Water Polo Report
Match Report
Firsts
After completing the combined CAS/AAGPS competition in Term 4 last year, Saturday’s game against The Scots College marked the first game of the AAGPS season. Scots have always been a tough opponent in Water Polo, with the most Open Division teams of any school and having beaten the Shore Firsts in all previous matchups during AAGPS seasons. However, with two close wins over Scots in Term 4 last year in the CAS/AAGPS competition, the Shore Firsts team knew they had the capability to beat the Scots side. Captain Harry Underhill came out with a strong first quarter, orchestrating the offense and scoring a goal of his own.
A quick backhand from Charlie Bowditch saw the Shore side establish an early lead of 2-0, yet a defensive miscommunication from Shore saw Scots quickly respond with their first goal. Goals from Jett Semmens and Ed Baxter and a second goal from Scots saw the quarter finish with Shore up 4-2. The second quarter saw Scots come out strong, scoring two quick goals to level the score, and yet another goal from Harry Underhill kept Shore ahead. A second goal from Charlie Bowditch and a successful penalty shot conversion from Harry Underhill saw Shore restore their earlier 2 point lead, ending the quarter 7-5.
With fatigue starting to take effect on the starting six players, who had all played big minutes thus far, Shore once again conceded two quick goals. Yet, Shore responded with a second goal from Jett Semmens and a first goal from Zac Izzard, finishing the quarter with a narrow lead of 9-8. Shore conceded just one goal in the final quarter, whilst another quick backhand from Charlie Bowditch early in the fourth quarter helped maintain Shore’s lead. Up by just one goal with a minute and a half left, a solid defensive effort prevented a Scots goal, before Koby Smith hit a brilliant cross-pool pass, enabling Jett to score his third goal of the game, with Shore walking away with their first AAGPS competition win: 11-9.
C Ashton
Firsts Water Polo Player
16Bs
The boys were up bright and early for our 8.00am game against Scots, having won by a landslide the last time the two sides met. The boys went into this match feeling confident. The early confidence quickly turned into complacency as we found ourselves down 1-0 at the end of the first quarter. At half-time, the troops were rallied by Jack Elster and we slowly began to claw our way back.
The impressive defensive efforts of Matthew Robson and Archie Howard, among others, stopped any chance of Scots scoring more goals. Goal shooting rose as an issue for us with between 10 and 15 shots being denied, however, the countless turnovers and impressive defensive pressure really saved the day. We came home 4-2 winners and have gained confidence in our defensive abilities while leaving room for improvement with fast and strong goal shooting.
Mr E Craig
16Bs Coach
Results:
Saturday 18 February
| Team | Opponent | Result | Score | Goals |
| Firsts | Scots | Win | 11-9 | J Semmens 3, H Underhill 3, E Baxter, C Bowditch 3, Z Izzard |
| Seconds | Scots | Loss | 2-9 | W Feely, Z Warden |
| Thirds | Scots | Loss | 9-14 | J Gallant 2, O Danks 5, H Brooks, H Bridgen |
| Fourths | Scots | Loss | 4-19 | L Cathles, A Dowling 2, L Gillespie |
| 16As | Scots | Win | 7-4 | A Stock, H Walls, C Harvey 5 |
| 16Bs | Scots | Win | 6-2 | D Lord 2, T Wensley, F Brown, S Hassall 2 |
| 15As | Scots | Loss | 6-9 | T Larcombe, H Clough, C Kovacs, S Bowman, A Turner-Smith |
| 14As | Scots | Loss | 2-12 | G Kennedy 2 |
| 14Bs | Scots | Win | 7-6 | G Pritchard 3, J Massey, A Ryan, N Whitney, M Hill |
| 13As | Scots | Draw | 6-6 | H Pope, S Bull 2, J Gilligan, A Freischmidt 2 |
| 13Bs | Scots | Loss | 3-13 | O Chang, B Jones, C Couch |
Miss Z H Dowdell
MIC Water Polo
