OVOAWL | Freo wary of Thunder

Published Thu 04 Apr 2019

The OVO Australian Waterpolo League returns this weekend after a hiatus due to the FINA World League Inter-Continental Cup in Perth.

Round eight of Australia's premier water polo competition will be headlined by the OVO Play live stream match of the week between Fremantle and Queensland Thunder.

Fremantle Mariners captain Joel Swift says the chemistry and bond within their group is really strong this season.

"We're going pretty strong at the moment and there is a good atmosphere in the team.

"Everyone is mates in and out of the pool. We all catch up after games and training and that helps with our success in the pool," he said.

Off the back of the their break from competition, Swift said the side have taken it as an opportunity to get a little rest before the run to finals.

"We had a bit of a break and cut down to a few sessions early on.

"We definitely had a lighter week last week, but we are back up to our normal level this week," he said.

Swift knows the team's strengths well and that is what they'll be relying on to get over the line against Thunder who he knows will prove difficult.

"We're going to have a tough time against them, we're taking them very seriously and know these are two games we need to win.

"We have a really strong spine, our centre forwards and centre backs are solid and we play around those positions, with a lot of the younger guys stepping into the other positions," he said.

Speaking about the spectacle it will be on Saturday, he encouraged everyone to get to the pool or watch the live stream.

"It's a clash between teams four and five on the ladder, Queensland have some older heads and some exciting younger players coming through and we're in a similar position so it should be a pretty quick match for all the fans," he said.

Young Queenslander Thunder player and Aussie Junior Kasey Dalziel is excited to return to competition with her side.

"We've done some extra long swim sets during the break and increased our swimming but apart from that we have kept our routine relatively the same.

"It has been a little bit strange without our Aussie Stingers players, but we've played multiple training games against the 18&U Queensland Academy of Sport (QAS) boys side to make sure we're still training at a high intensity," she said.

Currently atop of the competition ladder, Dalziel says the Thunder women don't chat about the fact much.

"We're pretty level headed really, it's great we're at the top but we don't really talk about that at training, we just like to go game by game," she said.

Their opposition will surely be trying to topple the ladder leaders on Saturday.

"We're definitely expecting them (Fremantle Marlins) to be a hard hit out and we know we're going to need to give it our all.

"But we're not thinking about the overall outcome because we just need to go in there and see how it goes," she said.

Dalziel says Queensland will look to use a couple of different strengths throughout the match.

"Our defence is definitely a strength and we have been working a lot on the different styles we can use throughout a match.

"Our counter attack has also dramatically improved since the beginning of the season so we will try and use that at some stage," she said.

Speaking on being part of the inaugural Queensland Thunder women's team, Dalziel couldn't speak highly enough of the group.

"All the girls have just come together and now we're like family. The culture and vibe is really, really great," she said.

As part of their trip west, Thunder will also go head to head with UWA Torpedoes.

In other matches across round eight, Hunter Hurricanes are back at home when they host Adelaide Jets in a double header.

UNSW Wests take on Drummoyne Devils and Sydney Uni Lions in two big clashes, while ACU Cronulla Sharks come face to face with Sydney Uni Lions on Sunday.