Precious points on the line as Australia faces China at FINA Super Final
Published Wed 05 Jun 2019
The Aussie Stingers will face China in their second pool match of the FINA World League Super Final at Budapest (HUN). The Aussies are looking to secure their first points of the tournament after a narrow 9-11 defeat in their opening match against Italy.
Stinger Bronte Halligan was the first to score for Australia against Italy and said although China was a familiar opponent, their playing style could be unpredictable.
“You never really know what to expect with China,” Halligan said.
“All we can do is go out and play our game and focus on getting better and hopefully the results follow from that.
“China has a variety of players so each tournament you see something a little different based upon their selection, they have string centres but also quick drivers and defenders, so it will be interesting to see who we come up against.
“I’m excited to see what they bring and give it our best,” she said.
Australia will take confidence from their 12-8 defeat of China in the semi-final of the FINA World League Inter-Continental Cup, held in Perth.
“We see a lot of China in our preparation,” Halligan said.
“They are the most competitive team in the world within close proximity to us.
“It can help but also hinder as we know their strengths and weaknesses, and they are familiar with ours.
“We just want to go out there and play our game and keep improving to see where we can go,” she said.
Halligan said the Australians were feeling good after two weeks of training in Europe.
“We’ve played games against Hungary and Spain which have both been valuable to see where we are as a squad against some of the best in the world,” she said.
“Both sides have been competitive and shown different styles of water polo and it’s been valuable for us to push each other and see the areas we need to work on going into World League Finals.”
Halligan said the tournament is a good ‘practice run’ for teams in the lead-up to the upcoming World Championships in South Korea.
“The World League Final is always a great competition, it’s great having all the girls back from their international teams for a hit-out, seeing where we can take the program in 2019.
Halligan has just finished her third season with the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
She said the experience playing in the US has been a great learning experience.
“The US play a disciplined game and it’s been awesome getting to learn a new style as well as play some of the best in the world,” Halligan said.
“I definitely think it has improved my water polo and the way I view the game will be valuable for the next year and a half with the Stingers.
Halligan was pleased to see more Australian water polo players in the US college system.
“They value both school and water polo which helps you pursue interests outside of the sport whilst also competing at such a high level.
“The young girls gave it a really good crack this year and they were some of the best in their respective teams which is exciting for me as I see the growth in Australian Juniors alongside some of the best in the world currently,” she said.
Aussie Stingers plays China Wednesday 5 June at 11:00pm AEST. WATCH LIVE via FINA TV
FINA WORLD LEAGUE SUPER FINAL
When: 4-9 June 2019
Where: Budapest, Hungary
About: Australia is one of four teams in group A and will play Italy, China and the Netherlands in the group rounds:
4 June - 8:15pm (CEST) vs Italy (5 June 4:15am AEST) - ITA def AUS 11-9
5 June - 3:00pm (CEST) vs China (5 June 11:00pm AEST)
6 June - 4:45pm (CEST) vs Netherlands (6 June 12:45am AEST)
Following the group rounds there will be three days of finals action including quarter finals, semi finals and finals. Australia's opposition on these days will depend on the results from the group stage.
Group B nations include - USA, Russia, Canada, Hungary
Australia finished second at the FINA World League Continental Final, losing narrowly to the world champions and Olympic gold medallists, USA, in a penalty shoot-out.
Image: Catharyn Hayne
