Bronzed Country Aussies

It was a successful weekend for Australia’s country teams at the Asia Pacific Water Polo Tournament with our women winning bronze and the men finishing fourth.

Both teams faced stiff opposition across the three-day event and the men remained undefeated until the final day.

Arriving energised and excited, the players benefited from three days of training at the Kowloon Park Swimming Pool prior to competition commencement.

The Aussie men started strong defeating Taiwan 14-2 in their opening game with John Campbell leading the way with three goals. The team backed up with another convincing win against Japan’s Mejirogumi 21-2. Adam Golding and Mitchell Marsden each contributed four goals to the final score.

The women were tested early and fell short against the home side of Hong Kong, 4-6, but they bounced back to record a strong 15-2 victory against Jakarta. Kate Hughes was the standout goal scorer adding four to the result.

On day two, the men came up against the also undefeated Hong Kong Beach Boys. An 18-1 victory took the team to the top of their group and into the quarter-finals. Marsden and Campbell were again the top goal scorers with three apiece, but goals came the way to most of the team in their convincing win (Steele Gribble 2, Tom Franks 2, Adam Golding 2, Jarod Tobin 1, Alex Hooper 1, Jimmy Scannell 1, Jackson Holdway 1, James Dezius 1, Gus Shephard 1).   

Playing against Hong Kong B the men delivered another great performance to win the game 6-2 and advance to Sunday’s semi-finals.

The women started day 2 with a 7-7 draw with the Philippines, later followed by a 4-8 loss in a tough game against China. Their results secured a start in the bronze medal game and a rematch against the Philippines. Leah Dodd was the standout scoring three goals in each game.  

Finals day saw the men go head-to-head against Indonesia, but a 6-10 defeat saw them in the battle for bronze.

Despite a closely fought contest the men came away with fourth after Hong Kong A won the match 11-9.

In their bronze medal play off, the women were able to overcome the Philippines with an 11-9 victory. Australia’s Leah Dodd was the leading goal scorer hitting the back of the net on four occasions. It was a truly team result with Eliza Limn scoring three and Kate Hughes, Caroline Zanussi, Caitlin Read and Belle Humby each scoring throughout the match.  

Men’s results

Australia 14 defeated Taiwan 2

Australia 21 defeated Mejirogumi, Japan 2

Australia 18 defeated Hong Kong Beach Boys 1

(QF) Australia 6 defeated Hong Kong B 6-2

(SF) Indonesia 10 defeated Australia 6

(3-4) Hong Kong A 11 defeated Hong Kong A 9  

Women’s results

Australia 15 defeated Jakarta 2

Hong Kong 6 defeated Australia 4

Australia 7 draw Philippines 7

China 8 defeated Australia 4

(3v4) Australia 11 defeated Philippines 9