Ord Minnett Aussie Sharks claim the first win of the World Championships Oceania Qualifier

Published Thu 17 Apr 2025

The Ord Minnett Aussie Sharks have taken out the opening match of the Water Polo World Championships Oceania Qualifier, in front of a sold out Perth High Performance Centre (HPC) against New Zealand on Thursday night (17 April), the end score 18-7.

Both teams carried the weight of their respective nations as they took to the pool to vie for a spot at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships in Singapore in July.

With the qualifier coinciding with the biggest water polo event in the Southern Hemisphere, the 2025 Australian Youth Water Polo Championships (AYWPC), hundreds of future water polo stars got the chance to see their heroes in action, and they did not disappoint.

It was clear that the Ord Minnett Aussie Sharks were out to make a statement, and they were ruthless from the opening minutes of the game

Ord Minnett Aussie Sharks captain Nathan Power was instrumental, leading from the front and scoring five goals.

Dual Olympian Power was really proud of the way his team was able to have such a strong start and believes the group will take a lot of confidence from this performance.

“I think we certainly wanted to set the tone of both this Oceania Qualifying Championship, but also for this new (Olympic) cycle,” Power said.

“It's good to see that the things we worked on this week, to try and still bring in some of the systems we put in place through the last cycle, everyone was able to adapt to and hit the ground running.

“What we're going to look at now is to make sure we can keep on improving on these efforts…we look at this as the starting point of our cycle and we just have to keep on getting better every day.

Tonight’s test match saw Luka Kristic (NSW), Daniel Magasanik (VIC), Tyson Mutsch (VIC), Drew McJannett (NSW) and Zac Izzard (NSW) all make their Ord Minnett Aussie Sharks debut, and Power said it was a real privilege to be a part of.

“It's really special to be a part of that moment when they find out they're going to debut for the Sharks and to be in there in the water with them, and for a few of them, celebrate their first goals for Australia as well,” Power said.

The Ord Minnett Aussie Sharks now have a chance to claim the series win when they once again return to Perth HPC for the second test match of the Water Polo World Championship Oceania Qualifier on Saturday 19 April.

Tickets are available for purchase here.

WATER POLO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS OCEANIA QUALIFIER