Water Polo Results

St Paul’s v HBHS Argyle House

10 August 2011

Last week the Junior Water Polo team played its first competition game against a team from Argyle House, the Hamilton Boys’ High School boarding hostel.
St Paul’s opened well and had a good opportunity to score in the opening seconds, but hesitant passing and some strong defence kept us at bay. However, St Paul’s soon turned over the ball and a quick pass to Kerwan Rose saw him open the scoring with a great shot. This set the tone for the rest of the match, with St Paul’s outplaying the Hamilton Boys’ team in all areas.
Salesi Leota was outstanding in defence, showing both skill and fitness the opposition could not match. This resulted in long range shots at goal as the Argyle House boys couldn't break through. Any shots they did take were well stopped by Wade Paniora in goal.
On attack St Paul’s worked well together, with most players contributing to the 9-0 scoreline. Although there are several areas of the game that need to be improved, it is evident that this is a strong team with a bright future. Man of the match was Salesi Leota, for his committed and impenetrable defence.

St Paul’s Senior A versus Cambridge High School

May 25th, 2011

Division B Final A

An earlier than expected start to the game did nothing to help calm nerves in St Paul’s first water polo finals appearance in several years. Cambridge attacked from the outset and scored two quick goals before we began to settle. However, despite creating a number of scoring opportunities, our shooting accuracy was lacking and we went into the break 2-1 down.

The half time talk by Old Collegian coach Owen Robinson gave the team a lift and we began the second half with confidence. Strong passing and good positional play enabled Tom Swarbrick and Louise Ford to slot two goals each. This gave the team a further boost and with strong poolside support we found our rhythm and began to dominate the opposition.

Tight defence, coupled with superb goal keeping by Liam Buchanan, saw us extend our lead and put the game well beyond the reach of Cambridge. The final score of 7-2 was a great way to end the season. All players made solid contributions to the victory and can be justifiably proud of their efforts. We hope our B team can match this result in their final tonight.

SPC ‘A’:   

Liam BUCHANAN
Courtney LEE
Rory FORDE
Ben DOBBE
Tom DOBBE
Reece FRANKLIN
Vlad ILIC
Damon HAYWARD
Grace GATENBY
Louise FORD
Ryan HOBBS
Tom SWARBRICK
Mitch O’CONNELL