Sydney Uni Lions roar as one in last game of 2020 KAP7 AYWPC
Published Thu 23 Jan 2020
The last gold medal of the 2020 KAP7 Australian Youth Water Polo Championships was won by Sydney Uni Lions in an impressive 6-4 victory over WA’s Melville Sharks.
The victory didn’t come easy to Sydney Uni, with Melville pushing them right until the end.
But Sydney Uni had all the answers to Melville’s attempts at a comeback, in the end proving too strong.
Aiden O’Neill said that although the team had been working extremely hard towards a finals berth, they didn’t expect to make it this far.
“There was a lot of confidence among the group heading into this week, we knew how hard we’d all been working, but I don’t think any of us actually thought we’d win the gold medal,” O’Neill said.
“All the boys are so excited after that game, we’ve all worked so hard for this and to be rewarded is amazing,” he said.
Sydney Uni never underestimated their opponents, they knew they had to prepare for a tough game.
“We knew that Melville were good at the full field press and we just had to be all over them and be patient,” O’Neill said.
“We knew the goals would come if we played our game, and they did.”
In the bronze medal match River City defeated UNSW Wests Magpies 9-4 to claim the bronze.
Will Smith (Sydney Uni Lions) and Tomos Hedges (River City) were named joint Most Valuable Goal Keepers, with Melville’s Patrick Dart the Most Valuable Player.
Final standings
Gold - Sydney Uni Blue
Silver - Melville Sharks
Bronze - River City
4 - UNSW Wests Magpies
5 - Brisbane Barracudas
6 - Hunter Hurricanes
7 - UWA Bears
8 - Canberra Dolphins
9 - UTS Balmain Tigers
10 - ACU Cronulla Sharks
11 - Adelaide Jets
12 -Melville Saints
13 - Drummoyne Devils Red
14 - Sydney Uni Gold
15 - DVE Aquatic
16 - Ovens and Murray
17 - MC Lions
18 - MC Sharks
19 - Triton
20 - QUT Wolves
21 - SNB Breakers
22 - Sunshine Coast
23 - Polo Bears
24 - Honey Badgers
25 - UWA Blue
26 - Central Coast
27 - Drummoyne Devils Black
28 - Ryde Rhinos
29 - Adelaide Stealth
30 - NYP Dragons
31 - Richmond Tigers
32 - River City Sharks
