Up against European Champions Russia in their opening match, Australia were locked at 7-7 midway through the third quarter but were unable to sustain their pressure in the closing stages, losing 14-9.
Despite the disappointing result, the Australian team bounced back in their next game to defeat Greece by two goals (9-7).
Women’s coach, Greg McFadden was happy with the girl’s performance against a strong Greece line-up.
“In an important game we needed to back up from our good performance yesterday and show that we can be consistent,” Greg McFadden said.
“The pleasing thing was our defence was once again strong and we did not allow any easy goals.”
The team will continue their World Championship preparations with further tournaments and training camps in Europe in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, the Australian men’s team will begin their pre-Championship warm up with matches against Montenegro in Sydney this week.
The teams will play on Tuesday 20 February and Thursday 22 February at Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre at 7:15pm.
It will be a tough encounter for Australia, with Montenegro considered one of the leading forces in world water polo.
With the benefit of preparing against the world’s best, both the Australian men’s and women’s water polo teams will be looking for a strong result at the World Championships in Melbourne in March before they take the next steps in fulfilling their goal of competing in Beijing.

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