Stingers finish Stage One of Greek Odessey

The Aussie Stingers have wrapped up their World Cup campaign in Greece, with a fourth-place finish, qualifying for April’s World Cup Super Final.

In their final game at the World Cup, the Stingers went down to Olympic bronze medalists the Netherlands, 6-12.

Australia’s Head Coach Bec Rippon said she was proud of the team for their efforts over this tour.

“When we came here, we knew that we wanted to qualify for the Super Finals and we’ve done that so we’re really happy,” Rippon said.

“We wanted to put our best foot forward, whatever that looked like, and with a fairly new group we weren’t sure what that was going to look like and what we were going to be able to achieve.

“The proudest moment for me was seeing the team today, in the final game, still in there, digging, playing a really gritty game despite the result.

“Being able to walk way and know where our key learnings are from here, and what the team needs to be able to do going forward.

“I think there’s been some early growth, and it’s been a big two weeks. But the growth that we’ve had in such a short time and where we can take that is the really important thing.”

Australia will return to their home environments, before coming back together ahead of the World Cup Super Final in April, followed by the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore in July.

“We’ve taken away a lot from this competition, in where we are physically, tactically and technically – individually but also as a team,” Rippon said.

“Now we’ve got a lot of players going back to different environments and what can we do when they are in that space to make sure that we’re still bridging some of those gaps of where we are now and where we want to be. “So that the next time we come together, we have progressed forward and that we’re getting closer and closer to where we want to be before World Champs.”

AUSSIE STINGERS WORLD CUP CAMPAIGN

Wednesday 15 January | Australia 9 def by Netherlands

11 Thursday 16 January | Australia 15 d Israel 6

Friday 17 January | Australia 12 d Italy 8

Saturday 18 January | Australia 11 def by Spain 14

Sunday 19 January | Australia 8 def by Greece 12

Monday 20 January | Australia 6 def by Netherlands 12

Story and photo courtesy of Water Polo Australia