Season Opener Sharks V Jets

28.01.12. The Mens Sharks Team were out to prove that the opening game was no fluke. After a good start they quickly blew out to a two goal lead in the first quarter. This was then pegged back by the Jets to make it 3-3 at half time. Neither team could break away leaving the score at 6-6 at full time despite the great full length of the pool shot by Alex Bennie that went just over the bar in the last second.

This then set up a very exciting penalty shootout which is how draws are going to be decided this season. With a great save by Patrick in goals the Sharks managed to scrape home for the second consecutive game. The women's team also backed up their first win with a 7-4 victory.

 26.1.2012 The Cronulla Sharks Mens team got their 2012 Season off to a dream start with good team work and some geat goalkeeping by Patrick Northem (below) the Sharks got out to an early lead only to be hauled back by half time.

 Chris Batty (top) and Patch Falson (above) had strong games both contibuting 5 goals between them. The win sets up the team for a promising season under the guidance of the new coach, Predrag Mihailovic. The fittness and experience from the recent camp seems to be paying off.

 Earlier in the day the Womens team accounted for the Jets 8-4. The Sharks got off to a slow start but eventually clicked into gear in the second half moving away to a comfortable win.

The Sharks fielded a very young side but guided by the more experienced girls such as Australian Stinger, Nicola Zagame (above), the younger ones, like 15 year old Lena Mihailovic (below) were able to contribute to the win. 

Photos by Dick davies

Men's European Training Camp 2012

 Serbian Parliament House

Tour Group

 

Click here to read Tight's Diary

 

 Budva Montenegro

International Test Match Series

Cronulla rise to the top. U18 State Champions.

 

Just one week after Cronulla won the Col Smee (U20) tournament, the Cronulla U18 Men’s side has put in a dominant performance to win the U18 State Club Championships at Ashfield last weekend. With 10 of the side backing up from the Col Smee tournament, the Cronulla boys played some strong water polo to remain undefeated in this competition.   Cronulla won the final against Drummoyne 13-5 – in what was a hard fought match.

The standout characteristics of the team were again their strong team work and general overall fitness. They supported each other throughout every game and remained in control of each match. Again – this shows the benefits of Predrag’s short time as the Cronulla Head Coach and is a great indicator for the future of the Men’s Program.

Uga Mihailovic was awarded the Most Valuable Player, and Cronulla had 3 players named in the Team of the Tournament (Blake, Nic B, and Uga).

The gold medal winning team are: Sam Cocokios, Uga Mihailovic, Jack Jameson, Wade Turner, Matt Schweighoffer, Dylan Holden, Nic Brooks, Blake Buckley, Zac Quinn, Kieran Brunner-Evans, Keeland Tracy, Lachlan Greer.

Cronulla State Champions

2011 Men’s Col Smee (U20) Tournament

The Cronulla Men’s U20 side has remained undefeated to win the 2011 Col Smee tournament.

It was a very even competition, and the Cronulla players had to fight hard in every one of their 7 games over the weekend. The two highlights of the weekend were the very strong defence throughout the competition and the way that the team supported each other in every game. It was even commented on by a number of players from other teams, that the real standout feature of Cronulla’s play was their teamwork. Everyone played their part.

The team is a relatively young side, and did not allow themselves to be fazed by their opposition teams who came to the tournament with impressive reputations.

The semi-final win against Balmain on Sunday morning was a great game which Cronulla won 9-6, setting them up for the final against Hunter. After a torrential downpour, they played a very tight and at times physical match, which again demonstrated a very strong defensive side with Cronulla winning 8-5. The team showed the benefits that Predrag has provided to the club in his short period as Head Coach.

Sam Cocokios was brilliant in goals all weekend and was named tournament MVP. Cronulla has 4 players (Sam C, Nic B, Blake B and Sam B) named in the NSW U20 Blues squad and 3 players (Uga M, Dylan H and Keeland T) named in the NSW U20 Waratah squad.

The gold medal winning team is: Sam Cocokios, Uga Mihalovic, Jack Jameson, Daniel Simpson, Matt Schweighoffer, Dylan Holden, Nic Brooks, Blake Buckley, Dylan Turner, Sam Baraket, Keeland Tracey, Kieran Brunner-Evans, Lachlan Greer.   

Cronulla Sharks 2011 Xmas Party

Boys and Girls National double Gold.

Sydney club Cronulla have repeated their 2008 success by winning the boy’s and girl’s double at the 14 & Under National Club Championships in Canberra.

In two exciting finals, the Cronulla Blue boys over came a tough KFC Breakers side 9-4, while the girls defeated Melville 8-4.

The win was a family affair with husband and wife team Mark and Sandra Holden, coaching the successful teams which included their children, Rhys and Kiara. For Sandra, the win was the perfect end to months of training.  “The girls have trained hard all year and they absolutely deserved the result they got,” Sandra said. “They work hard as a team, and that’s the key to the win.”

For both coaches, to take home the double is special.  “It is fantastic to take both championships, both teams work hard and support each other in and out of the pool,” Mark said. “Both teams have big hearts, and they always play with passion,” Sandra added.

For girl’s captain Samantha Mitchell, winning the gold wasn’t her only achievement of the day, she also took home the Player of the Series award. But for Sam, the award wouldn’t have even been possible if not for her team.  “It is amazing, to win the championships and then Player of the Series,” Mitchell said.  “But without my team I couldn’t have got either. We played amazing today and were rewarded with the gold.”  Mitchell’s teammate Maddison Nusdorfer was awarded the Goal Keeper of the Series in the girl’s tournament.

Boy’s:

Gold – Cronulla Sharks Blue; Silver – KFC Breakers; Bronze – Melville Sharks

Player of the Series - Rowan Farrell (Drummoyne Devils); Leading Goal Scorer – Jake Robinson (Hunter Hurricanes); Goal Keeper - Lucas Pensini (Melville Sharks)

Girl’s:

Gold – Cronulla Sharks Blue; Silver – Melville Sharks; Bronze – Drummoyne Devils

Player of the Series - Samantha Mitchell (Cronulla Blue); Leading Goal Scorer – Kristy Donkin (Sydney Northern Beaches Breakers); Goal Keeper - Maddison Nusdorfer (Cronulla Blue)

14's Supreme

Cronulla sent 3 boys girls and 2 girls’ teams to a very hot Tamworth weekend. All teams performed well over the weekend with each team consistently making improvements and securing some great wins. The Boys Blue Team won gold and the Girls Blue Team won gold and went through the tournament undefeated.

 

The 14 Blue girls had one of the tougher pools which meant some harder games during the rounds which set us in good steed for the playoffs.

After an inspirational pep talk from Kerry Turner the girls came out all guns blazing in the final to secure an early lead over Drummoyne. The girls continued to dictate play and rise throughout the game to convincingly win the game 9-4. This win is a testament to the amount of talent we have within our junior members and the dedication of every player in this team.

Congratulations to Samantha Mitchell who was awarded MVP and to all the girls who made TAP and development squads.

Thank you to all the parents for your assistance and support over the weekend, you all helped achieve this fantastic result. We can’t wait for Nationals.

The 14 Blue boys started the tournament a bit slowly, but as the games went on the boys started to play some really good ‘team’ water polo. After finishing 2nd in our pool we found ourselves playing Parramatta in the playoffs. This was the game we started to build our confidence with a solid 15 – 2 win, which saw us having to return to the pool at 8am on Sunday for a game against the hot favourites Drummoyne Red.

After a great bonding session we started off strong and eventually took the game in the third quarter with a rewarding 6 – 0 lead and eventually wining 9 – 3 to see us progress to the Semi finals against Breakers.

Another solid performance saw us win 11 – 4 to earn our place in the final against Alstonville. We came out all guns firing against Alstonville and leading 5 – 0 at half time. Alstonville produced some impressive water polo to come back to 6 – 4 before the last quarter. The boys held their nerves and finished the game winners 9 – 6.