The Cronulla Sharks water polo club have won silver at the boy’s National 18 & under Club Championships, going down to UWA Torpedoes 3-1 at the AIS in Canberra.
The Torpedoes jumped to a two-nil lead by quarter time with goals to Nicholas Hughes and Andrew Ford before Uga Mihailovic added one in the second quarter to keep the Sharks within touch.
The goalkeepers, Joshua Zekulich (Torpedoes) and Sam Cocokios (Cronulla) put on strong displays deflecting a series of shots from both teams throughout the third quarter to ensure the score remained 2-1 at the final break. A goal by UWA’s Tom Cunningham mid-way through the final term ensured the win for the Torpedoes.
Cronulla coach Predrag Mihailovic, was proud of his team, but disappointed with the result. “It was a very slow game, we could have played better, UWA deserved the win. Congratulations to the Torpedoes, we will get you next time” Mihailovic said with a grin.
Softening the blow slightly for the Sharks players was news that Blake Buckley, Nic Brooks and Sam Cocokios have been selected in the (Born 94) Australian training squad for an elite training camp in Sydney this week. Cocokios was also named Goalkeeper of the Series at the National Championships.
The 22-player squad will later this year be cut to 13 for the FINA World Youth Championships in Perth in December.
ResultsGold: UWA Torpedoes 3 (Nicholas Hughes, Andrew Ford, and Tom Cunningham) beat Cronulla Sharks 1 (Uga Mihailovic)
U18 girls do us proud
In addition to the strong performance from our boys and despite not achieving their stated goal of reaching the top four our Under 18 girls managed a very creditable 5th place at the National Championships. Coach Mardi Daddo was very proud of the way the girls embraced the challenge and they completed the tournament with only one loss. Their loss occurred at the quarter final stage against UNSW. After speaking to Mardi (and the supporters) it appears it was just 'one of those days’.
However as we know sport is not always about the result. The girls turned their loss in the pool into a positive as they came together even more as a team following this disappointment. The adversity they faced provided the opportunity for them to grow as a team and made it very apparent that they cherish the privilege of being part of the Cronulla Water Polo community.
This experience will no doubt be great for the girls and will also be great for our club as we look to the future.
Following the QF loss, the girls re-grouped and went on to win their remaining two games.
A special congratulations to Maddy Schmid who was selected in the Born 94 Australian Training Squad as they work towards the World Champs in December.
