Sydney University men’s water polo team will be seeking revenge this Friday night at the Sydney Uni Sports & Aquatic Centre (SUSAC) as they battle it out against old rivals Balmain in the grand final of the 2011 NSW Water Polo Metro Competition.
The Lion’s lost their grand final to Balmain last year by a single goal. This season the two teams have played each other twice – both teams have claimed close wins. The Lion’s finished second in the regular season, Balmain finished as minor premiers. The scene is set for a nail-biting fixture this Friday night.
Sydney University cruised through their semi-final against Wests last weekend 11-6, while Balmain experienced some nervy moments against fourth placed Drummoyne before they won 6-5.
Sydney University possesses two of the brightest younger players in this year’s competition. 16 year old Lion’s junior Anthony Hrysanthof has been with the club since the under 14’s. Fellow junior, 17 year old, Reed Cotterill has also been at the club for a couple of years. Both boys are Australian Junior Squad representatives.
Joining them on Friday night will be a pair of very experienced heads – current Olympians Thomas Whalan and Trent Franklin. Whalan and Franklin will go head to head with fellow Olympic team mate and Balmain representative Gavin Woods.
The game will also include a host of other Sydney University Australian open (Lachie Hollis and Ali Visch) and junior level (Clayton Whittaker) representatives. James Young, Daniel Lees and Scott Nicholson have all represented Australia at the World Uni Games.
The game, which is played at SUSAC, gets underway at 8pm this Friday night, but doors open at 7.30pm. Entry is just $5.
Following this weekend’s grand final is Tuesday weeks (Tuesday 20th December) practice game against the touring Japanese national team. The Japanese men’s team, who played against the men’s NSWIS water polo team earlier this year, are touring Australia as part of tournament held in Perth.
Japan, Asia’s top ranked national team, will be stern test for the Lions leading into the Australian National Water Polo League which begins in January.
Spectators are also welcome to attend this game. The game, which is played at SUSAC, gets underway at 8pm on Tuesday 20th December, but doors open at 7.30pm. Entry is just $5.
