Western Australia will be entering teams in the National Championships being held in Adelaide, 26 – 29 Sep 2021 for the U/15 and U/17 age groups and the U/19 National Championships which will be in Perth, 9 – 12 December 2021.

Teams are Under 15’s (15/U – Born 2006 and younger) and Under 17’s (17/U – Born 04 and younger) and Under 19’s (19/U – Born 02 and younger) both male and female.

We are seeking expression of interests from coaches to lead respective teams preceding and during the event.

Coaching Duties

1. The coach will conduct all training sessions in a professional manner where all athletes are engaged and treated equally, fairly and with an understanding of individual circumstances.
2. The coach will develop the athletes’ skills and techniques using their best knowledge and experience for the players’ benefit.
3. It is a requirement that team coaches communicate regularly with WPWAI and the Head Coaches of the Performance Pathway Program to discuss training plans as well as the performances of athletes.
4. The coach will liaise with the North and South Performance Pathway Program coaches to determine the schedule for the program.
5. The coach agrees to accept all requirements set by Water Polo WA in their contract, as well as abiding by WPWAI and WPA Codes of Conduct and related policies.
6. The selection process will be undertaken by the Performance Pathway Program Management Committee. Selected coaches will b recommended to the WPWA Board for ratification.

The successful applicant must have the following accreditations and experience required:
– A valid current Working With Children Card
– Demonstrated positive behaviour and good sportsmanship
– Experience in development and elite-level junior coaching
– Current knowledge and understanding of tactical trends within the game
– Ability to work with other coaches and team management
– Current involvement in a Water Polo Pathway program at a State or National Level

Please include the following documents in your application:
– Resume
– Cover letter – your cover letter should outline your experience, how you can contribute to the successful performance of the team and why you are interested in the position.

Please indicate what age group and gender would be your preference to coach and if you would be interested in coaching another age group if your first preference is not successful.

EOI’s CLOSE 15 June 2021

Please email to development@waterpolowa.asn.au.

Did you know you can use your Water Polo club to complete the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award?

If you are passionate about sport, want to get active, challenge yourself, give back and learn new skills just like 4,000 other young people in WA last year then the Duke of Edinburgh can help you achieve your goals.

The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award is the world’s leading youth development program, enabling young Australians aged 14 – 24 to become empowered through physical activity, voluntary service, new life skills and adventurous journeys. 

It’s an opportunity for young people to become “World Ready”, build resilience and upskill for future career and study opportunities. 

WPWAI would like to congratulate all the clubs on their achievements, hard work, dedication and on another great season of water polo, as well as the award winners who were voted Fairest & Best players!

Fairest and Best Players of the Season – Seniors

Fairest and Best Players of the Season – Juniors

The Western Australian Water Polo Performance Program Northern Conference (WAPPN) is seeking to employ part time Men’s & Women’s Coaches to assist with the coaching activities of the program. Two coaches will be appointed for each gender with one of the coaches to be an experienced goalkeeper coach.

The WAPPN is a six-month program from April – September 2021. Training activities are mostly during the evening at either the UWA Pool or HBF Stadium.

The successful applicants will coach Age Group teams 15U, 17U & 19U + Senior and will be directed by the Head Coach of the program.

The successful applicant will be directly employed by the delivery partner of the program, UWA Water Polo Club and the employment is on a part-time basis on a remuneration to be negotiated between the employer and applicant.

Saturday 13^th February 2021

Busselton Jetty foreshore 9 am – 1 pm

This fast four water polo game is an intense version of the pool game played in the ocean. As a part of the Busselton Jetty swim weekend, it showcases a non-stop, high action version of the game of water polo.

General rules and details of the game:

4 players in the field at one time – generally 3 in the field, 1 goalkeeper. 

No timed quarters or shot clock, except 1 min between each third, called a chukka, with changes of end after each Chukka. 

The game is played in 3 Chukkas with each Chukka finishing when one team reaches three goals. If one team win the first and second chukka, best of three, the game is over. 

Games will be given a maximum of 20 mins in which to be completed unless finished earlier. With 5mins between each game.

If the third chukka is still being played at the 20min mark the team that is in front is the winner. If the score is tied the team that scored the first goal in the third chukka, the golden goal will be pronounced the winner.

There are no stoppages. After a goal, the goalie who had the goal scored against them takes possession to continue play. 

After an exclusion, the player swims out to the side and touches the barrier and re-enters the water immediately. 

Changes of sub players can be made at any time but the player leaving the pool is to swim out to the side, duck under the barrier and the new player enters. 

Teams can enter as many players per team but recommended to have 6 players. 

Mixed competition – there must always be one female in the water at any time (ie- recommended to have at least 2 females per team).

There is a maximum of 8 teams for the competition with 2 groups – each team playing 3 games. The winner of each group will meet in the final. Generous prize money on offer for the winning and runner up teams. 

Entry is $100 per team which must be paid to the Busselton Waterpolo Club to confirm your team nomination. 

Presentations with some drinks and nibbles provided at the Esplanade Hotel after completion of the final.

Entries appreciated at latest by Tuesday the 9^th of February. 

For enquiries and payment details please contact clove@apexrad.com.au or call 0488 642 043 within business hours.

What a year 2020 has been! Click on the button below and look back on the year for Water Polo WA:

THE South Fremantle Bloods and Port Colts brought hot form into the South Conference Final on Saturday and produced a Men’s A-Grade classic decided with penalties while the North Conference was won by Triton.

After a competitive and entertaining 10 rounds of the regular season in the Men’s A-Grade competition for 2020, the Conference Finals took place on Saturday afternoon and there was some tremendous water polo played across the two pools.

The South Conference finals took place at Bicton Pool beginning with the playoff between third and fourth which saw the Melville Sharks prevail 13-10 against Dolphins.

The main event then saw the South Fremantle Bloods and Port Colts lock horns in a battle of two powerful Melville teams. With the Bloods undefeated through the season and the Port Colts amassing an 8-2 record, the game always promised plenty and it certainly delivered.

In the end it was decided in penalties and it was the Bloods who beat the Colts 17-16 after those in what would have been a contest befitting a Grand Final of the competition for 2020.

It also suggests that the Fremantle Mariners are going to be a force again should the Australian Water Polo League go ahead early in 2021.

Then it was onto the North Conference Finals played at HBF Stadium on Saturday starting with the battle of third against fourth. That saw two UWA teams compete with City Beach ending up winning 13-12 against Rangers.

The winners of the North Conference was then decided between Triton and UWA Flotsam, with the experience and class of Triton winning out in the end as they prevailed 10-6.

The Conference Finals results not only mean that the South Fremantle Bloods are South Conference premiers and Triton are North Conference premiers, but the two teams will now meet in this Saturday’s Grand Final.

That will determine the Men’s A-Grade premiership for 2020 and will be played at Bicton Pool from 3.30pm.

The battle of third against fourth in the South Conference got things underway on Saturday at Bicton Pool between the Melville Sharks and Dolphins.

Dolphins started impressively too despite being the lower ranked team scoring the opening three goals through Colin Powers and two from Jeremy Carbone.

Then despite a couple of goals back from the Sharks by Petar Tomasevic and Joel Swift, Powers added two more for Dolphins to see them lead 5-2 after one.

But the Sharks warmed up in the second quarter and when Damon Jervis scored shortly before half-time scores were all tied at 6-6.

Things were then 7-7 after a goal each to open the second half before the Sharks went ahead thanks to Patrick Dart. Luke McManus extended the lead and from there Melville was able to pull away and score the 13-10 victory to end the season in third position of the South Conference.

Petar Tomasevic and Patrick Dart scored three goals each for the Sharks, Damon Jervis two, Joel Swift two and Luke McManus two. Colin Powers finished with five for Dolphins and Jeremy Carbone four.

The main event in the South Conference always promised a lot between the South Fremantle Bloods and Port Colts, and what transpired was a tremendous contest.

South Fremantle did get the first two goals through Nick Elphick and then a penalty from Luke Pavillard, but the Colts got the next two from Luca Altieri and Davis Verboon.

The Bloods led 3-2 at quarter-time thanks to a Toby Muir goal but the Colts levelled things again shortly into the second term through Drew Verboon. The first half followed a similar path with the Bloods scoring and Colts responding with scores locked at 6-6 at the change of ends.

South Fremantle eventually did breakaway to lead 10-7 during the third quarter but Port Colts responded with the next three goals to Cody Smith, Jordan Kremers-Taylor and Davis Verboon to again lock things away setting up a thrilling finish.

Elphick gave the Bloods the 11-10 lead but 20 seconds later Kremers-Taylor responded for the Colts. Pavillard then put South Fremantle in front again only for Smith to reply and then scores were 12-12 at the end of regulation.

That meant penalties would decide the South Conference, and the Bloods were perfect going five from five. Port Colts missed one of theirs and that was enough for South Fremantle to win the game 17-16 and advance to the Grand Final.

Luke Pavillard scored seven goals all up for the Bloods, Alastair Bruce three, Nick Elphick three and Toby Muir two. Luca Altieri finished with four goals for the Port Colts, Cody Smith four, Jordan Kremers-Taylor three and Davis Verboon two.

The North Conference finals got underway at HBF Stadium with the battle of UWA teams, and in the end it was City Beach beating Rangers 13-12 to earn a third place finish for the season.

Charlie Emanuel scored three goals for City Beach, Ollie Sheldrick two, Taz Williams two and Owen Lilleyman two. Campbell McAullay finished with four goals for Rangers, Innes-Leslie Ibbitson two, Will Marshall two, Ben Marshall two and Riley Childs two.

The North Conference was then decided when the top two teams locked horns and Triton took on UWA Flotsam.

It was quite the impressive Triton team including Olympians Luke Quinlivan and Florian Naroska, former Torpedoes star veteran Brett McGhie and rising stars Matt Oberman and Lewis Putt, and as a result they raced to a 4-1 lead over Flotsam.

That became 6-2 by half-time and 9-2 early in the fourth quarter when Oberman scored. But Flotsam then finished with a flurry with three goals in no time from Nick Hughes and another from Tom Sangster.

Despite that spirited finish, Triton had done enough to win 10-6 and advantage to the Grand Final.

Matt Oberman scored three goals for Triton and Lewis Putt two while Nick Hughes finished with four goals for Flotsam.

APPLECROSS continued their unbeaten season in the Women’s A-Grade competition in 2020 with a semi-final win over UWA City Beach while their fellow Melville team, the Marlins were just able to overcome Triton to set up the Grand Final.

Following 10 rounds of the 2020 Women’s A-Grade competition, the four competing teams all locked horns in two semi-final matches up on Saturday afternoon with the winners to book a spot in the Grand Final at Bicton Pool on Saturday December 12.

The first semi-final took place at HBF Stadium and that saw the undefeated Applecross take on the fourth placed UWA City Beach, and the result went on form throughout the season.

Applecross prevailed 19-7 to now have won all of their matches in 2020 heading into this Saturday’s Grand Final.

The other semi-final battle was always going to be a much tighter affair and that’s exactly how it panned out. Only one win separated them in the standings at the end of the regular season, and then only one goal separated them after Saturday’s semi-final at Bicton Pool.

That saw the Melville Marlins defeat Triton 5-4 to set up an all Melville affair in the Grand Final.

That will take place at Bicton Pool this Saturday at 2pm with Applecross and Melville Marlins battling over the 2020 Women’s A-Grade premiership.

The semi-final action at Bicton Pool saw the Melville Marlins play Triton with a spot in the Grand Final at stake.

The Marlins started well with the game’s first two goals courtesy of Maddie Quinn before Triton got one back before quarter-time through Dayna O’Leary.

Melville pulled further ahead to open the second term with goals to Brooke Pensini and Sarah Leavy to lead 4-1 before again Triton got one late in the quarter courtesy of Allegra Childs.

There was just the one goal in the third quarter and that went the way of Melville to saw their lead grow to 5-2 with Sophia Chaves scoring while they had the advantage of an extra.

But Triton wasn’t done with and scored early in the fourth quarter through Erin Gray and then with 42 seconds they had a glimmer of hope with another goal from Cathryn Earl. But they ran out of time and the Marlins held on to win 5-4.

Maddie Quinn ended up scoring twice for the Marlins while the rest of the goals came from single scorers in the tense contest.

The other semi-final took place at HBF Stadium’s Outdoor Pool with it always a big ask for the fourth placed UWA up against the undefeated Applecross from Melville.

City Beach started encouragingly, though, and from the six goals scored in the game’s first quarter they were equally spread with the score 3-3 at quarter-time.

But Applecross then took over the contest with a stunning second quarter made up of nine goals which consisted of four scored from Zoe Arancini, three from Kelly Parks and two from Jess Zimmerman.

Suddenly that saw their lead 12-3 by half-time with the change of ends before Applecross scored another five goals to one in the third term, and then went on to score the eventual 19-7 win to advance to the Grand Final.

Zoe Arancini ended up scoring eight goals for Applecross, Glencora McGhie five, Kelly Parks four and Jess Zimmerman two. Pippa Pedley finished with three goals for UWA and Glenda Morgan two.

NATALIE Turner has spent a lifetime in water polo and is now excited to be part of growing a new club from scratch at Cockburn while nothing quite brings her more joy than watching the next generation coming through including her own children.

The opening of Cockburn’s Aquatic Recreation Centre which includes the home of the Fremantle Dockers set the stage for the Cockburn Water Polo Club to be established back in 2017 with Turner at the forefront of its establishment from the outset.

Turner remains president of the Cockburn Water Polo Club and without question the growth has been impressive as it looks to turn itself into a power in junior and senior water polo with the eventual aim of competing alongside long-time powerhouse Melville, UWA, Dolphins and Triton.

The growth and development has been impressive already in a short space of time which Turner has been encouraged by, but she does still see plenty of work to do for Cockburn to get where it hopes to.

“Yes I feel very excited however require more junior players. We have been trying very hard to build from the bottom up,” Turner said.

Our vision is to end up becoming a strong thriving local club in the south that provides both social and competitive pathways for both junior and senior players.”

Being president at Cockburn is just Turner’s latest contribution in water polo but it’s far from all she does with the club. She also coaches extensively through the club’s teams and gets a lot of satisfaction from doing so.

“Meeting new people in the community and developing new skills has without doubt been the best part of being president for me, it’s been a great experience in a lot of ways,” she said.

“Then in terms of the coaching I do with the junior players we have, it has been a joy watching the kids develop and grow into competitive players.”

Turner herself is no stranger to playing water polo and she has had quite the long and distinguished playing career.

It’s hard not to be impressed by the career as a player that Turner was able to put together and it all started back in 1983 when was bored with swimming and started to play water polo at Triton.

There was no juniors at that time so the 15-year-old began playing B-Grade straight away with a men’s size ball and a weird old centre back rule where you’d get ejected after three centre back fouls.

The next year she was playing in the A-Grade competition and then her career took her overseas to play for Eimsbuttel Verrein in Hamburg, Germany.

While there she played both in the local competition and the national league, quite the impressive feat in one of the strongest water polo nations in the world.

After eight years of playing overseas, Turner returned home to Perth in 2001 and began playing at Dolphins where she still plays to this day having initially played for Western Australia in state schoolgirls and junior national championships between 1983 and 1989.

As for what sort of player she was, Turner was quite the competitor and as a result racked up quite the impressive list of accomplishments.

“I’m a lefty and I’ve always played with a lot of heart. Some would describe me as a rough player but I would describe myself as ‘playing hard to win’,” Turner said.

“Some of my highlights when I look back include winning the A-Grade grand final with Triton, national trips to Sydney, Hobart and Perth, playing in Germany and Holland, and a training camp in Arhus, Denmark.

“I was also able to play in the World Masters Games in Perth 2008 and Riccione, Italy 2012. We also won a B-Grade grand final with Dolphins in 2004. Those are the things that come to mind.”

From the moment she made the move from swimming to water polo, Turner has never looked back and has loved every bit of her involvement not matter the language spoken.

“I loved water Polo from the start because it was so much fun, kept me super busy and fit and I made lifelong friends with my teammates and opposition,” she said.

“It was always my dream to play in another country and learn the language, so was very happy I was able to accomplish this. So weird to yell out to team mates to ‘shoot’ in another language- Shiess doh!”

While Turner still loves to get in the pool herself, as a mother with children that play, a coach of juniors and a president of a club, it’s watching the next generation come through that gives her the most satisfaction.

Especially to be able to do that as a family.

“The biggest joy for my husband and I is watching our kids play, try hard and have fun. It’s really awesome to know my previous A grade coaches are also coaching my kids,” Turner said.

“I think it’s pretty special and unique to water polo that many of my friends kids now either play against me and/or are playing, coaching or reffing my kids. I even got to have a season of playing with my daughter but I don’t think she was that wrapped having to play with ’50 year olds’!

“It’s a very big part of our lives especially as I’m coach and President at Cockburn, play for dolphins and support my kids at Triton. I’m so wrapped that my son loves water polo even more than I ever did! It’s such a joy to watch.”

IT ended up a fascinating and thrilling finish to the Men’s A-Grade competition regular season on Saturday with Triton only securing top spot in the UWA Conference thanks to a one-goal win while the South Fremantle Bloods confirmed their perfect campaign.

The Round 10 action on Saturday afternoon marked the end of the regular season in the Men’s A-Grade competition ahead of two weeks of finals action, and the eight teams combined to put on some fascinating contests with the results meaning plenty.

While the standings were guaranteed already in the Fremantle Conference coming into the final round, it remains hard to distinguish between the outstanding form that both the South Fremantle Bloods and Port Colts are in.

They both continued their winning ways on Saturday with the Port Colts defeating UWA Rangers 25-9 at HBF Stadium while the South Fremantle Bloods prevailed 14-7 against UWA Flotsam at Bicton Pool.

That result proved pivotal in terms of the standings in the UWA Conference with Triton then guaranteeing them a top spot finish. They hard to do it the hard way, though, with a 13-12 victory against Dolphins.

The other match up on Saturday afternoon also took place at Bicton Pool and that saw UWA City Beach come away with a 15-3 win against the shorthanded Melville Sharks.

So what that all meant after 10 rounds of the Men’s A-Grade competition in 2021 was that in the Fremantle Conference, the South Fremantle Bloods claimed top spot with a perfect 10-0 record.

They were only just ahead of Port Colts, though, who are in hot form at 8-2 to finish in front of the Melville Sharks (3-7) and Dolphins (1-9).

Things were then even tighter in the UWA Conference and it was Triton who claimed top position with a 7-3 record. They were just the one win ahead of UWA Flotsam who finished at 6-4.

UWA City Beach were strongly competitive throughout the season too to finish with a 4-6 record to end up ahead of UWA Rangers who finished with the one win and nine losses.

That all sets the stage for the Conference Finals this Saturday in what should be a tremendous afternoon of water polo.

Things get underway at 1.15pm at HBF Stadium’s Outdoor Pool with UWA City Beach and UWA Rangers fighting over third position in the UWA Conference.

The winners of the UWA Conference will then be determined from 2.30pm with Triton playing UWA Flotsam. The winner will advance to the following Saturday’s Men’s A-Grade Grand Final against the Fremantle Conference victors.

Things get underway at Bicton Pool from 1.30pm with the battle for third position in the Fremantle Conference between the Melville Sharks and Dolphins.

The spot in the Grand Final and premiers of the Fremantle Conference is then all on the line from 2.45pm with the South Fremantle Bloods hosting Port Colts.

APPLECROSS closed out the regular season in the A-Grade Women’s competition for 2020 by winning all 10 matches after a win on Saturday against Triton which in turn allowed the Melville Marlins to stay in second position.

Round 10 of the Women’s A-Grade competition took place on Saturday afternoon beginning at HBF Stadium with the Melville Marlins guaranteeing themselves second position heading into the semi finals with a 12-5 victory against UWA City Beach.

The other match of the round took place at Bicton Pool and Applecross was able to complete their perfect regular season with an 11-5 victory against Triton.

The Round 10 results mean that the standings finish up with Applecross on top of the table with a perfect 10-0 record. The Melville Marlins finished second with five wins, a draw and four losses while Triton were only just behind with four wins and six defeats.

UWA City Beach then ended up with a draw and nine losses from their 10 appearances.

That all sets the stage for the next two Saturday afternoons of finals action to determine the 2020 premiership in the Women’s A-Grade competition.

That begins with the semi-final action this Saturday with the two winners of the matches going through to the following week’s Grand Final with the losers to vie for third and fourth position.

The first match up pits the first placed undefeated Applecross against the fourth placed winless UWA City Beach at HBF Stadium’s Outdoor Pool from 3.45pm.

Then it shapes as a tantalising match up in the second against third semi-final which takes place at Bicton Pool from 4pm with the Melville Marlins playing Triton.

THE top two positions in each conference of the Men’s A-Grade competition have been locked away but there were some interesting results in Round 9 action on Saturday with wins for Triton, South Fremantle Bloods, UWA City Beach and Port Colts.

That leaves the Bloods and Port Colts out on top of the Fremantle Conference, and UWA Flotsam despite their loss and Triton clear on top of the UWA Conference following nine rounds of the 2020 A-Grade season with one week now remaining until the semi finals.

Round 9 in the Men’s A-Grade competition got underway on Saturday afternoon at HBF Stadium with the Port Colts scoring an impressive win over the team on top of the UWA Conference, Flotsam 19-6.

Then at the same venue, UWA City Beach scored their third victory of the season beating Dolphins 22-4 while the South Fremantle Bloods remained undefeated with a 22-5 victory against UWA Rangers.

The final game of the round took place at Beatty Park and it saw Triton put in an impressive showing that even included a Luke Quinlivan goal with the cage unattended up the other end. Triton would go on to defeat the Melville Sharks 13-7 despite the best efforts of Rio Olympian Joel Swift.

Those results mean that with one round remaining until the semi finals that the South Fremantle Bloods are out clear on top of the Fremantle Conference with a perfect 9-0 record. Port Colts are second at 7-2 ahead of the Melville Sharks at 3-6 and Dolphins at 1-8.

UWA Flotsam and Triton, meanwhile, are tied atop the UWA Conference now with 6-3 records while UWA City Beach is 3-6 and UWA Rangers 1-8.

The Round 9 action began at HBF Stadium’s Outdoor Pool with UWA Flotsam taking on Melville’s Port Colts. Both teams came into the contest with identical 6-2 records but it was the Port Colts who shot out of the blocks with the game’s opening four goals courtesy of Clancy Neesham, Cody Smith, Neesham again and then Harry Bruce.

Matt Hughes pulled one back for Flotsam but the Port Colts led 5-1 by quarter-time which had become 7-1 early in the second quarter after goals to Drew Verboon.

He ended up with three goals for the half the Colts went into the break leading 12-2. The Port Colts added another three goals to two in the third quarter, and four to two in the fourth to come away with the commanding 19-6 victory.

Drew Verboon ended up scoring five goals for the Port Colts, Cody Smith three, Alex Petrov two, Harry Bruce two and Davis Verboon two. Tom Sangster scored four of the six goals for Flotsam.

Drew Verboon received the three votes, Oliver Davis the two and Davis Verboon the one.

Next up at HBF Stadium was UWA City Beach taking on Dolphins in a battle between two teams who had only combined for the three wins so far in 2020.

UWA got on top early and went on with the job to win 22-4 to improve to a 3-6 record on the season on the back of five goals from Sam Rowbottam, Taz Williams four, Andrew Barber four, Tyler Fazio three and Fraser Davis two.

Peter Gaunt and Tom Beare scored two goals apiece for Dolphins.

Then finally at HBF Stadium on Saturday, UWA Rangers played host to the South Fremantle Bloods, and it was the powerful Melville team that was able to keep its undefeated run going coming away with the 22-5 victory.

Luke Pavillard scored four goals for the Bloods, Elijah Neesham three, Alastair Bruce three, Craig Bruce three and Alex Gunnell two. Ben Marshall scored twice for Rangers.

The last game of the round took place at Beatty Park with plenty on the line between Triton and the Melville Sharks, and plenty of quality in the pool including Olympians Joel Swift, Luke Quinlivan and Florian Naroska.

Triton were on fire to start in their home pool with the opening four goals of the contest courtesy of Gabriel Tebar, Matt Oberman, Florian Naroska and Lewis Putt.

Joel Swift clawed one back for the Sharks but then Brett McGhie converted a 5m penalty for Triton.

Swift scored again to cut the Triton lead to 5-2 by quarter-time but the Sharks were warming to the task and when Swift scored in extra and then James Fannon scored soon after in normal play, the Triton lead was only 6-5.

They did go into half-time, though, up 7-5 following the goal on the buzzer from Luke Quinlivan who threw it the full length of the pool after Melville threw everything into their last attack with goalkeeper Flynn Mais part of it.

Triton was then able to take the game out of reach of the Sharks in the third quarter with goals to Naroska, Oberman, Putt, Oberman again and then Griffin Woodhouse to lead 12-6 and go on to record the 13-7 victory.

Matt Oberman finished with four goals for Triton, Florian Naroska two, Brett McGhie two and Lewis Putt two. Joel Swift delivered five goals for the Sharks.

Brett McGhie received the three votes, Joel Swift two and Lewis Putt one.

Round 10 in the Men’s A-Grade competition now takes place this Saturday with two games at HBF Stadium with Triton playing Dolphins, and UWA Rangers taking on Port Colts.

Then at Bicton Pool, the Melville Sharks play UWA City Beach and the South Fremantle Bloods play UWA Flotsam.

THE battle for second position in the Women’s A-Grade competition heated up on Saturday at Beatty Park with Triton claiming a thrilling 9-8 victory over the Melville Marlins.

It turned out to be the only game played in Round 9 of the Women’s A-Grade competition and it with it the penultimate round of action before the semi finals, it was Triton’s last chance to keep their hopes of a top two finish alive.

But with the experience of Dayna O’Leary and Cathryn Earl, and Tess Hosking, the Paul Oberman-coached Triton were able to hold on for the crucial 9-8 victory to set up a thrilling finish to the regular season.

The Melville Marlins came into the game on Saturday at Beatty Park with the chance to cement second position on the table, and they started impressively with the opening two goals courtesy of Sarah Leavy and Brooke Pensini.

It was Dayna O’Leary who got Triton on the board soon after but Luci Marsh ensured the Marlins’ impressive start with another goal to give them the 3-1 lead after just three minutes.

Hannah Nelson got one back for Triton but Marsh responded immediately for Triton to make it 4-2 as the scintillating high-tempo opening quarter continued.

The next two goals went the way of Triton firstly with a classy shot from range by Cathryn Earl and then a penalty conversion from O’Leary. Melville regained the lead thanks to Madeleine Quinn but it was 5-5 at quarter-time with Triton scoring in extra time with a minute left through Emma Putt.

Things really tightened up the rest of the way and scoring became difficult especially considering the quality of goalkeepers with Tess Hosking and Lilian Hedges in the respective cages.

There was just the two goals scored in the second quarter and both went the way of Triton courtesy of Earl and O’Leary as they took the lead for the first time in the game to be on top 7-5 by half-time and at the change of ends.

The gap was back to one to start the second with a goal to the Marlins from Quinn in extra before Triton regained the two-goal lead just before three quarter-time with another goal to O’Leary.

It was again a one-goal game midway through the fourth quarter when Pensini scored for the Marlins to set to set up a thrilling finish. But Triton answered through O’Leary and held on to win the crucial game 9-8.

Dayna O’Leary ended up scoring four goals for Triton and Cathryn Earl two while Luci Marsh, Madeleine Quinn and Brooke Pensini all scored two goals for the Melville Marlins.

O’Leary received the three votes, Quinn two and Hedges one.

It sets the stage for a thrilling finish to the Women’s A-Grade regular season with the two matches in Round 10 on Saturday seeing the Melville Marlins play UWA City Beach at HBF Stadium, and Applecross take on Triton at Bicton Pool.

The Marlins can guarantee second position with a win over UWA but should they fail to win, if Triton manages to hand Applecross their first defeat of the season then they will claim second spot.

After careful consideration and consultation, a trial will be implemented to ascertain the viability of a reconfigured Performance Program in WA commencing in January 2021. This decision follows the end of a fulltime WAIS program and considerable debate and discussion that identified the need for WPWA to take a leadership role to ensure the viability, health and sustainability of Water Polo in one of Australia’s most important breeding grounds for talent.

Following a meeting with all WA Clubs, WAIS, WPWA and WPA on Tuesday, November 17 to review two proposals, the WPWA Board considered the presentations and subsequent feedback from its stakeholders before determining to proceed with the proposal to establish Northern and Southern Performance Centres in Perth.

The purpose of the reconfiguration of the Performance Program in WA is designed to optimise the resources and significant investment in Water Polo in WA. Doing so will further support opportunities to identified players from all Clubs, to be their best, and to contribute to the development of Water Polo Clubs in WA, leading to strong local competitions, which will in time produce more great players from the West.

The recently released National Strategic Framework has at its core: “Participants, Clubs and Sustainability” and reconfiguration in the West aligns with these fundamentals. In aligning with the framework, it is critical that our players and participants are provided with opportunities to succeed and excel, whilst being nurtured, strengthened, and supported to achieve individual goals. At the same time, it is critical that all Clubs are sustainable, providing a great experience for members.

The Performance Program model in WA seeks to develop mutually beneficial partnerships, building and bolstering a strong local Club competition that involves established and emerging Clubs from entry-level programs to A Grade as well as supporting the long term strength of representative teams in National Championships including the two AWL Clubs from WA in the National Competition.

The trial phase will commence from January 1, 2021, and run through until December 31, 2021, at which time a review will be conducted to assess the effective implementation of the program. By allowing the program to progress through one ‘off’ and ‘in’ season competition, key performance indicators and/or challenges will be identified.

As WA’s Tokyo Olympic prospects will be based in Sydney or on the Sunshine Coast leading into Tokyo (due to the COVID-induced restrictions on team preparations), there will be minimal impact on these athletes in the short term.

WPA and WAIS will enter into a partnership to provide Sports Science Sports Medicine support to Nationally Categorised athletes, while WPA, WPWA, and the WA Clubs will enter into two partnerships to operationalise the Performance programs. A full annual calendar for the Performance Programs is attached to this email and will available on our website Wednesday 25 November.

The two Performance Programs will be overseen by a National Training Centre Management Committee comprising Charles Turner (WPA National Performance Director), Sue Gliddon (WPWA EO), a representative from each AWL Club, and two representatives from the nonAWL Clubs in Perth.

Individually the respective Performance Programs will be managed by a Committee comprising Sue Gliddon, either a WPA or WAIS person, a person from the AWL Club, and a representative of the non-AWL Clubs aligned to the Performance Program.

While there are several elements to confirm, the immediate next steps led by WPWA will be to:

• Form the NTCMC and respective PPMC’s by 12 December,
• The first meeting for both PPMC’s to be held during the week beginning 14 December to confirm the following details
  • Review and agree to the Terms of Reference for each Committee
  • Confirmation of employment status and process for appointing coaching roles o
  • Confirm preliminary budget contributions from key stakeholders
  • Obligations of AWL and non-AWL Clubs
  • Set date for future meetings of committees to lock in the remainder of details with a view to having details in place by January 31, 2021.

A more detailed outline of the plan can be found here and further information will be released in due course.

Water Polo Western Australia Board

DAYNA O’Leary might no longer be shooting for that Olympics dream, but it isn’t stopping her being one of Western Australia’s finest water polo players whether it’s at national league level for the UWA Torpedoes or in the A-Grade competition with Triton.

For years O’Leary was part of the water polo program at the WA Institute of Sport and everything she was doing was with the ultimate goal of representing Australia at the Olympic Games.

Along the way she did get the chance to play in the junior national team and then at senior level with the Australian Stingers.

There was a time where it looked like it was a realistic possibility as she continued to be a strong performer in the pool wherever she was playing whether locally in Water Polo WA competitions, nationally for the UWA Torpedoes or indeed on the international stage.

While O’Leary is only 23 years of age, she has made the decision to no longer chase that Olympics dream or to remain part of the WAIS water polo program, but that doesn’t mean her passion for the sport is diminishing.

She was captain of the Torpedoes for last season’s cut short Australian Water Polo League campaign while she is currently playing some tremendous water polo for Triton in the 2020 A-Grade competition where she is the league’s second leading goalscorer.

O’Leary is enjoying being back in the pool with Triton for this A-Grade competition with Water Polo WA able to get things up and running pretty much business as usual despite the challenges COVID-19 has presented throughout 2020.

“I love playing for Triton! This is my third season at the club and I’ve enjoyed playing every season,” O’Leary said.

“We have a really good group of girls in the team with a mix of older more experienced players and some younger players who have a lot of potential. Having Obie as our coach as well is such a huge benefit, I have learned a lot from him already and I think he’s done a lot to develop our team.

“It’s also been great playing with girls who I played National League with many years ago again like Cathryn, Tilly, Millie and Liv. I think we’re definitely proving to be competitive this season, and we have the potential to be there playing the Grand Final.”

There are now just two rounds remaining in the regular season of the A-Grade competition ahead of the semi finals and then Grand Final on Saturday December 12 with O’Leary remaining confident Triton can be part of that.

But really she is just happy to be able to be back playing water polo despite what COVID-19 continues to impact around the country and world, and especially after the way it ended last season’s AWL campaign prematurely.

“It’s definitely a relief getting back in the pool again! There was definitely a lot of uncertainty earlier on about if we were going to be able to play again or not, so I’m glad season has been able to go ahead as normal,” O’Leary said.

“”I think the most difficult thing about season ending so abruptly was that we were in Sydney, and we got told the season would be finishing right before we were scheduled to play our last game of the road trip.

“We still went ahead and played the game, but it was really difficult to find the motivation as a team to play that game knowing that we were no longer competing to make finals. Overall though for me personally, it has been a pretty good year.

“It has been nice to have a bit of a break and I’ve been able to focus on work and other priorities which has been a change!”

While O’Leary’s immediate focus in terms of water polo is finishing off the season with Triton in the A-Grade competition as successfully as possible, she remains hopeful that the 2021 AWL season will get up and running.

All signs are that it will be able to get underway as per normal early in 2021 and O’Leary is looking forward to again leading the way for a young Torpedoes team against the best players in the country who will be looking to put their best foot forward to earn national honours.

“Yeah I am hoping everything can get up and running as normal in terms of national league, provided that its safe for everyone involved. It’s all so uncertain at the moment, so all we can do is wait and see and be fit and prepared if it does go ahead,” she said.

“Absolutely. It really was a natural progression for me into that leadership role, having been in leadership groups and then as captain together with Tess.

“I enjoy the responsibility of leading the girls, we’ve got a good core group who can develop into a strong side and then the younger girls coming into the Torpedoes squad from both UWA City Beach and Triton have put us in great stead.”

O’Leary is content with her decision to no longer be striving to play international water polo for Australia so she can focus on her career outside the sport.

Having now graduated from the University of WA with a Bachelor of Commerce where she majored in Finance, O’Leary is currently working at the Association of Mining Exploration Companies.

She is enjoying this new stage of her life already and while playing at the Olympics for Australia is no longer something she is chasing, she is hoping the Tokyo Games do go ahead in 2021 having been postponed in 2020, and she’ll be a keen onlooker to the Stingers team.

“When I was in WAIS. Olympics was the ultimate goal for me. Since I’ve left WAIS my priorities have shifted more toward my studies and career,” O’Leary said.

“While I really enjoy playing national league and still aim to be the best I can be in the water, my career is my main priority now and my goals now are in the workplace, rather than in the pool.

“Back when I was training at an elite level I was definitely hopeful of the possibility of getting picked for Tokyo, although I think I was a while off selection.

“Now that I’m no longer playing at international level I’ve just been enjoying playing with my friends and for the enjoyment of the sport, not so much for that level of competition.

“I really do hope that the Olympics can go ahead in 2021, for all those girls who have worked so hard to get to where they are in the Stingers squad now.”

WITH the race for finals positions heating up in the Men’s A-Grade competition, there were big Round 8 wins on Saturday for the Port Colts and Triton while South Fremantle Bloods just remained undefeated while it was a tight win too for UWA Flotsam.

There are now just two rounds remaining in the regular season of the Men’s A-Grade competition before the semi finals will determine who takes part in the Grand Finals for 2020 on Saturday December 12.

The Round 8 action on Saturday got underway at HBF Stadium’s Outdoor Pool with Triton defeating UWA Rangers 21-4 while UWA Flotsam also prevailed 12-10 against UWA City Beach.

The other two matches took place at Bicton Pool with a thriller between South Fremantle and the Melville Sharks with the Bloods narrowly prevailing 8-7 to remain undefeated on the season with two rounds remaining.

The other match at Bicton Pool saw the Port Colts record a 22-5 victory against Dolphins.

The results after Round 8 in the Men’s A-Grade competition mean that in the Fremantle Conference, the South Fremantle Bloods remain clear on top at 8-0. The Port Colts are second at 6-2 ahead of Melville Sharks (3-5) and Dolphins (1-7).

Then in the UWA Conference, it’s UWA Flotsam still on top with a 6-2 record to be just ahead of Triton at 5-3. UWA City Beach has a 2-6 record and UWA Rangers 1-7.

Following eight rounds in the Men’s A-Grade competition, it’s Luke Pavillard from the South Fremantle Bloods who remains the leading scorer with 33 goals so far.

Next best German powerhouse Florian Naroska from Triton with 25 goals ahead of Nick Elphick (Bloods) 23, Cody Smith (Port Colts) 23, Jeremy Carbone (Dolphins) 22, Matt Oberman (Triton) 18, Tim Putt (Triton) 17, Luca Altieri (Port Colts) 17 and Harry Bruce (Port Colts) 17.

First up in Round 8 of the Men’s A-Grade competition was at HBF Stadium with UWA Rangers hosting Triton.

It turned out to be a commanding 21-4 victory for Triton with German Olympian Florian Naroska scoring six goals, Lewis Putt five and Gabriel Tebar two. Riley Childs scored three of the four goals for Rangers.

Also at HBF Stadium’s Outdoor Pool, two UWA teams locked horns with Flotsam playing City Beach.

It ended up a tremendous contest too with Flotsam narrowly winning 12-10 despite four goals from Lachie Emanuel and two for Sam Rowbottam for City Beach.

Then at Bicton Pool, the stage was set for a tantalising match up between two Melville teams with Applecross playing the Sharks.

It was another tight affair with the Bloods only just managing to remain undefeated with the 8-7 victory.

Luke Pavillard scored another three goals for South Fremantle and Jordan Lake two while Petar Tomasevic scored three times for the Sharks.

Then lastly was also at Bicton Pool with the Port Colts taking on Dolphins.

The Colts scored the only goal of the first quarter thanks to Davis Verboon before then scoring three quickly to start the second term from Drew Verboon, Clancy Neesham and Cody Smith.

Dolphins did get on the board courtesy of Jeremy Carbone but by half-time it was the Port Colts in control leading 9-3.

The Colts then came out with three quick goals to start the second half again from Neesham, Smith and Smith again to be up 12-3, and with seven goals to one in the third quarter and six to one in the fourth that turned into a 22-5 victory.

Cody Smith had a day out for the Port Colts with nine goals including seven of those in the second half. Sam Quinn and Clancy Neesham also scored three goals apiece, and Davis Verboon, Harry Bruce and Drew Verboon two.

Jeremy Carbone and Chris Reynolds scored two goals each for Dolphins.

Cody Smith received the three votes, Marko Draksimovic two and Harry Bruce one.

Now Round 9 of the Men’s A-Grade competition takes place this Saturday with three games at HBF Stadium with UWA Flotsam playing Port Colts, UWA City Beach facing Dolphins and UWA Rangers taking on South Fremantle Bloods.

The other match up will take place at Beatty Park between Triton and Melville Sharks.

APPLECROSS was able to maintain its undefeated season in the Women’s A-Grade competition with a win over Triton in Round 8 on Saturday while it was a draw between the Melville Marlins and UWA City Beach.

The two matches in Round 8 of the Women’s A-Grade competition took place on Saturday afternoon. It got underway at HBF Stadium’s Outdoor Pool and that saw Applecross defeat Triton 12-6.

The other match up took place at Bicton Pool and the Melville Marlins and UWA City Beach couldn’t be separated, with the game ending up at a 5-5 draw.

There are now just two rounds remaining until the semi finals but all four teams will take part in those. Applecross currently sits clear on top of the table and they can’t lose that spot with a four-game gap and a perfect 8-0 record.

That looks like it has them set to take on the fourth placed UWA City Beach in the semi-final on Saturday December 5. UWA has a draw and seven losses from eight matches.

The Melville Marlins remain in second position with four wins, three losses and a draw to be just ahead of Triton who hold a 3-5 record. Those two teams appear on track to meet in the semi finals with a Grand Final spot on the line as well.

Following the eight rounds of the Women’s competition, Zoe Arancini remains out on top as the league’s leading scorer as well having hit 33 goals for Applecross.

Dayna O’Leary from Triton is next best with 22 goals ahead of Glencora McGhie (Applecross) 16, Luci Marsh (Marlins) 16, Madeleine Quinn (Marlins) 15, Jess Zimmerman (Applecross) 15, Rebecca Liddle (UWA) 12 and Kelly Parks (Applecross) 10.

The Round 8 action in the Women’s A-Grade competition began on Saturday at HBF Stadium with Triton taking on the undefeated Applecross.

Applecross made a fast start scoring the opening three goals thanks to Zoe Arancini, Arancini again and then Stella Watson before Triton got one back thanks to Millie Martino. Dayna O’Leary then also scored another for Triton just before the end of the opening quarter.

Applecross, however, was able to pull away again in the second period with the only three goals courtesy of Jess Zimmerman (two) and Ashleigh Pedretti.

Triton did manage to pull one back to open the second half after the change of ends in extra through O’Leary, but Applecross continued to have all the answers and would score the next four goals to be up 10-3, before eventually winning 12-6 to remain undefeated.

Zoe Arancini scored another four goals for Applecross and Stella Watson three while Dayna O’Leary scored twice for Triton.

Zoe Arancini received the three votes for the game, Dayna O’Leary two and Stella Watson one.

It was then onto Bicton Pool for the Melville Marlins’ clash with UWA City Beach which would prove to be a thrilling contest.

The Marlins scored first thanks to Madeleine Quinn but UWA then responded with the next three from Sophie Johnson, Pippa Pedley and then Pedley again. Melville got one back before quarter-time through a 5m penalty from Abbey Grosse.

The Marlins then drew level with the first goal of the second period from Grosse and they went ahead 4-3 by half-time thanks to a penalty conversion from Sofie Pontre.

There was just the one goal in the third stanza and that went the way of City Beach with Pedley scoring in extra to tie things up at 4-4.

The Marlins went ahead with a goal to Sarah Leavy with five minutes remaining before UWA drew level with a goal to Glenda Morgan 30 seconds later, and the scores would remain at 5-5.

Abbey Grosse scored twice for the Marlins while Pippa Pedley hit three goals for UWA.

Holly Greville received the three votes for her performance in The Cage for UWA with Sofie Pontre given the two and Pippa Pedley one.

The Round 9 contests in the Women’s A-Grade competition will see both games take place at Beatty Park on Saturday with Triton taking on the Melville Marlins, and UWA City Beach facing Applecross with both likely to be semi-final previews.

THE South Fremantle Bloods continued their undefeated season in the Men’s A-Grade competition with a win in Round 7 on Saturday against Dolphins while the race beneath them is heating up following wins for Triton, UWA City Beach and Port Colts.

All four matches in Round 7 of the Men’s A-Grade competition all took place on Saturday afternoon once again and as a result, the race is really firing up between the teams from second to sixth in the battle for finals positions.

Two games took place on Saturday at HBF Stadium’s Outdoor Pool with Triton defeating UWA Flotsam 10-3 before two UWA teams locked horns with City Beach beating Rangers 19-10 in an entertaining high-scoring affair.

The other two matches were held at Bicton Pool beginning with the South Fremantle Bloods remaining undefeated by scoring a 19-6 victory against Dolphins.

The other Bicton Pool match up to close the afternoon in the men’s action saw two Melville teams come up against one another. That saw Port Colts defeat the Melville Sharks 12-8.

That all means that after Round 7 in the Men’s A-Grade competition it’s the South Fremantle Bloods still out on top of the table with a perfect 7-0 record.

Beneath them is where it really gets interesting, though, with the UWA Flotsam and Port Colts both sitting on 5-2 records. Triton are only one game further back at 4-3 ahead of the Melville Sharks (3-4), UWA City Beach (2-5), UWA Rangers (1-6) and Dolphins (1-6).

In terms of some of the standout individual performers, Luke Pavillard of the South Fremantle Bloods is the competition’s leading goal scorer after the seven rounds with 30 goals.

Then there’s Nick Elphick also from the Bloods who has 23 goals to his credit ahead of Jeremy Carbone (Dolphins) 20, Florian Naroska (Triton) 19, Matt Oberman (Triton) 18, Tim Putt (Triton) 17, Luca Altieri (Sharks) 17, Tom Sangster (Flotsam) 16, Phil Salter (Flotsam) 16, Jordan Kremers-Taylor (Sharks) 15, Harry Bruce (Sharks) 15 and Cody Smith (Sharks) 14.

Round 8 in the Men’s A-Grade competition sees all four matches take place this Saturday starting with two of them at HBF Stadium featuring UWA Rangers against Triton, and UWA Flotsam against UWA City Beach.

The other two matches will be played at Bicton Pool with the South Fremantle Bloods facing the Melville Sharks before the Port Colts battle the Dolphins.

ON the back of standout scoring performances from Zoe Arancini and Dayna O’Leary, it was Applecross and Triton coming away with strong Round 7 victories in the Women’s A-Grade competition on Saturday.

Stunning weather greeted the teams for the Round 7 action on Saturday and it ended up seeing Triton record an 11-4 victory against UWA City Beach at HBF Stadium on the back of six goals from Dayna O’Leary.

After the game, O’Leary was happy with Triton’s performance but they never went into it underestimating UWA.

“Although we have beaten them in the past we never can go into a game underestimating City Beach,” O’Leary said.

“They are a young team, but have some really talented girls in the water. I just think at the end of the day we (Triton) played really well and started out strong, scoring a few goals to get ahead in the first quarter and they just couldn’t come back from that.”

The other Women’s contest for the round took place at Bicton Pool and that featured a battle of the Melville teams with Applecross remaining undefeated scoring the 11-7 victory against the Marlins with Zoe Arancini again starring with six goals.

The Round 7 results mean that Applecross remains out on top of the standings in the Women’s A-Grade competition with a perfect 7-0 record.

But things are really tightening up in the race for second position with the Melville Marlins now holding a 4-3 record while Triton improved themselves to 3-4.

UWA City Beach remains winless after seven matches so far this season.

There continues to be plenty of standout individual performers in the Women’s A-Grade competition and from a scoring sense, it’s Zoe Arancini from Applecross leading the way with 29 goals from the seven rounds to date.

Dayna O’Leary from Triton has scored 20 goals so far as well to be ahead of Luci Marsh (Melville Marlins) 16, Glencora McGhie (Applecross) 15, Madeleine Quinn (Marlins) 14, Jess Zimmerman (Applecross) 14, Rebecca Liddle (UWA City Beach) 12 and Kelly Parks (Applecross) 10.

Round 7 got underway at HBF Stadium with UWA City Beach searching for its first win of the season up against Triton.

Triton was able to get off to a flying start with the only three goals of the first quarter courtesy of two from Dayna O’Leary and another from Cathryn Earl.

O’Leary then scored two more to start the second quarter and then Tia Nelson added another to make it 6-0. UWA did score before half-time, though, thanks to Madi Rigo.

It was then a goal apiece in the third quarter before three quick fourth quarter goals for Triton from O’Leary, Annika Hart and Ellie Pead before they went on to win 11-4.

Dayna O’Leary finished with six goals for Triton and Tia Nelson two while Rebecca Gibb scored twice for UWA.

Dayna O’Leary received the three votes, Cathryn Earl two and Rebecca Gibb one.

Then at Bicton Pool, it was an entertaining affair between the two Melville teams as the race heats up to find roles in the Fremantle Marlins line-up for the Australian Water Polo League season set to commence early in 2021.

It was Applecross who came away on top in the finish with the 11-7 victory with Zoe Arancini scoring six goals and Glencora McGhie two. Madeleine Quinn hit three goals for the Marlins and Luci Marsh two.

Round 8 in the Women’s A-Grade competition takes place this Saturday afternoon with Triton facing Applecross at HBF Stadium at 1.15pm. Then at Bicton Pool, the Melville Marlins play UWA City Beach from 3.45pm.

ON the back of standout scoring performances from Zoe Arancini and Dayna O’Leary, it was Applecross and Triton coming away with strong Round 7 victories in the Women’s A-Grade competition on Saturday.

Stunning weather greeted the teams for the Round 7 action on Saturday and it ended up seeing Triton record an 11-4 victory against UWA City Beach at HBF Stadium on the back of six goals from Dayna O’Leary.

The other Women’s contest for the round took place at Bicton Pool and that featured a battle of the Melville teams with Applecross remaining undefeated scoring the 11-7 victory against the Marlins with Zoe Arancini again starring with six goals.

The Round 7 results mean that Applecross remains out on top of the standings in the Women’s A-Grade competition with a perfect 7-0 record.

But things are really tightening up in the race for second position with the Melville Marlins now holding a 4-3 record while Triton improved themselves to 3-4.

UWA City Beach remains winless after seven matches so far this season.

There continues to be plenty of standout individual performers in the Women’s A-Grade competition and from a scoring sense, it’s Zoe Arancini from Applecross leading the way with 29 goals from the seven rounds to date.

Dayna O’Leary from Triton has scored 20 goals so far as well to be ahead of Luci Marsh (Melville Marlins) 16, Glencora McGhie (Applecross) 15, Madeleine Quinn (Marlins) 14, Jess Zimmerman (Applecross) 14, Rebecca Liddle (UWA City Beach) 12 and Kelly Parks (Applecross) 10.

Round 7 got underway at HBF Stadium with UWA City Beach searching for its first win of the season up against Triton.

Triton was able to get off to a flying start with the only three goals of the first quarter courtesy of two from Dayna O’Leary and another from Cathryn Earl.

O’Leary then scored two more to start the second quarter and then Tia Nelson added another to make it 6-0. UWA did score before half-time, though, thanks to Madi Rigo.

It was then a goal apiece in the third quarter before three quick fourth quarter goals for Triton from O’Leary, Annika Hart and Ellie Pead before they went on to win 11-4.

Dayna O’Leary finished with six goals for Triton and Tia Nelson two while Rebecca Gibb scored twice for UWA.

Dayna O’Leary received the three votes, Cathryn Earl two and Rebecca Gibb one.

Then at Bicton Pool, it was an entertaining affair between the two Melville teams as the race heats up to find roles in the Fremantle Marlins line-up for the Australian Water Polo League season set to commence early in 2021.

It was Applecross who came away on top in the finish with the 11-7 victory with Zoe Arancini scoring six goals and Glencora McGhie two. Madeleine Quinn hit three goals for the Marlins and Luci Marsh two.

Round 8 in the Women’s A-Grade competition takes place this Saturday afternoon with Triton facing Applecross at HBF Stadium at 1.15pm. Then at Bicton Pool, the Melville Marlins play UWA City Beach from 3.45pm.

ON the back of standout scoring performances from Zoe Arancini and Dayna O’Leary, it was Applecross and Triton coming away with strong Round 7 victories in the Women’s A-Grade competition on Saturday.

Stunning weather greeted the teams for the Round 7 action on Saturday and it ended up seeing Triton record an 11-4 victory against UWA City Beach at HBF Stadium on the back of six goals from Dayna O’Leary.

The other Women’s contest for the round took place at Bicton Pool and that featured a battle of the Melville teams with Applecross remaining undefeated scoring the 11-7 victory against the Marlins with Zoe Arancini again starring with six goals.

The Round 7 results mean that Applecross remains out on top of the standings in the Women’s A-Grade competition with a perfect 7-0 record.

But things are really tightening up in the race for second position with the Melville Marlins now holding a 4-3 record while Triton improved themselves to 3-4.

UWA City Beach remains winless after seven matches so far this season.

There continues to be plenty of standout individual performers in the Women’s A-Grade competition and from a scoring sense, it’s Zoe Arancini from Applecross leading the way with 29 goals from the seven rounds to date.

Dayna O’Leary from Triton has scored 20 goals so far as well to be ahead of Luci Marsh (Melville Marlins) 16, Glencora McGhie (Applecross) 15, Madeleine Quinn (Marlins) 14, Jess Zimmerman (Applecross) 14, Rebecca Liddle (UWA City Beach) 12 and Kelly Parks (Applecross) 10.

Round 8 in the Women’s A-Grade competition takes place this Saturday afternoon with Triton facing Applecross at HBF Stadium at 1.15pm. Then at Bicton Pool, the Melville Marlins play UWA City Beach from 3.45pm.