Monday Wrap | Rnd 5 OVO Australian Waterpolo League

The Queensland Thunder welcomed Drummoyne Devils to Valley Pool in Brisbane for the OVO Australian Waterpolo League round five live stream match of the week.

Bragging rights were split among the two Clubs with the Queensland women continuing their unbeaten run in season 2019, while the Drummoyne men overcame a resilient Thunder outfit.

In an end to end affair for the men's match, Lachy Edwards bagged a hat trick and received great support from teammates Nicholas Brooks and Marko Marčeta, both scoring a double.

Triple Olympian and 2019 sharp shooter Rhys Howden did his best to inspire his side with two goals of his own but the Devils defence was just too strong in the end squeezing his team out of the match.

After the game, Drummoyne Devils goalkeeper John Hahn put the 11-5 win down to a team effort in defence.

“The whole defence worked well tonight, we played a lot of zone and I think that’s why we were able to stop them from earning too many exclusions which was really pleasing.

“It was tight through the early periods of the match, both teams were defending really well, but there was lots of blocks to so it was a full team effort and we're really happy with our defence," he said.

In terms of attack, Hahn realises they have room for improvement and says the team knows what they need tow work on.

“We were really happy with the amount of opportunities we were generating, we just couldn’t quite execute but eventually we kept pushing and came through particularly in the later quarters," said Hahn.

He also spoke about the strength of their centre forward stocks at Drummoyne.

“Marko Marčeta has been really great for us, he joined the team this season and he’s an exciting, young Serbian centre forward. He has another man alongside him by the name of Lachy Edwards who goes alright too.

“It’s been a great start to the season, we did go down to Wests but we will keep working hard at training and building to the end of the season,” he said.

In the women’s encounter, Thunder continue their winning ways, completing their tenth win for the season with a 9-5 display over Drummoyne.

Amelia Hodgson (3) and Olympian Kate Gynther (2) did most of the damage between them with five goals for Thunder.

In their OVO AWL debut, Queenslanders Phoebe Leech and Lara Owen said the victory was a great way to start their careers in Australia's national water polo competition.

“We had a really strong hit out at the start and kept them scoreless until half time,” said Leech.

While Owen commented on their ability to close out the match, “we maintained a strong lead throughout the rest of the game and we’re excited for the rest of the games to come,” she said.

AROUND THE GROUNDS

PERTH:

Bicton Pool was the stage for Saturday night fireworks between Fremantle and UWA torpedoes in the much anticipated first western derby of 2019.

Fremantle took bragging rights winning both the men’s (12-8) and women’s (11-3) fixtures.

Read a full breakdown of each match here.

They’ll meet again at the end of the month on 23 March when Fremantle travel to HBF Stadium for the return derby.

HUNTER:

Hunter Hurricanes completed a clean sweep when they tamed the Sydney University Lions during their visit to Lambton pool.

With their back-to-back 9-7 and 14-9 wins the Hurricanes men claimed their sixth and seventh season wins respectively and sit pretty in second spot on the ladder.

While the Hurricanes women were too strong for their Sydney visitors with 9-5 and 11-9 triumphs on Saturday and Sunday.

In a positive sign for the future, Lions debuted young duo of Sienna Green and Indigo Ditterick.

SYDNEY:

It was a Sunday afternoon thriller at Dawn Fraser Baths between the UTS Balmain Tigers and ACU Cronulla Sharks men’s sides with home team Tigers securing a one point victory, 7-6.

Victorious UTS Balmain Tigers Player Harry Sanderson was ecstatic with their first win of the season.

“We have struggled to put together a full performance this season so far, so that’s really good to get that of our back and hopefully we can roll on to a good season from here.

“Our focus is consistency during our next round in Perth, we’re aiming for four from four, anything less than that probably isn’t too good for us, but we know if we put together four quarters, we can beat anybody,” he said.

The Tiger women made it a double in their home pool, accounting for the Cronulla women 14-5 and continue their upward trend on the competition ladder with a flawless five from five record.

UTS Blamain Tiger and Aussie Stingers Genevieve Longman was pleased with their performance.

“It was a pretty good game by us, it was a great start and we put away our opportunities.

“Now we’re looking forward to the week ahead as we look to take on the WA teams,” she said.

ADELAIDE:

UNSW Wests have travelled to South Australia’s capital and flexed their muscles with dominant displays in all four fixtures against FYFE Adelaide Jets.

Defending Champions UNSW Wests Killer Whales amassed 37 goals across both their games to put them in equal second position on the women’s ladder.

While in the men’s competition, UNSW Wests Magpies secured two wins, 10-7, on both occasions to continue their unbeaten run in 2019.

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 six fixtures – click here.

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