Sharks and Stingers head into finals at Auckland

The Aussie Sharks and Aussie Stingers have performed strongly in their group matches at the FINA World League Inter Continental Cup Tournament in Auckland this week, earning them a spot in the competition finals.

The Aussie Sharks went through the group stage undefeated with big victories against New Zealand (2), Canada, Argentina and Kazakhstan holding a for and against record 72-21 respectively, recording their biggest winning margin against Kazakhstan, 21-6.

Currently ranked seventh in the world, the Aussie Sharks were relentless in their performances earning them a place in the men's gold medal match on Sunday evening against USA.

Head coach Elvis Fatovic was pleased with his team’s performance which has earned them qualification into the World League Finals in June and was impressed by Aaron Younger’s impact on the team.

“This week we were serious during all our games and we were not happy just to beat a team, we wanted to play as best as we could in offence and defence.

“On Sunday we will play against a really strong USA team and we know each other very well so it will be a good game for both teams.

“It will be a very physically demanding game, but that is something both teams want now in preparation for June (World League Finals) and September (World Cup) and hopefully we will deliver something special at the end of this season.

“In my opinion Aaron is one of the best players in the world because there aren’t too many who have can play in any position. Whenever he is with the team he acts like a captain and plays like one too which is excellent for us,” he said.

Aaron Younger joined his teammates during their second match against Canada after playing professionally in Hungary for Szolnoki Vízilabda Sports Club.

Like their male counterparts, the Aussie Stingers topped their group with victories against Kazakhstan and New Zealand (2) and an impressive first match win against USA, 9-8.

In total the Aussie Stingers scored 39 goals for and only conceded 13 goals against throughout their three group matches and have progressed through to the quarterfinals against New Zealand (1).

LIVE STREAM

OVOPlay will be live streaming Australia’s finals matches throughout the weekend: