Monday Wrap | Rnd 4 OVO Australian Waterpolo League

Round four of the OVO Australian Waterpolo League produced many tight tussles including the first of two harbour clashes between Hunter Hurricanes and ACU Cronulla Sharks in the OVO Play live stream match.

Novocastrian’s were treated to their second straight weekend of water polo in the harbour with Queens Wharf the perfect backdrop for their local sides to record two wins in two outings on Saturday.

Hurricanes Women’s Head Coach and 2019 men’s player Mitchell Baird was wrapped with the results.

“It was a good day for the Hurricanes here at the harbour,” he said.

Hurricanes recorded their second win for the season after overcoming a fast-starting Cronulla outfit to fight back and secure a 13-12 win in a dramatic penalty shoot-out, 

“The women’s game was a really tight encounter, Sharks shot out to an early lead against us and put us on the back foot.

“But our girls responded and lifted their intensity and I thought that led us to winning the game which was good,” he said.

USA Olympic gold medallist Rachel Fattal and Kate Hughes lead the attack for Hurricanes, both scoring a hat trick in the victory.

The Hunter women backed up Saturday’s performance to secure their third consecutive win in 2019 with a tight 11-10 win over Cronulla.

In the men’s match, Baird believed a Hurricanes team littered with senior players was the major difference.

“Cronulla have a lot of young guys in their team this year, but I think our experience showed in the end.

“It’s a great spot [Queens Wharf] down here to showcase water polo in the region and show off the beautiful Newcastle harbour – we’ve got cruise ships in the background and lots of bars around,” he said.

Hurricanes’ captain Gordon Marshall was in red hot form scoring three goals of his own to equal top score in the game along with teammate Keenan Marsden.

In a similar score line on Sunday, Hurricanes secured a clean sweep for the club with their 12-5 victory over Sharks at Lambton Pool.

AROUND THE GROUNDS

ADELAIDE:

FYFE Adelaide Jets hosted Sydney Uni Lions in back to back matches over the weekend, with their women’s home team hungry for their first win of the season.

However, the Sydney based team had other plans, successfully securing all four wins at the South Australia Aquatic and Leisure Centre.

A young Lions side made a quick start in their opening match against the Adelaide women leading 5-1 before the home side fought back hard in the second half.

However, Lions were able to hold on for a 10-8 win.

On Sunday, Aussie Junior Lily Hawthorn was strong in the cage for Lions allowing Zsofia Polak to score four goals and help secure a memorable 9-7 win which also included Grace Coleman’s first career goal in the national league.

Off a strong showing in round three, the Adelaide men pushed the defending champions all the way but went down in a narrow 10-12 loss on Saturday.

In the return match on Sunday, Lions’ Thomas Kearns netted himself three goals to help his side clinch a 12-6 win and their fifth of the season.

SYDNEY:

Dawn Fraser Baths hosted two tense Battle of the Bridges clashes on Sunday which saw local cross-town rivals UTS Balmain Tigers and Drummoyne Devils come face to face.

UTS Balmain Tigers women continued their winning streak, racking up their fourth win of the season with a strong 14-8 display against Drummoyne.

Aussie Stingers player Alice Williams spoke after the match.

“It was a really tough game, for about three quarters we were neck and neck, goal for goal.

“At half time we were down a bit and we had to find our depth in the last half and really pull through to get ahead.

“It was a very physical game, but we are doing very well to gather ourselves and now we’re looking ahead to Cronulla next weekend,” she said.

While in the men’s encounter, a Devils outfit dominated proceedings against Tigers, taking a 10-3 win.

Devils displayed their depth across the pool with eight individual players scoring across the match.

With only one loss against their name, Devils now sit atop of the men’s ladder (22), one point ahead of Hunter hurricanes and Sydney Uni Lions (21).

HANDY LINKS

COMING SOON! Our team is finalising the men’s and women’s full match replays. When they are available online you will be able to watch them here.

View women’s upcoming OVO AWL round five fixtures – click here.

View men’s upcoming OVO AWL round five fixtures – click here.