Ord Minnett Aussie Sharks Sardinia Cup campaign

GAME 3: AUSTRALIA 11 def FRANCE 9

The Ord Minnett Aussie Sharks have finished their Sardinia Cup campaign on a high, defeating 2024 Olympic host natiom France 11-9.

Three goals from France in the first period saw the opponent go into the first break one point ahead.

The Sharks fought back with vigor in the second quarter, delivering a huge five-points while limiting France to just one.

Another four points from Australia in the third quarter, including a second each for Milos Maksimovic and Blake Edwards, saw the Sharks lead 11-5 going into the final quarter.

Head Coach Tim Hamill said the result was a great way to finish off the European tour. 

“As I’ve said to our playing group throughout this tour, I actually feel that we’ve played some of our best water polo during this tour,” said Hamill. “Yes, there's certainly areas for improvement both as a team and individually, but I think we took some really big steps forward on this tour.

“We had a big lead at one stage in the game (against France) and just put the cue in the rack too early and stopped attacking. France ran on with five consecutive goals to close the gap to 11-9 at the end.

“We were always in control, but it was a unique situation for us to have such a big lead and it’s a situation we look forward to replicating in the future.

“Our thanks to everyone back home for the support, we’re looking forward to a massive 2024, starting with our test matches in January against the Japanese. From there, we’ll look towards the World Championships in February and ultimately towards the Paris 2024 Olympic Games,” he concluded.

Click here for your chance to see the Ord Minnett Aussie Sharks and Stingers in action this January in Brisbane.

GAME 2: AUSTRALIA 7 def by ITALY 15

The Ord Minnett Aussie Sharks have had a tough loss to Italy at the Sardinia Cup, going down 15-7 overnight.

The Sharks put up a good fight in the first two quarters, limiting Italy to a two-point lead at half time.

Co-captain Nathan Power and young gun Jacob Mercep scored the last two goals of the third quarter, their second each for the game, but it was not enough to combat the huge surge from the home side that saw Italy score five goals in quick succession.

Another four goals from the Italians in the final quarter saw an extension of the lead.

Ord Minnett Aussie Sharks Head Coach Tim Hamill spoke on the team's performance.

“As expected, the Italian team came out and played really fast, physically and aggressively against us tonight,” said Hamill.

“We were good enough to weather the storm earlier on in the game and got back to 4-4 early in the second quarter, but we missed a couple of opportunities later that quarter that could have put us two goals up.

“The Italians were on a run in the third quarter and we weren’t able to stop the flow of goals. 

“We’re all upset with this result, but knowing the group, we’ll get ourselves back up and ready to play against France,” he finished.

GAME 1: AUSTRALIA 6 def by MONTENEGRO 8

The Ord Minnett Aussie Sharks began their Sardinia Cup campaign overnight, with a close game against European powerhouses Montenegro finishing 6-8 in favor of the opposing team.

The Sharks started strong, going into halftime 3-3.

Luke Pavillard opened the scoring with a great shot, with co-captains Nathan Power and Blake Edwards also contributing to the scoresheet come the second period.

The third period saw Montenegro edge ahead of the Sharks, with three goals from the European side bettering the Australians two.

Montenegro capitalised on their lead in the final period, with the Sharks only able to confirm one goal as opposed to the Europeans two.

Head Coach Tim Hamill said he couldn’t fault his team’s effort and he looks towards to seeing them build over  the remainder of the competition.

“Montenegro is a team that we’ve always enjoyed playing against, we match up well against them, so we’re disappointed to lose eight goals to six tonight,” said Hamill.

“This group has been consistent by and large for going on two years now and I really can’t fault our efforts. We’ve become really close as a team but tonight when the key moments came in the fourth quarter, particularly with our extra man attack, we failed to execute.

“Tomorrow night we play against the home team, Italy. We’ve trained with the Italians in the lead up to this tournament and know they like to play a very physical and fast game, so we’re looking forward to coming up against them,” he finished.