WAIS Water Polo Athletes in World League Action

WAIS water polo athletes have helped Australia to a successful campaign in the World League Asia-Oceania Preliminary stage in Osaka, Japan.

WAIS athletes Tim Cleland, Aaron Younger, Daniel Lawrence, Luke Quinlivan and Joel Swift made up five of the 16 strong Aussie Sharks squad in Japan, and played instrumental parts in Australia’s five successive wins.

According to WAIS men’s water polo coach, Paul Oberman, the young WAIS talent shone in national colours.

“By all reports our WAIS athletes played well, with Younger and Swift standouts. The athletes are 18 and 19 respectively, they look to have bright futures playing for Australia,” Oberman said.

The match figures back up Oberman’s appraisal, with Younger hitting 11 goals across the series and Swift adding a further nine for the Sharks.

The Aussie Sharks took a maximum 15 points from the round and look a near certainty for next month’s Super Finals in Nis, Serbia.

WAIS was also represented by WAIS-AIS athletes Gemma Beadsworth, Glencora Ralph, who played for the Australian Stingers in the women’s World League Asia-Oceania Preliminary stage, also in Osaka.

The Stingers were defeated by China in a penalty shoot-out in the last match of the Japan series, but look a good prospect to join China at next month’s Super League in Serbia.

The Stingers and Sharks will now travel to Tianjin, China for another set of fixtures against Japan, Kazakhstan, Iran, China and New Zealand.

Australia coach Greg McFadden admitted he was half pleased despite the loss.

“It is very rare where I am half pleased about a loss but today the girls produced some great attacking water polo, which we had been working on,” he said.

“Glencora Ralph scored one of the best team goals I’ve seen and Gemma Beadsworth had one the most dominating defensive games I’ve ever seen.”