SISTERS ARE DOING IT FOR BRISBANE

It was a family affair in the U14 Women’s gold medal final of the Australian Youth Water Polo Championships with sisters Nicola Johnson and Kristina Smith lining up as the head coaches of Mermaids and All Hallows School faced off.

The two Brisbane teams had plenty of support in the stands for Johnson’s Mermaids team and Smith’s All Hallows side.

For Johnson it couldn’t get more personal, her husband Lance Johnson coaching alongside her and her daughter Chelsea playing in the final.

Johnson, renowned for her coaching and international refereeing, is equally matched by her sister Kristina in the water polo stakes having been part of the Australian Women’s water polo team.

The gold medal match was a Queensland State Championship rematch, with these river city rivals often meeting in the high pressure matches.

There was very little separating the two sides in the first half, with Mermaid Pinks taking a slight 2-0 lead at half time.

It was the third quarter where the Mermaids made their move, putting away three goals to push their lead out to 5-0 at the end of the third quarter.

Unfortunately for All Hallows there was no coming back, with the Mermaids securing one final goal in the fourth to clinch the gold with a 6-0 win.

Despite heading into the final the favourites, Mermaids Pink Captain, Chelsea Johnson, said they weren’t expecting that result.

“It was a tough game. We didn’t expect that all, we’re over the moon,” said Johnson.

“We trained twice a week for an hour and a half working on tactics and trying to eat healthy. We’re hoping to come back for the U16s Nationals and win it again,” she said.

In the bronze medal match it was Sydney Northern Beaches who took out the line honours with a 6-3 win over UNSW Wests Killer whales.

For full results – visit the Match Centre.

Want to watch the game? Catch the game in full on OVO Play.

2019 14&U Women's Australian Youth Water Polo Championships Standings:

Gold - Mermaids Pink
Silver - All Hallows
Bronze - SNB Breakers
4th - UNSW Killer Whales
5 - Adelaide Jets
6 - UTS Balmain
7 - St Rita's
8 - Melville
9 - BGGS
10 - Sydney Uni Lions Blue
11 - ACU Cronulla Sharks
12 - Sunshine Coast
13 - Barras
14  - Canberra Dolphins
15 - Hunter
16 - UWA Bears
17 - Ryde
18 - Central Coast
19 - Mermaids Blue
20 - Ovens & Murray
21 - Newman Waves
22 - Sydney Uni Gold
23 - Mermaids White
24 - Somerville