27/09/2022
Congratulations to the First Team Water Polo gents who took GOLD for the second consecutive year in the Clifton Tournament Water Polo Tournament 2022.
Well done to Tigran Sennett for being selected as Defender of the Tournament and Coach Vlado Trninic for his well-deserved award of Coach of the Tournament!
Thank you to Manager Aidan Quinn for the comprehensive summary below of the tournament results and experience.
Day 1:
Game 1: Pearson 21-0 won
Game 2: Glenwood 14-1 won
Day one was a warm-up for the boys to get them climatised and ready for the more serious games to come. The boys were looking good and relaxed, keeping to their game plan and keeping themselves fresh for the next few days.
Day 2:
Game 3: Hilton 7-2 won
Our last group stage game and our biggest competition for the group stage. The boys showed their experience in the game and maintained a solid hold on the game with a strong defence that Hilton could not get around. Finishing first in their group secured the boys' spot in the quarter-finals for the next day.
Day 3:
Game 4: Grey P.E 8-2 won
The quarter-finals are where the tournament truly starts for the team. The competition ramps up, and we couldn’t drop our focus. Although the boys took a commanding hold of the game, never allowing Grey P.E to have a foothold in attack, they were a bit sluggish to begin the game missing a few opportunities on attack. But they defended well and eventually ran away with the game with a commanding lead. There were still a few mistakes we needed to iron out before the semi-finals later that day.
Game 5: SACS 7-2 won
The semi-finals were our toughest match in the tournament. We played the SACS team that we have played previously at the KES tournament finals. Though we won that game, it was still a closely contested game, and we could not lose focus. SACS did confront the boys with solid defence, and we made a few crucial mistakes at the beginning of the game that SACS did capitalise on. However, we did not allow them to take the lead at any point in the game. Our defence was too formidable for SACS to overcome( they only got half the shots off that St.John’s did), and we closed it out by scoring two quick goals in the third quarter of the game, and we maintained that lead for the rest of the game. Well done to a well-coached and confident SACS team. This was the true finals of the tournament, and it was a pity that we could not have faced off in the finals. With the victory secured, the team moved on to play in the finals.
Day 4:
Game 6: Paul Roos 13-7 won
We were facing Paul Roos in the final, the boys were confident in their ability, but we could not underestimate our opposition in the finals. The game was well played on both sides, but our team's experience won it out for them. The game was closely played in the first two quarters, but St.John’s pulled ahead with greater conditioning and defence, robbing Paul Roos of a majority of their attacks and converting many of ours.
The Boy’s played very well all weekend, only conceding 17 goals total in the tournament. They had an incredible attitude toward their opposition all weekend, respecting the effort of all the teams they played. They have worked incredibly hard not just this season but throughout the Waterpolo careers at St.John’s and have been rewarded with a repeat victory at Clifton and a second tournament victory in the year, having won KES in the first term.
Coach Vlado Trninnic was very pleased with the boys' courage and spirit in and out of the water. He doesn’t care for the victory as long as the boys play to the best of their ability and have fun along the way. He is, of course, happy with their victory, happy to see them rewarded for all their effort and hard work. We wish them good luck with the coming SACS tournament and hope they can repeat the great experience they had this past weekend.
