Stingers defeat Singapore in World Champs Game 1

The Aussie Stingers have delivered a dominant win to open their 2024 World Aquatics Championships campaign in Doha, Qatar.

After a huge training block at home, the Australians were eager to start the World Championships with a strong performance, matching up against Singapore in the first game of Group C.

The Aussie Stingers were quick to find the back of the net, Tenealle Fasala scoring in the first 16 seconds of the game. The Australians managed to score seven goals to Singapore’s one in the first quarter.

The second quarter proved to be the Aussie Stingers most dominant quarter, scoring 13 goals while keeping their opponents scoreless.

Six goals in each of the last two quarters for the Aussie Stingers pushed the final score out to 32-1.

For Tokyo Olympian Abby Andrews, it was a great way to celebrate her 50th international cap for the Ord Minnett Aussie Stingers.

“We didn’t really know too much about what to expect – we played them (Singapore) last year but I think they had a slightly different team,” Andrews said.

“We know that they are pretty small, so they are fast. It meant that we had to be really technical on them.

“We started really strong, and got to play our game. Because of that we were able to try out a few different defensive plays that we can use later in the tournament.

“In those really fast counter attacking games, we’ve got to work on our spacing. For us, that game was about adapting to this new environment, there’s a bit of pressure but it’s good that we’ve got that game out of the way now so we can be sharper in the next few,” she said.

The Aussie Stingers will now play their cross the ditch rivals New Zealand on Tuesday at 9:30pm AEDT, LIVE and FREE on 9Now.

“We’ve played them (New Zealand) a lot in the last year. They’ve got a few new players that we’re going to have to watch out for but we’re ready, we’re determined and it’s the trans tasman rivalry. It’s going to be fierce, it’s going to be fiery but it’s going to be a good game,” Andrews said.

AUSTRALIA: 1. Gabi Palm; 2. Keesja Gofers (5); 3. Sienna Hearn (2); 4. Bronte Halligan (3); 5. Bridget Leeson-Smith (4); 6. Abby Andrews (4); 8. Sofie Pontre; 9. Zoe Arancini (2); 10. Alice Williams (3); 12. Tenealle Fasala (2); 14. Sienna Green (4); 15. Dani Jackovich (3)