Magpies too good for Devils in men’s OVO AWL decider

UNSW Magpies have won their fifth national water polo title with a 9-7 victory over Drummoyne Devils in the 2019 OVO Australian Waterpolo League.

The Magpies raced to a 2-0 lead at the end of the first quarter, through goals from Lachlan Hollis and Richie Campbell, the Devils were also relentless in attack applying pressure at every given opportunity.

In the second quarter, the Devils took advantage of an exclusion and scored their first through Tyler Martin. Mitchell Emery levelled the score 2-2 before Martin was back at it and the Devils were in front for the first time of the match (3-2).

In the third quarter, the Magpies responded with a show of force, scoring three unanswered goals (Hollis, Campbell and Jarrod Gilchrist) before the Devils fought back through a Blake Edwards goal.

Martin scored his third for the match early in the fourth and Lachlan Edwards also scored to keep the Devils in the game, but a determined Magpies outfit piled on four more goals before the final buzzer.

Magpies goalkeeper Joel Dennerley said the team fought through the full four quarters.

“We knew that Drummoyne would come out hard and we wanted to match them with the intensity but we knew it was going to take the four quarters, so we had to dig deep and they gave us a good contest,” Dennerley said.

“They definitely came back in the fourth and put a couple on us to make it level.

“It was a tough four quarters, full credit to Drummoyne, they took it up to us every possession,” he said.

The Magpies Olympian said focusing on defence paid off for his team.

“Defence was the focus for us this finals series, we knew we had to step up in that area and play good team defence.

“This season was all about getting back to what we know and playing strong defence, playing for each other,” he said.

In the bronze medal game, the Fremantle Mariners defeated 2018 champions Sydney University Lions in what was a replay of last year's Grand Final.

Disappointed with their loss in last year’s Final, the Mariners started strong and held the lead for the duration of the game winning with an overall 16-7 result.

RESULTS

Gold Medal - UNSW Wests Magpies def Drummoyne Devils 9-7
Bronze Medal - Fremantle Mariners def Sydney University Lions 16-7

OVO AUSTRALIAN WATERPOLO LEAGUE AWARDS - MEN

Charles Turner Medal – Most Valuable Player (Season) – Nic Bicari (UNSW Wests Magpies)
Tom Hoad Medal – Most Valuable Player (Final Seriess) – Lachlan Hollis (UNSW Wests Magpies)

2018 AWL ALL STAR TEAM - MEN

Chris Whitelegge (Hunter Hurricanes)
Nic Bicari (UNSW Wests Magpies)
Gordon Marshall (Hunter Hurricanes)
Joel Swift (Fremantle Mariners)
Nicholas Hughes (UWA Torpedoes)
Rhys Howden (Queensland Thunder)
Luke Pavillard (Fremantle Mariners)