Gold for WA at U/20 Nationals

Western Australia has won the 20 & Under National Championships, breaking the New South Wales stranglehold on the tournament with a decisive 20-15 victory over the NSW Blues at Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre last weekend.

An outstanding effort from WA left-handers Luke Pavillard and Jordan Kremers-Taylor (WAIS) underpinned the victory, with the former scoring seven goals for the game, while the latter was named MVP of the tournament.

Although WA led by a margin of 10 goals (15-5) at one stage and never looked troubled for victory, Kremers-Taylor said that the team had been careful to minimise mistakes against a dangerous NSW outfit.

“We knew NSW were a good team coming into the game, and were mindful that if we made just one mistake in the game, they would be all over us. Inevitably we did make a few small errors and they came back at us, which was reflected on the scoreboard,” Kremers-Taylor said.

Western Australia set the tone of the game by scoring seven goals to establish a four goal advantage at the first break. The second term offered a similar story as WA added a further eight goals, while NSW could manage just four as they trailed 15-7 at the final break.

With their backs to the wall, NSW needed a breakout quarter to slow the scoring rate of WA during the third period, and responded with six goals to WA’s three, two of which were scored by Conor Wolohan, setting up an 18-13 scoreline at the final break.

The final period had the makings of a grandstand finish, the Blues carrying momentum and within striking range of victory, Western Australia needing to defend against any attacks. However, WA held on to keep the NSW side at bay and ensure they went home with the national title.

Although the WA side had held the belief they could win the tournament since day one, Pavillard reflected that the team had needed to refocus after underperforming on day one of the competition.

“Our first game was a bit rocky, especially our first quarter when we had expected to come in and be strong, but we had our opponents come out and play really well against us and put us in a position we hadn’t expected,” Pavillard said.

“Over the week we improved, which was the import coming into the final today and we really played some of our best water polo.”

The Western Australian side was overseen by WAIS men’s water polo coach Paul Oberman.

In the women’s competition, WA won a bronze medal, via a 13-7 victory over a composite Victorian/South Australian side.

Victory was seemingly never in doubt for Western Australia as they put together a strong start to the game, with WAIS athlete Jess Zimmerman their main threat with four goals before half time.

The game opened with WA establishing a 5-1 lead by the first break, a lead they would maintain throughout the second term to lead 8-4 at the long break.

In a quiet third stanza, Victoria/SA managed just one goal from Maddy Steere, while WA could only convert two opportunities, the scorer Zimmerman who took her personal haul to six goals for the game.

With the task of managing the game until the full time Siren, WA slowly edged away to 13 goals and victory, as they looked to Perri Thompson, Pia Rogers (WAIS) and Lara Zimmerman to score, while Steere and Zoe Hill were the scorers for Victoria/SA.

WAIS women’s water polo coach Georgina Kovacs mentored the WA U/20 side in Sydney.

-WaterPoloAus