Monday Wrap | Rnd 10 OVO Australian Waterpolo League

Round 10 of the 2019 OVO Australian Waterpolo League (OVO AWL) has wrapped up and it included a thrilling men's grand final rematch as one of two OVO Play live stream matches.

After securing an important 13-10 Friday night win over Fremantle Mariners, the Sydney Uni men had momentum and were desperate to notch up another win on Saturday to keep their finals hopes alive.

Lions led by one goal late in the fourth quarter but Fremantle's Jordan Kremers-Taylor netted a cross cage shot to level scores at 9-9 with 36 seconds remaining in the match.

The Sydney Uni Lions had one chance to ensure the match did not go into a penalty shoot out and with an extra man opportunity their big man Goran Tomasevic pulled off a specular bounce shot to give them the lead 10-9 with 20 seconds left which they managed to hold on to.

Tomasevic and veteran Lions player Michael Rosenthal both scored a hat trick which played a crucial role in the memorable one goal victory.

However top goal scoring honours went to Kremers-Taylor from Fremantle Mariners with a total of four in the match.

Sydney Uni Lions goalkeeper Andrew Cameron said it was a huge effort from the group to secure two bigs wins in as many days.

"I think this put us in a pretty good spot, but getting these two wins in a row we're going to ride that wave.

"Full credit to the boys, as a goalie you just rely so much on your defence. Everything just clicked, everything hit me which wasn't hitting them," he said.

While in the women's competition, home side Sydney Uni Lions were coming off a 14-12 Friday night victory with confidence sky high for another strong performance against the Fremantle Marlins.

The women from Perth were determined not to suffer their second defeat against Lions and dug deep away from home.

Erin Redbond and Zoe Arancini led from the front for their side both finishing with three goals each in the 12-9 win.

AROUND THE GROUNDS

BRISBANE

The UTS Balmain Tigers have returned to Sydney happy with their performances while in the Queensland capital city.

Tigers managed to secure three wins from four matches for the club, with the women's securing back to back win's and the men's team scoring an Easter Sunday victory against the Queensland Thunder.

After the weekend's success UTS Balmain Tigers women now firmly sit atop of their competition ladder and have earned themselves a top two finish and the minor premiership.

SYDNEY

As part of their time in Sydney, Fremantle Mariners (men) also played in four other tough matches across round 10 which saw them go up against a strong Drummoyne Devils outfit and a young ACU Cronulla Sharks side.

Devils proved too strong for Fremantle claiming two wins 16-10 and 13-10 to build their momentum as the finals series approaches.

While the young team from the Shire suffered a big 8-17 loss in their first encounter against Fremantle, they hit back on Sunday with an impressive 13-12 result lead by Ugljesa Mihailovic with four goals and Dylan Holden with three of his own.

For the Fremantle Marlins (women) while their road trip didn't get off to the desired start going down 8-11 to Drummoyne their next encounter against the Devils was more successful with a narrow 11-10 win. Four goals to Erin Redbond and two to Zoe Arancini were enough to overcome a six goal effort from Devil Roser Tarrago.

Fremantle met a determined ACU Cronulla Sharks outfit and were unable to overcome their enthusiastic opponents being defeated 7-5 and 10-9 across their fixtures.

The last regular round for the season is coming up and over three days teams will battle it out to finalise ladder placings and lock in who will chase OVO AWL glory at Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre from 3-5 May.

HANDY LINKS

Check out the men's OVO AWL ladder HERE.

Check out the women's OVO AWL ladder HERE.

View men’s upcoming OVO AWL round 11 fixtures – click here.

View women’s upcoming OVO AWL round 11 fixtures – click here.