WAIS athletes Zoe Arancini and Lilian Hedges have starred for the Fremantle Marlins in their 6-5 National Water Polo League grand final win over the Brisbane Barracudas in Brisbane.
The Marlins claimed the nail-biting 6-5 win with an exceptional final quarter effort from the team, that saw Arancini score twice and Hedges repel a series of late chances for the home side.
Jane Moran was the first to score for the Barracudas, shooting a cracking cross-cage shot. A reply from Fremantle’s WAIS athlete and Olympian Glencora McGhie saw a top left shot zip past the outreached arm of Brisbane goalkeeper Wakefield, before triple Olympian Kate Gynther converted a penalty goal to give the Barracudas a 2-1 lead at the first break.
Brisbane came out firing in the second stanza, challenging the Fremantle defence at every attacking opportunity. Marlins’ goalkeeper Hedges stood up to each challenge, saving a screaming five-metre penalty from the Barracudas’ Ash Southern.
With goals at a premium thanks to fierce defence from both sides, it was Fremantle’s Jessica Zimmerman (WAIS) who broke the standoff, equalising at 2-2-come half time.
Nothing could separate the two teams in the third term as goals to Fremantle’s WAIS pair Gemma Beadsworth and Ebony Neesham and Brisbane’s Moran and Gynther ensured the scores were locked at 4-4 heading into the decider.
It was a grandstand finish that a final between the league’s two best teams deserved, with the fourth term producing just two goals as neither team could break free. National League Finals Series MVP Zoe Arancini was the single exception however, scoring a double to hand her side the lead.
The Barracudas stormed up the pool in attack, controlling the desperation of the situation, but the Marlins held their nerve to take an outstanding grand final victory with Hedges and Arancini instrumental.
“It’s unbelievable. I can’t believe it,” Arancini said after the game.
“The girls played fantastic. We were so desperate in defence. The girls did their job. We were a bit shaky at the start but we overcame it and got the win which is amazing.”
The Fremantle Marlins were represented by Hedges, Arancini, Beadsworth, McGhie, Neesham, Zimmerman, Eliesha Browne, Madeleine Quinn and Cathryn Earl.
Brisbane Barracudas coach Fabio Pavanello said the contest was a fantastic promotion for the sport.
“It was a cracking game. It was an amazing spectacle. Fremantle beat us by five goals at the start of the finals and we did well to come back from there and all credit goes to Fremantle,” Pavanello said.
“Both teams came to play and in the end one team had to win.”
In the men’s finals series, neither WA team was able to reach the grand final, with the UWA Torpedoes losing out in the bronze medal match, and the Fremantle Mariners unable to reach the semi finals, despite having finishing the regular season in second place.
The UNSW Wests Magpies won their first National Water Polo League crown since 2008 following an enthralling 7-5 victory over the Victorian Seals, who fell just short of a fairytale finish to their inaugural season in the competition, after qualifying for the finals as the sixth ranked team.
-WaterPoloAustralia
* Picture courtesy of Pearse Photography
