Sharks Fall to Italy Defeat in World League Opener

The Australian men’s water polo team have suffered a 14-7 loss to European heavy weights Italy in the Opening Round of the World League Super Final in China.

It was not the start the Aussies had been hoping for but the side are determined to bounce back when they take on Japan in game two.

As Rio selection looms for the men’s side, the squad are out to sure up spots for the 2016 Olympic Team which will be named at the end of the month.

The Sharks were outscored in each quarter against Italy and couldn’t stem the momentum of the Italians at either end of the pool.

Captain Rhys Howden said the team have a lot of work to focus on ahead of their next games.

“It was a disappointing start to the tournament,” he said.

“We started quite slowly and as the game progressed, little errors and fatigue in our game crept in and Italy put on a few quick goals which we couldn’t recover from.

“Usually we match up quite well against the Italians, but today they were on top of us unfortunately.

The Sharks however will have the opportunity to bounce back in today’s match against Japan from 3pm Perth time.

The World League Super Final is the last major tournament for the Australian team before August’s Olympic Games.

The Sharks’ squad contains three WAIS scholarship holders with; George Ford, Aaron Younger and Joel Swift all in China, whilst WAIS head coach Paul Oberman is an assistant with the group, on top of fulfilling the Team Manager role.

-with Water Polo Aus