Aussie Sharks claim 5th at World League Final

Australian Men’s Water Polo Team have claimed fifth place at the FINA World League Super Final, after a 12-7 win over Japan.

Hurting from their quarter final penalty shoot-out loss to the USA which put them out of medal contention the previous day, the Aussie Sharks were out to finish the tournament on a high.

In the final match of the tournament the Aussies came out firing and managed to control the game from the outset.

There was no denying that the Aussies were hoping for a better result at the World League Final, but Australian Head Coach Elvis Fatovic believes the best if yet to come from his side in Rio.

“Definitely I would like to finish the game in one of the top three places. Hopefully our best form will come at the Rio Olympic Games,” said Fatovic.

“We controlled the game from the beginning. But in the second quarter we had some errors,” he said.

London Olympian Aaron Younger was the leading goal scorer for the Aussies with an impressive five goals, whilst Richard Campbell (NSWIS) also continued his good form, registering a double.  In the quarter final loss to the USA, Campbell scored five goals whilst John Cotterill (NSWIS) posted a hat-trick.

Other NSWIS athletes to get on the scoresheet in the win were Cotterill, Aidan Roach and Joe Kayes. 

Younger echoed Fatovic’s comments and believes the Aussies are building nicely for Rio.

“It was disappointing to finish fifth but it was good to come here for the final game and put in a good effort and finish off the tournament well with a win.

“We’ve taken another step forward and keep building towards Rio.  This really for us was a training step for the next phase and that’s the Olympics,” said Younger.

The FINA World League Super Final was the last major tournament for the Aussies ahead of Rio, with the side for the 2016 Olympic Games to be announced in the coming weeks.

Best of luck to all NSWIS athletes gunning for selection.

Match statistics:

AUSTRALIA 12 defeated JAPAN 7 

Quarters: 2-4, 2-3, 1-3, 2-2

Extra Man: JPN 3/6 AUS 3/8

Pens: JPN 1/1 AUS 0/1

AUSTRALIA: Joel Dennerley (NSWIS), Richard Campbell (2) (NSWIS), George Ford, John Cotterill (1) (NSWIS), Nathan Power (NSWIS), Jarrod Gilchrist (NSWIS), Aidan Roach (1) (NSWIS), Aaron Younger (5), Joel Swift (1), Joe Kayes (1) (NSWIS), Rhys Howden (Captain, 1), Tyler Martin (NSWIS), James Stanton.