FINA Women's World League Super Final

Published Mon 07 Nov 2022

Game 5 - Australia v Italy

The Aussie Stingers have finished sixth after a tough loss to Italy in their final game of the 2022 FINA World League Super Finals in Spain.

Despite a slow start, the Aussies headed into the second half trailing by four goals, courtesy of a buzzer beater right on half time by Tokyo Olympian Tilly Kearns.

But it was in the third quarter that the Aussies put their foot down, outscoring the European powerhouses 6-2 to level the scores.

In the last quarter, the Italians proved too strong, scoring two goals and managing to keep the Australians scoreless, claiming a 13-11 win.

Tokyo Olympian Bronte Halligan was named as part of the All Star Team, scoring 14 goals throughout the tournament.

Game 4 - Australia vs Canada

Australia has delivered an impressive 12-10 win over Canada at the FINA World League Super Finals, with the victory putting them through to the 5-6th playoff.

After a disappointing loss in game three, the Aussie Stingers were able to turn things around and deliver a strong win.

Tilly Kearns was named most valuable player of the match after an impressive four goals, with Bronte Halligan adding another three goals to her strong goal scoring efforts throughout the tournament.

Aussie Stingers Head Coach, Paul Oberman, couldn’t be happier with his side’s commitment to bringing home the win.

“It was an excellent win showing good character to pick ourselves up after a disappointing performance.

“The championship quarter showed we were ready and fighting and slammed five goals to turn the game our way.

“We showed good pride and kept the Aussie Stingers spirit alive,” he said.

Tokyo Olympian Tilly Kearns echoed her Coach’s sentiments, thrilled the team was able to deliver a good win.

“I’m really proud of the girls today. It’s never easy getting knocked out of top four, but character shows in these classification matches.

“We played a strong team game and never lost focus.

“We have a big game against Italy for top five and we will be looking to improve on our win today moving into tomorrow to finish as high as possible,” she said.

Australia will now play Italy in the 5-6th playoff on Sunday 6 November at 9:20pm AEDT. Watch live on FINA TV.

Game 3 - Australia vs Spain

The Aussie Stingers suffered a disappointing loss in their final pool match against the home side Spain, going down 12-5.

While Australia put up a strong defensive effort, the European Champions in front of their home crowd proved too strong, dominating the second half.

Aussie Stingers Head Coach Paul Oberman said despite the loss, he was pleased how his side fought it out until the end.

"We had a very good, active start to the game, scoring some good extra man goals, finding the free player with good accurate shooting.

"Starting the second half, we began to rush our options and as good teams do we were punished at the other end. I was happy with the team fighting out the game," he said.

Dual Olympian and Aussie Stingers Captain, Zoe Arancini, said while the team were disappointed with the loss they'll be looking to close out the tournament strong.

"Consistency within the game is an issue that we know need to work on and it was highlighted again today... we opened up the game strongly but were outplayed in the second half.

"It's disappointing to lose the way we did, however we know we have two important games left and want to finish off the tournament on a high.

"We play Canada tomorrow it will be a tough match which we are capable of putting together a good performance and a win," she said.

Australia takes on Canada Saturday 5 November at 9:20pm AEDT - watch on FINA TV.

Game 2 - Australia vs New Zealand.

Aussie Stingers bounced back from their first game loss to deliver a decisive win over Tasman rivals New Zealand, 14-5.

It was the confidence boost the Aussies were looking for, as they prepare to take on the home side Spain tomorrow in the final of the pool matches.

Leading from the outset the Aussie Stingers set up a strong lead in the opening quarter to lead 5-0 at the break. While the Kiwis fought back to try and close the gap, the Aussie Stingers were never in doubt.

Tokyo Olympian Bronte Halligan attributed the strong win to a complete team effort from the whole squad.

“It was nice to get a win under the belt, with a really good team game.

“For us, we are looking to continue the momentum forward into tomorrow's game against Spain.”

Australia will now take on Spain on Saturday 5 November at 12:20am AEDT. Watch live at FINA TV.

Game 1 - Australia vs Hungary

The Aussie Stingers have delivered a strong opening match at the FINA Women’s World League Super Final in Spain, despite narrowly going down to Hungary 7-9.

The silver medalists from the World Championships earlier this year, Hungary was always going to be a tough opening match for the Aussie Stingers, who for the first time since the World Championships have their full strength squad back together.

The two countries have shared a strong rivalry on the international women’s water polo circuit over the years, and there was little separating the two sides throughout the match.

Despite trailing by one goal at half time, the Aussie Stingers delivered a strong third quarter to lock scores 5-5 heading into the final period.

But Hungary were able to power home and nudge out the Aussies with the two goal victory.

While it wasn’t the winning start the Aussie Stingers had hoped for, Head Coach Paul Oberman said it was a solid performance from the squad.

“It was a really good performance by the team despite the loss. We were very good in our extra man defence, conceding only 2 from 12.

“Our conversation rate in offense was satisfactory but not up to where we needed it to be to get the win.

“The start of the second half, the Hungarians were up by a goal, we fought really hard and created some good opportunities… we created many chances in the back half of the game.

“So definitely we are fit and ready to go, we just have to be better at converting our opportunities,” he said.

Queensland rising star Charlize Andrews, echoed her coach’s assessment of the game with a focus on what the team will need to do heading into their second match against New Zealand.

"We unfortunately made a few errors that they capitalised on, but overall I think it was a good game, we fought hard,” said Andrews.

“We can be better at converting our opportunities and focus on our basic skills so we don’t make small mistakes,” she said.

For full match results - click here.

Australia will now play New Zealand on Thursday 3 November at 11:00pm AEDT.

Watch all the action live via FINA YouTube www.youtube.com/c/FINA1908