The outdoor pools at the Orange Aquatic Centre were a hub of activity on day two of the 2017 Under-14 Boys’ Water Polo State Championship.
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With 16 games on Tuesday fans and parents were spoilt for choice with games from both divisions on show.
In division one, Sydney University Blue took down Cronulla Sharks Black 7-2 on Tuesday morning.
Sydney Uni were too strong in the water for the Sharks, going up 2-0 early on and never looking like losing control.
Jett Robens (2 goals) and Will Spitznagel (1) were strong offensively and Xavier Borralho (2) controlled Sydney Uni’s attacking zone, and was too much for defenders to handle.
Sydney Uni pulled out all the tricks, controlling the play, pressing defenders back into their zone causing turnovers and a ridiculous spinning goal from Luke de Lisle in the third quarter.
The Sharks were stunned early, but eventually got going after half time, with plays starting to come together.
Mitchell Wyatt had some strong shots bounce off the crossbar and Harry Samuel was left fighting off two in attack but not giving in.
Sydney Uni coach Troy Ractlyft said he was happy to get a win.
“We’re a young team in the A division … we’re a year younger than everyone else,” he said.
Ractlyft said the boys had stuck to the plan and they were pleased with the result.
“We had two tough losses yesterday by a goal each which the boys were a bit disappointed by but it was good they’ve bounced back and had a good win this morning,” he said.
He said the win was a “team performance” and they were able to out-muscle Cronulla.
“With the team rotation system you have to have a balanced team from the top players to the bottom players,” he said.
Cronulla coach Greg McFadden said the difference between the sides were “just experience and size”.
“We came expecting to not win that many games so we were just trying to improve each game and Sydney Uni just had a few boys who were bigger and stronger, they made the most of their opportunities,” he said.
McFadden, who was also the former national women’s team Water Polo coach, will also be a part of a come and try clinic on Wednesday morning.
The clinic will is at 9am and run will be run by former Olympian Liz Weeks and current Australian star Anthony Hrysanthos. See Water Polo NSW’s Facebook page for more.