ORD MINNETT AUSSIE SHARKS CLEAN SWEEP WORLD CHAMPS OCEANIA QUALIFIER

The Ord Minnett Aussie Sharks have won the third and final game of the Water Polo World Championships Oceania Qualifier tonight, against New Zealand in Perth.

In front of a sold out crowd at Perth High Performance Centre, the Ord Minnett Aussie Sharks stormed home to a 21-9 win against their trans Tasman rivals.

The series win confirms the Ord Minnett Aussie Sharks position for the 2025 World Aquatics Championships, to be held in Singapore from 11-24 July 2025.

Ord Minnett Aussie Sharks captain Nathan Power said he’s pleased with the result of the series, and looking forward to playing against New Zealand more on the road to LA 2028 and Brisbane 2032.

“Obviously this is a test series which hasn’t occurred a lot in the last couple of years, so to start it off (again) with the way we’ve gone about it…I think it’s been a really positive week for us and to come out with three very good wins is something that we’re very happy with,” Power said.

“We talk about what makes the strength of the competition in Europe is they get to have regular match ups close to home.

“It’s something that we, as a country, we lean into and it’s probably the hardest thing for us to try and get. So to be able to have them (New Zealand) to not only be training partners with but to have high quality test matches with is going to be really important for us, both on our path to LA and then towards 2032 where hopefully we get to have both countries there,” he said.

It was a special moment for the group tonight, with assistant coach Andrew Yanitsas taking over the helm - an opportunity for Head Coach Tim Hamill to sit back and take in the whole game.

“Nitties (Andrew) is someone that’s incredibly special to a lot of people, he’s had a really profound impact on myself and a lot of the boys through Wests (UNSW Wests Magpies) and through the Australian Sharks and his involvement in the team for a number of years.

“To see him get to lead the team today was a really heart warming moment for a lot of people,” he said.

Ord Minnett Aussie Sharks Head Coach Tim Hamill said he’s content with how the Perth camp and test series has gone, especially to be walking away having qualified for the 2025 World Aquatics Championships.

“We’re really pleased to walk away from Perth, first and foremost qualified for World Championships - that was certainly the main goal and objective for this week,” Hamill said.

“But it was also time to get back together. We haven’t been able to spend long together since Paris, so it was really nice to have the majority of the squad back together, and really plan out our next four years,” he said.

Playing in front of sold out crowds on all three nights, Hamill said that the test match series inline with the Australian Youth Water Polo Championships has grown to become a hallmark event on the Ord Minnett Aussie Sharks calendar.

“This is really quickly becoming our favourite event to come to…seeing so many happy faces on young boys and girls, and it wasn’t too many years ago that the players who were playing tonight were playing in the AYC,” Hamill said.

“We hope that trend continues, and some of the boys and girls that were playing this week and last week will soon be representing the Stingers and also the Sharks,” he said.