game, Cronulla are always a tough opposition. It was a bit scrappy for the first half and then we pulled it together and started playing as a team which worked well,” he said.
Claiming seventh in their previous national championships, Gallagher and his teammates are hoping to improve on that and will definitely call on their supporters tomorrow.
“The support is fantastic, we couldn’t do it without our parents driving us here, our friends coming out to watch and the whole Club getting around us.
It’s fantastic to have everyone here in one location,” he said.
In the U18 Men's bronze medal match up it will be Melville Sharks vs River City.
A post shared by Olaf Sjerp (@olafsjerp) on Jan 15, 2019 at 7:47pm PST
U18 Women’s gold medal match: Drummoyne Devils vs Mermaids
Brisbane favourites the Mermaids will be drawing on the home town support as they face a tough Drummoyne Devils outfit in the gold medal match for the 2019 Australian Youth Water Polo Championships.
The battle of the Brisbane teams made for an epic semi final on day five with the Mermaids claiming an impressive 11-4 win over rivals the Brisbane Barracudas.
The Barras looked to be off to a good start to their day five campaign, with the gold medal final well within in their sites. Despite an epic one goal win over Perth's Triton Water Polo Club, they weren't able to carry it through to the semi final.
Brisbane Barraduas’ co-captain Tenealle Fasala helped secure a tight one goal victory over the Tritons.
“Our first three quarters were really strong, we were up by about four goals and in the last quarter they came back a bit, but we held them off to win.
“I’m a bit sore now and the mind does feel a little tired but we’re pushing through. Our main goal is to win obviously, but we also have a strong focus on having fun in this competition as well,” she said.
The Brisbane Barracudas will now face the UTS Balmain Tigers in the bronze medal playoff.
A post shared by Sydney Uni Women WPC (@suwomenswpc) on Jan 15, 2019 at 5:52pm PST
U14 Men’s gold medal match: Sydney Uni Blue vs Melbourne Collegians
Sydney Uni men have dominated the opening week of the Australian Youth Water Polo Championships with boy the U14 and U18 mens sides qualifying through to the gold medal matches.
Sydney Uni Blue kept their strong form from the preliminary rounds going, remaining undefeated throughout tournament.
But Sydney Uni will face a formidable Melbourne Collegians team who come into the gold medal game with convincing wins in day five's quarter final and semi final, after getting a 8-1 win over Drummoyne Devils 8-1 and 9-3 win over UWA Bears.
In the semi finals UNSW West Magpies were unlucky to their fellow NSW rivals Sydney Uni Blue 5-8. They started the day off well with a nice 7-4 victory in the quarter finals over Melville Sharks, but weren't able to carry that momentum through to the semi final.
Magpies player Harry Underhill said that at this point of the tournament the fatigue is certainly starting to set in. Speaking after the quarter final win he said: “It’s such a great feeling to win a quarter final, it means all those training sessions have gone into something good.
“That game was so tight it was really tiring. The first two quarters were really even, then in the third quarter we just got in front and that gave us the confidence we needed to keep going.
Speaking about having fellow UNSW Wests teams up in Brisbane, Underhill was positive about the effect it has on his team.
“At one of our earlier games we had the whole of Wests there supporting and cheering us for a massive game, it was really good because it gets you so pumped,” he said.
In the bronze medal match up it will UNSW Magpies vs UWA Bears.
U14 Women’s gold medal match: All Hallows School vs Mermaids Pink
The true battle of Brisbane will be in the U14 Women's gold medal match when All Hallows Schools take on Mermaids Pink in what is sure to be a fierce contest for the gold medal.
Both teams will be evenly matched after only dropping one match during the pool stages and claiming decisive wins in the today's quarter and semi finals.
For All Hallows, they delivered a 13-5 win over the Adelaide Jets earlier in the day during the quarter finals, backing that up with a 9-3 win over Sydney Northern Beaches in the semi, booking their spot in the gold medal game.
But they will meet a dominate Mermaids Pink side, who were unstoppable in the preliminary finals, taking 13-2 win over St Ritas College followed by 9-0 win over UNSW West Killer Whales
It will be SNB Breakers who will take on UNSW West Killer Whales in the bronze medal match.
A post shared by UNSW Wests Water Polo (@unswwestswp) on Jan 15, 2019 at 5:14pm PST
For all up to date results and the week one finals day fixtures from the Australian Youth Water Polo Championships – click here.
Follow us at @WaterPoloAus and use #AYWPC to be part of this two-week water polo celebration in Brisbane!
Thurdsay 17 January medal fixtures (local time)
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- 8:30am - 14&U Men's bronze medal: UNSW Wests Magpies vs UWA Bears
- 9:30am - 14&U Women's bronze medal: SNB Breakers vs UNSW Wests Killer Whales
- 10:30am - 18&U Women's bronze medal: Barras vs UTS BAlmain Tigers
- 12:00pm - 18&U Men's bronze medal: Melville Sharks vs River City
- 1:30pm - 14&U Men's gold medal: Sydney Uni Blue vs Melbourne Collegians
- 2:30pm - 14&U Women's gold medal: AHS vs Mermaids Pink
- 3:30pm - 18&U Women's gold medal: Mermaids vs Drummoyne
- 5:00pm - 18&U Men's gold medal: Sydney Uni Lions vs UNSW Wests Magpies
BRACE YOURSELVES, THE FINALS ARE HERE!
Our great friends at OVO will be live streaming all medal matches on their FREE OVOPlay App – click here.
Don’t forget to make the most of your time in Brisbane and you could WIN the ultimate Aussie supporters pack using #AYWPCBrisbane - click here to download your FREE guide to Brisbane.
Take part in a Q&A with the Head Coaches from the Australian and Japanese Men’s and Women’s teams, don’t miss out on this amazing opportunity – click here for details.
Grab yourself a slice of AYWPC history and buy yourself something memorable. You can find the merchandise van out the front of the Brisbane Aquatic Centre and have a look at their shirts, backpacks, hats, jumpers and more. Check out their range online before you pop in - click here.
