FINA WORLD LEAGUE INTERCONTINENTAL CUP - DAY 3

Our Aussies fighting spirit shone through on day three of the FINA World League Intercontinental Cup in Peru, with both teams playing some great water polo that earnt them wins. The Aussie Stingers were formidable in their game against Cuba, with the Aussie Sharks putting up a tough fight against Brazil to claim the win.

THURSDAY 10 MARCH - WOMEN - AUSTRALIA 26 d CUBA 4

The Aussie Stingers were all class in their third match of the FINA World League Intercontinental Cup in Peru, claiming another convincing win, this time defeating Cuba 26-4.

With the current members of the Aussie Stingers squad having never played Cuba before, they were an unknown commodity heading into the match, but the Stingers knew they had to stick to their own game.

The Aussie Stingers are currently undefeated, sitting in equal first place on the ladder, tied with water polo powerhouses USA. At the end of the tournament, the top two teams will qualify through to the FINA World League Finals, so the Stingers will be eager to keep up their winning streak in their final preliminary match tomorrow against Brazil.

In only her third game for the Aussie Stingers, young gun Sienna Hearn (NSW) was named Player of the Match after an outstanding game which saw her top score with five goals, one assist and three steals.

Aussie Stingers captain Zoe Arancini (WA) said it was great for the team to get another win under their belt.

“We had a good win - there were parts where we probably weren’t as clinical as we’d like to be but overall we played the game we wanted to play,” Arancini said.

“It was also great to welcome another Aussie Stinger to the team, with Hayley Ballesty making her debut today so congratulations to her.

“Now we’ll turn our attention to the game against Brazil tomorrow and we’re looking forward to playing them,” she said.

To watch the replay - click here

For full results - click here

The Aussie Stingers will play Brazil on Friday 11 March at 1.30am AEDT.
 

THURSDAY 10 MARCH - MEN - AUSTRALIA 10 d BRAZIL 9

The Aussie Sharks bounced back from a disappointing loss yesterday, to claim a hard fought win over Brazil on day three of the FINA World League Intercontinental Cup.

Having lost in a penalty shoot out yesterday, the Aussie Sharks were determined to come out firing against Brazil, but knew they were going to be in for a tough game.

Teams were neck and neck for the first half, with neither side getting more than a one goal lead, and goals level at half time.

But it was in the third quarter, that the Aussies put their foot down to push it out to a two goal lead.

It was from that point that the Aussie Sharks had the confidence they needed to bring home the win with the Brazilians unable to close the gap, and the Sharks the eventual victors 10-9.

Luke Pavillard was the equal top scorer for the Aussie Sharks, earning him his second Player of the Match award for the tournament.

Aussie Sharks co-captain Blake Edwards, who also scored a hattrick, said the team are feeling positive after a good result in the pool.

“It was a really good win for us - we obviously had quite a tough loss yesterday but the boys recovered really well,” Edwards said.

“We took a lot of learnings from that game, and today were able to play more composed and close the game out when we needed to.

“There’s a lot of energy amongst the group and it’s been fantastic to be a part of,” he said.

The Aussie Sharks will play Colombia in their next game, on Friday 11 March at 9.30am AEDT.

“Colombia are going to throw everything at us, and we’ve just to play our own game and control it from the start,” Edwards said.

“But we’ll also be trying to conserve a bit of energy for our game against the USA the day after,” he said.

To watch the replay - click here

For full results - click here