Aussie Stingers finish World League Super Final in 5th place

The Aussie Stingers have finished their World League Super Final campaign in fifth place in Budapest, Hungary.

After six days of grueling competition, the Aussies defeated home side Hungary 12-7 in front of an enthusiastic home crowd.

While the result wasn’t what the team had hoped for, the squad were showing positive signs ahead of the all important FINA World Championships next month.

Veteran Bronte Halligan celebrated her 100th game for the Aussie Stingers, delivering an impressive personal performance that earned her MVP of the match.

The Aussie Stingers opened the match with the first goal within three minutes with a lovely three metre goal from Rowie Webster. Hungary managed to capitalize in key moments to take a two goal lead, but a nice shot from Halligan closed the gap to see Aussies trailing 2-3 at the end of the first.

While Hungary were first to get on the board in the second quarter, two quick follow up goals for the Aussies courtesy of Hannah Buckling and Amy Ridge saw scores locked 4-4 with five minutes left in the quarter. A goal a piece from both sides saw scores locked 5-5 at half time, sending the home crowd into a frenzy.

The third period is where the Aussie Stingers showed their dominance, not only putting three impressive goals on the board courtesy of Webster, Keesja Gofers and Isobel Bishop, but also keeping the Hungarians scoreless with outstanding defence. Lilian Hedges in goals was impressive, with some big saves including a penalty goal which saw the Aussies leading 8-5 at the end of the third quarter.

Gofers opened the scoring in the final quarter but Hungary were quick to follow up. Maddy Steere kept the Aussies lead healthy, which was quickly followed up by another goal to Halligan along with a second goal to Ridge. While Hungary managed to convert in extra man in the dying moments of the game, the Aussie Stingers proved too strong taking a solid 12-7 win.

Bronte Halligan was pleased with her team’s final performance saying, “I am really satisfied with my personal performance, however this great win is all about the team.

“At the beginning it seemed as if the match would be a tough one, but in the second half we had a very good rhythm with excellent solutions and shots, so we have won on a good margin, and I’m really proud of the whole team.”

Next up for the Aussie Stingers is the FINA World League Final which will be held in Gwangju, South Korea from 14-28 July.

5th Playoff – Australia vs Hungary

AUS 12 HUN 7

Qtr scores: 2-3, 3-2, 3-0, 4-2

Extra Man: HUN 4/6 AUS 2/5

Penalty: HUN 1/2 AUS 0/0

AUSTRALIA: Lilian Hedges– Keesja Gofers (2), Hannah Buckling (1), Bronte Halligan (2), Isabelle Bishop (2), Bronwen Knox, Rowie Webster (2), Amy Ridge (2), Zoe Arancini, Lena Mihailovic, Elle Armit, Madeleine Steer (1), Geneieve Longman.

Aussie Stingers deliver  convincing win over Canada

The Aussie Stingers have produced a solid win over Canada to advance to the 5-6 playoff at the FINA World League Super Final.

Leading the team from in front, dual Olympian Rowie Webster delivered an impressive six goals for Australia which earned her MVP of the match.

Despite trailing 2-3 at the end of the first quarter, the Aussies dominated the second quarter thanks to goals from Bron Knox, Keesja Gofers and two from Webster and managing to keep the Canadians scoreless, which saw them lead 6-3 at half time.

The third quarter saw young gun Tilly Kearns get her first ever goal for the Aussie Stingers. Combined with goals from Knox and Elle Armit, the Aussies led 9-5 at the end of the third.

Three goals to Arancini along with Webster, Hannah Buckling and Keesja Gofers in the final quarter cemented a solid win for the Aussies 15-9.

Aussie Stingers Rowie Webster was pleased with the team’s efforts saying, “It's always a great feeling to be a winner of the match. Canada is a good team, but I think today we had a better teamwork.

“It's especially good as we were very disappointed yesterday about the sensitive loss to Russia. We have one game left in the competition in Budaest, and it won't be easy to play against Hungary at their home.

“At the beginning of this tournament we hoped for a better result, although we have a new head coach this year, we have to get used to the new system he is keeping to.

“Our main goal is to earn the best place we can at the coming FINA World championships in Korea, of course, with an eye on 2020 Olympics. We see this tournament as the first step in the long process of qualification for Tokyo.

AUS 15 vs. CAN 9

Qtr scores: 2-3, 4-0, 3-2, 6-4

Extra Man: AUS 7/8 CAN 2/4

Penalty: AUS 1/1 CAN 0/0

AUSTRALIA: Hedges Lilian – Gofers Keesja (2), Buckling Hannah, Armit Elle (1), Knox Bronwen (1), Webster Rowie (6), Ridge Amy, Arancini Zoe (4), Mihailovic Lena, Baxter Morgan, Kearns Matilda (1), Longman Geneieve.

Aussie Stingers go down to Russia in Quarter Final

The Aussie Stingers have been left disappointed after a narrow loss to Russia in the quarter final of the FINA World League Super Final.

In another nail biting finish for the Australians, the Russian outfit were too strong and took a 9-8 win.

Despite trailing by two, 1-3, at the end of the first quarter, the Aussie Stingers showed plenty of character in the second period to see scores locked 4-4 at half time.

The third quarter saw plenty of attempts from both sides, but neither side was able to convert. In the dying minutes of the third period, after a lot of back and forth, Russia capitalized with two consecutive goals to take 7-4 lead heading into the final period.

A double exclusion early in the fourth gave Russia the ideal opportunity to convert. But a quick reply from Maddy Steere gave the Aussie Stingers a boost and was quickly followed by a nice backhand goal to Keesja Gofers.

With three minutes to go in the game, the Aussies trailed 6-9. But a lovely goal to Rowie Webster saw the Aussies fighting hard. With 40 seconds left Morgan Baxter secured a lovely goal giving the Stingers hope. While the Aussies were on the counter they weren’t able to convert going down by one and ending their chances to advance to the semi final.

Aussie Stingers Head Coach, Predrag Mihailovic, said: “Russia is a really good team so we expected that heat of the game and knew it would not be at all easy.

“We managed to keep a hand on the game at the beginning, but later had a number of problems.

“I am proud of my girls. I am proud because they stayed in the game till the very end and they gave it all to the game.”

Quarter Final: Australia vs Russia

AUS 8 RUS 9

Qtr scores: 1-3, 3-1, 0-3, 4-2

Extra Man: AUS 4/12 RUS 3/9

Penalty: AUS 1/2 RUS 2/2

AUSTRALIA: Lilian Hedges– Keesja Gofers (1), Hannah Buckling, Elle Armit, Isobel Bishop (1), Bronwen Knox (1), Rowie Webster (2), Amy Ridge, Zoe Arancini, Lena Mihailovic (1), Morgan Baxter (1), Madeleine Steer (1), Geneieve Longman.

Aussie Stingers go down to The Netherlands

Finishing third in the pool stages, Australia will now face off against a formidable Russian team. The Aussies have had a mixed bag of results against Russia, delivering a strong win against them at the 2017 World Championships but going down to them at the 2018 World Cup.

Despite the narrow loss against The Netherlands, the Aussie Stingers showed great form for much of the game, with the match going down to the dying seconds.

Aussie Stingers Head Coach Predrag Mihailovic said: “I think the game was really good. We started it very well… but later The Netherlands reached us and did not miss it.

“We had a number of opportunities break the game’s flow but were unable to…. but in extra-man I thought we did well,” he said.

The Aussies opened up the first half in a strong position, with goals to Bronte Halligan, Maddy Steere and Morgan Baxter in the first quarter putting the Stingers ahead 3-2 at the end of the period.

The Netherlands really showed their force in the second quarter, to score four goals to Australia’s two from Bron Knox and Amy Ridge, with the Aussies trailing 5-6 at the half way mark.

Despite some strong defensive efforts in the third period The Netherlands were able to stretch their lead by two goals in the third period, 6-8.

But the Aussie Stingers never say die attitude saw them in the mix right until the end, with a successful penalty goal from Zoe Arancini keeping them in the mix. While the Stingers managed to keep The Netherlands scoreless in the final period, they weren’t able to close the gap and finished the game down 7-8.

They’ll now face Russia in the Quarter Final on Friday 7 June at 3pm (local), 11:00pm AEST. WATCH LIVE via FINA TV

GAME 3 | AUSTRALIA V NETHERLANDS 

NED 8 AUS 7  

Extra Man: NED 1/4 AUS 0/5

Penalty: NED 4/4 AUS 1/1

AUSTRALIA: Hedges Lilian – Keesja Gofers, Hannah Buckling (1), Bronte Halligan (1), Isobel Bishop, Bronwen Knox (1), Rowie Webster (1), Amy Ridge (1), Zoe Arancini (1), Matilda Kearns, Morgan Baxter (1), Madeleine Steer, Geneieve Longman.

6 June 2019 

Aussie Stingers bounce back to defeat China in game two of FINA World League Final

The Aussie Stingers have bounced back overnight to defeat China 10-8 in game two of the FINA World League Super Final.

After a disappointing loss in the opening match against Italy, the Aussies showed great composure and consistency throughout the game to take the much needed win.

Leading goal scorers for the Stingers were dual Olympian Rowie Webster and Rio Olympian Hannah Buckling, both taking the trifecta. Making her Aussie Stingers debut last night was 18-year-old Matilda Kearns, who has previously represented Australia as part of the junior water polo representative teams.

Both teams are well known to each other, with very little separating them early on. Webster got the Aussies on the board early in the game with a conversation in extra man, followed by a lovely goal from Bronte Halligan to put the team up 2-0. China capitalised in some key moments within the first quarter to lock the scores 2-2 at the end of the first period.

Buckling opened the scoring for the Aussies in the second quarter, netting two in a row to put her side back in front. But China were able to get a goal in extra man before the buzzer, putting the scores at 4-3 at half time.

The third period delivered much of the same, with never more than one goal between the two sides. Goals to Webster, Halligan and Keesja Gofers kept the Aussies in the hunt to maintain a lead at the end of the third period 7-6.

The final quarter saw the Aussies power home, with senior players Zoe Arancini, Buckling and Webster all producing great goals to cement the 10-8 win.

MVP of the game, Hannah Buckling, said the team did well to bounce back and showed improvements from game one.

“We were pretty unlucky with the schedule because we played the last match yesterday and the first one today, but we are well prepared for these tournament in Budapest, where we have to play six games in six days.

“It was a tough game against China, it is always tough against such an opponent.

“We had some mistakes, so we need to improve and strengthen certain points of our game. To reach a good result overall, we need to improve game by game and perform better each day,” she said.

Aussie Stingers Head Coach, Predrag Mihailovic, said: “Most of the game we were setting the pace, it was our task to control the game’s flow.

“China has been on the chase, which showed their good motivation.

“In the end, we managed to make the game faster, which was one of the major components for the eventual win,” he said.

The Aussies Stingers have one final match in the pool stages against the Netherlands on 7 June 12:45am AEST. WATCH LIVE via FINA TV

GAME 2 I AUSTRALIA V CHINA 

AUS 10 CHN 8 

Qtr time scores: 2-2, 2-1, 3-3, 3-2

Action goal/action shots: AUS 5/19 CHN 4/14

Extra Man: AUS 3/4 CHN 4/9

Penalty: AUS 1/2 CHN 0/0

AUSTRALIA: Lilian Hedges– Keesja Gofers (1), Hannah Buckling (3), Bronte Halligan (2), Isobel Bishop, Bronwen Knox, Rowie Webster (3), Zoe Arancini (1), Lena Mihailovic, Elle Armit, Matilda Kearns, Geneieve Longman.

5 June 2019

Australia suffers narrow loss to European powerhouse Italy 

The Aussie Stingers have suffered a close loss to European powerhouse Italy in game one of the FINA World League Super Final, going down 9-11.

A relatively young squad, the Aussies came out determined to keep their proud FINA World League history in tact, having collected nine medals at the Finals over the years.

The Aussie Stingers capitalised in some big moments in the opening quarter to take a 3-2 lead at the end of the first quarter courtesy of goals from Bronte Halligan and two from Hannah Buckling.

In the second quarter Italy were first to strike, netting two goals in quick succession to take the lead. But a killer goal from Keesja Gofers put her team within one goal and back in the hunt. While Italy managed another two goals before half time, Gofers and Bron Knox also delivered points putting the Aussies in a good position of 6-7 at half time.

There was nothing between the two teams in the third quarter, with Lilan Hedges proving invaluable for the Aussies in goals with several big saves. Both teams were able to claim another two goals, the Aussies courtesy of Isobel Bishop, with scores remaining one goal difference at the end of the third 8-9.

It was Italy who made the first move in the final quarter to put two goals on the Aussies. Zoe Aracani kept the Aussies in the fight with a lovely goal, but they ran out time going down 9-11.

Dual Olympian Rowie Webster, said there is plenty the team can take from today’s game and work on ahead of their next game where they will face China.

“Today was a disappointing loss against Italy, at times we didn’t stay composed,” said Webster.

“But this is game one of a six game tournament and tomorrow we are just looking to build on today’s efforts and keep going. This is a fairly new squad together, so we’re staying positive and we’ll go away and review our game.

“You can’t fault our effort (today) but we need to be more clear and concise in our communication, it was very loud in there. We still need to have fun and back ourselves in attack,” she said.

Aussie Stingers Head Coach, Predrag Mihailovic said: “We finished one goal up after the first period but later we lost intensity and as a result, in the second and in the third quarters our opponents scored better than we did.

“They have deserved the win and we respect them a lot.

“We are still learning the new rules, which have done much good to the game. Definitely it has become much faster, but we would need some more time to drill all options as they unfold.”

Up next Australia will take on China tonight (5 June) at 11:00pm AEST. WATCH LIVE via FINA TV

GAME 1 – AUSTRALIA V ITALY

AUS 9 ITA 11

Qtr results: 3-2, 3-5, 2-2, 1-2

Extra Man: AUS 5/10 ITA 6/10

Penalty: AUS 0/1 ITA 0/0

AUSTRALIA: Lilian Hedges– Keesja Gofers (2), Hannah Buckling (2), Bronte Halligan (1), Isobel Bishop (2), Bronwen Knox (1), Rowie Webster, Zoe Arancini (1), Lena Mihailovic, Elle Armit, Madeleine Steere, Geneieve Longman.