Tournament Photos 

The only loss was on penalties to Hungary in the quarterfinals after Australia blew a four-goal lead. It was never go to be anything but Australia in this game with Richard Campbell returning from injury but not playing a huge part in the game.

Hungary went on to win the title with a 9-6 decision over Italy. Croatia claimed bronze with a 12-8 performance against outgoing champion Serbia. 

The bonus was captain Johnno Cotterill being named to the All Star team. He scored twice in the play-off before being fouled from the game. Rhys Howden was another Aussie in contention for the team, dominated by three Hungarians.

It was never go to be anything but Australia in this game with Richard Campbell returning from injury but not playing a huge part in the game.

As in previous games it was a team effort with seven players making the scoresheet as the Junior Sharks led 3-0, 6-2 and 10-3 at the breaks.

Nick O’Halloran scored four goals with Cotterill, Nathan Cargill, Patrick Harmer and Daniel Lawrence all grabbing two each.

Head coach John Fox, sporting a huge smile after the game, said: “Our game was built on defence, obviously, and we played man on man with the individual being responsible for each player.

“They didn’t look like scoring and we maintained our composure for the whole game, which we haven’t been doing all week.

“The players were confident in the game plan and we carried out that plan,” Fox said.

Results:
FINA Junior Men’s World Championships, Long Beach, USA, day 9, Play-offs:.
15th-16th, Argentina 9 Egypt 8; 13th-14th, Canada 10 Brazil 7; 11th-12th, Japan 17 Slovakia 10; 9th-10th, Greece 9 France 8; 7th & 8th, Spain 12 Germany 4; 5th & 6th, Australia 14 (N O’Halloran 4, N O’Halloran, D Lawrence, J Cotterill, P Harmer 2, J Young, W Miller) USA 4; 3rd & 4th, Croatia 12 Serbia 8; 1st & 2nd, Hungary 9 Italy 6.
Final placings:
Hungary, Italy, Croatia, Serbia, Australia, USA, Spain, Germany, Greece, France, Japan, Slovakia, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Egypt, New Zealand, Mexico, Iran, Colombia, Singapore, Jamaica, Kuwait, Puerto Rico.
Awards:
Highest goal-scorer: Denes Varga (HUN) 28, Petar Muslin (CRO), 28.
Best Goalkeeper: David Bisztritsanyi (HUN)
Most Valuable Player: Denes Varga (HUN).
All Star team: David Bisztritsanyi (HUN), Denes Varga (HUN), Balazs Harai (HUN), Johnno Cotterill (AUS), Stefan Mitrovic (SRB), Alex Giorgetti (ITA), Petar Muslin (CRO).

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 4 AUSTRALIA 1 Referees: Mehmet SUNGU (TUR), Radislaw KORYZNA (POL) Quarters: 0-3, 2-3, 1-4, 1-4,
Teams:
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Chay LAPIN, JP MacDONELL, JW KRUMPHOLZ (1), Arjan LIGTENBERG, Anthony ARTUKOVICH, Matthew SAGEHORN, Janson WIGO (1), Will HINDLE-KATEL (1), Scott DAVIDSON (1), Nico SARDO, Justin RAPPEL, Spencer WARDEN, Andy STEVENS. Head Coach: Doug PEABODY.
AUSTRALIA: Joel DENNERLEY, Nathan CARGILL (2), Richard CAMPBELL, Nicholas O’HALLORAN (4), James YOUNG (1), William MILLER (1), Daniel LAWRENCE (2), Patrick HARMER (2), Stephen CODY, Rhys HOWDEN, Johnno COTTERILL (2), Stephen LEWIS, John HAHN. Head Coach: John FOX.
Shooting success: USA
Extra Man: USA
Pen: USA 1/1; AUS 1/1
Goalkeeper saves: USA
Match Report:
Australia finished the tournament without being beaten in real play. The only loss was in a penalty shootout to Hungary in the quarterfinals. The Aussies put on a show and proved who was the best team outside Europe and advanced from seventh last time to fifth this time. Australia opened strongly with two goals in the first two minutes. A third was added by midway through the period before the USA woke up to the Australian counter.  Australia went 4-0 up before USA struck back with two goals. Australia then raced away to 6-2 at halftime and 8-2 thanks to two O’Halloran goals. Krumpholz sent one across the line for 8-3 but Australia, through two Lawrence goals, finished the period 10-3 ahead. Cotterill, in contention for the All Star team, hammered in the 11th to start the fourth but was fouled out soon after. Sagehorn then had a brain implosion with  a major foul and then a deliberate kick to Cargill, giving up a penalty goal for O’Halloran to convert. Harmer and Cargill completed the scoring. Davidson scored the USA’s first goal in 11 minutes of play inside the last minute. Luck was not on the USA’s side with many one-on-ones missed through poor handling. USA improved from 11th position in Mar del Plata.
 

Campbell injured as Australia beats Germany 16-7 Los Alamitos, USA (August 24). —
Australia’s Richard Campbell has a stitch to his left eyebrow following a brutal encounter with Germany at the FINA junior men’s water polo world championships here today.

Australia smashed Germany 16-7 to advance to the fifth-place play-off with the United States of America but Campbell’s involvement is not known.

The Aussie Sharks senior star scored once in the opening quarter before being struck in the face by an opponent and sat out the rest of the game.

The “clinical display of controlled water polo” was how head coach John Fox described the performance on the penultimate day of the nine-day championships.

“We’re clearly a 10-goal better team than Germany and the score reflects that. It was a good team effort and the team held its composure after that incident. They didn’t get sucked into all that bull....,” he said.
The rest of the game was physical but the Germans had trouble latching on to the Aussies as they scored five goals on counter-attack and a commendable five from 10 on extra.

The victory came in the second period when Australia responded to the Campbell attack by firing in seven goals to one and completing nine unanswered goals from Campbell’s only goal.

Germany slowed the game down in the second half but Australia battled through and won the half 5-4.
William Miller and Rhys Howden scored three each as 10 players made the scoresheet.

USA beat Spain 11-6 in the other crossover.

FINA Report

Australia blitzed Germany with a second quarter second to none. After leading 4-1, the Aussies added another six unanswered goals to go with the three in a row in the first period.

In the latter stages of the second quarter and early in the third, Germany returned to the game with three goals, one on a drive, another with a beautiful bat or tee shot by Stamm on counter and by the ominous Schueler on extra. Australia’s seven goals in the second quarter were scored by different players, showing the depth of the team.

The third period was even on the German resurgence and the safety net Australia had provided, finishing 13-5 ahead. Things were tight in the final eight minutes when Miller and Stamm traded goals. Germany’s timeout yielded a goal to Mueller. Lewis was ejected and then allegedly hit before he could leave the pool, alarming coach Fox, who was given a yellow card for mentioning the late foul. Cotterill, making amends for his penalty miss in the first quarter, went on counter twice to close the scoring in the final two minutes for 16-7.

Australia will play the USA for fifth and Germany, a non-qualifier in 2005, will play for seventh against Spain. 

Australia loses quarterfinal on penalties in World Champs quarterfinal
Los Alamitos, USA (August 24). —

Australia lost to Hungary 15-12 in a penalty shootout quarterfinal at the FINA junior men’s water polo world championships here tonight.

Leading by four goals in the second quarter and never headed in natural time, the Australian junior men were forced to a 10-all draw at full time and 11-all after extra time.

The powerful Hungarians elected to shoot first and put in four goals while Australia missed twice, negating the need for the other two shooters to front.

It was an excellent effort by the Australians, containing three members of the Aussie Sharks senior team, with a total team effort.

Head coach John Fox laid the blame at a lack of confidence to carry on with a successful template.
“We stopped doing what we did to get to that position,” he said of being four goals ahead and losing the advantage.

“We can’t seem to put two quarters together but it was an excellent effort. The game plan worked well but we didn’t need to go to a shootout.”

The first loss of the tournament means Australia will play Germany tomorrow in the round of five to eight and must be odds on of finishing fifth on Sunday as it was definitely a medal contender.

Australia led 3-1 at the quarter, 6-3 at halftime and 10-8 at the final break before failing to score in the last eight minutes.

Hungary gained its first lead in the first period of extra before Rhys Howden equalised.
O’Halloran, the Aussie star with four goals, had his penalty shot blocked in the shootout while Campbell gained his third goal and Daniel Lawrence, one of the revelations of the championship, saw his shot blocked.

Stephen Cody worked hard on Hungarian star Denes Varga but Varga and Balasz Harai scored five goals each for Hungary.

In other quarterfinals, Croatia beat Spain 9-5, champion Serbia thrashed Germany 21-7 and Italy beat the United States of America 8-7.

Results:
FINA Junior Men’s World Championships, Long Beach, USA, day 7:
Round of 21-24: Singapore 7 Puerto Rico 4, Jamaica 8 Kuwait 6.
Round of 17-20: Mexico 8 Iran 7, New Zealand 8 Colombia 7.
Round of 9-16: Greece 16 Argentina 4, Slovakia 10 Canada 9, France 16 Egypt 12, Japan 9 Brazil 8.
Round of 1-8 (quarterfinals): Croatia 9 Spain 5, Serbia 21 Germany 7, Hungary 15 Australia 12 (N O’Halloran 4, R Campbell 3, D Lawrence 2, N Cargill, W Miller, R Howden) in penalty shootout (FT: 10-10. ET: 11-11. Pens 4-1), Italy 8 USA 7.

Match progression:
1st 1/4: 1-0 (O'Halloran), 1-1, 2-1(O'Halloran), 3-1 (Lawrence), 3-2; 2nd 1/4, 3-3, 4-3 (O'Halloran), 5-3 (Cargill), 6-3 (Miller); Lawrence missed sitter on extra in front of goal at death; 3rd 1/4, 7-3 (O'Halloran), 7-4, 7-5, 7-6, 8-6 (Campbell), 8-7, 8-8, 9-8 (Campbell), 10-8 (Lawrence) from halfway at 0:02; 4th quarter, 10-9, 10-10. The game has gone to overtime...... 1st period of extra, 10-11, 11-11 (Howden on extra). No score in second period of extra. Penalty shootout. Harai 11-12, O'Halloran missed, Salamon 11-13, Campbell 12-13, Marnitz 12-14, Lawrence missed, Szabo 12-15 and Hungary won the match.

Australia beats France  to progress to top eight
Los Alamitos, USA (August 23). —
Australia has surged into the quarterfinals of the junior men’s world water polo championships here after defeating France 10-7 here today.

Australia will now play the powerhouse of world water polo, Hungary, tomorrow to earn a semifinal berth. Spain will play Croatia, Italy faces the United States of America and dual champion Serbia will clash with Germany in other quarterfinals of the 24-nation event.

France was a much improved combination from previous games and led 4-2 late in the second quarter before Daniel Lawrence slotted two goals in 33 seconds to round out the half.

Australia went 6-4 up in the third and finished 8-5 at the break with Stephen Cody scoring two beautiful goals into the bottom left.

Rhys Howden made it 9-5 before France struck back with two goals. However, Cody scored his third from the same position as the other two to set up a winning difference.

Head coach John Fox said: “France came out pretty fired up after resting a few players yesterday. It was a scrappy game (the foul count was 13-8 against) but it’s a relief (to make the top eight). I was happy with Cody and especially Lawrence with those two goals, showing how it should be done.”

Australia still had trouble with shooting within the cage in the first half and squandered many opportunities to take the early initiative.

Captain Johnno Cotterill said: “We were nervous and needed a hard game. It was the worst start we’ve had. All credit though as we stuck in there. We’ve got a lot of work to do still. They (France) played well but we have to lift for tomorrow.” 

Results:
FINA Junior Men’s World Championships, Long Beach, USA, day 6:
Round of 16-24: Mexico 15 Singapore 7, Iran 11 Puerto Rico 3, Colombia 10 Kuwait 6, New Zealand 14 Jamaica 3.
Round of 1-16: Italy 17 Brazil 1, Spain 12 Argentina 3, Croatia 9 Greece 7 in extra time (FT: 7-7), Serbia 16 Canada 2, Germany 13 Slovakia 7, Australia 10 (S Cody 3, D Lawrence, J Cotterill 2, N Cargill, N O’Halloran, R Howden) France 7, Hungary 16 Egypt 1, USA 11 Japan 8. 

Australia unbeaten after World Champs group stages Los Alamitos, USA (August 22). —
Australia took second place in its group with an 18-6 drilling of Japan on day five of the 24-nation junior men’s world water polo championships here today.

The Aussies are unbeaten and looked like a medal prospect with a clinical display as combinations came together and every player contributed. The next opponent will be France in the round of 16, a team with three wins and two losses.

Head coach John Fox was pleased with the team’s efforts saying: “It was a good hit-out and the team was sharper. Defensively in the first half we were exceptional.

“When we changed up to zone there were a few lapses of concentration. We are starting to increase the tension towards the end of the week.”

Captain Johnno Cotterill was in his best form with plenty of steals and three goals, one less than Daniel Lawrence, who enjoyed the counter-attack.

Patrick Harmer was another to relish the freedom to score with two in succession from centre forward in the second quarter.

Australia led 6-1, 12-1 and 16-4 at the breaks before slowing in the last period to conserve energy for the more important games to come.

Serbia won the group, finishing with a 14-3 victory over New Zealand and third-placed Greece beat Iran 21-4.
The top teams in each group cross over against the fourth-placed teams in other groups while second-ranked teams play third-ranked teams with the winner going to the quarterfinals on Friday.

The Aussies were cheered on by their 30-strong travelling supporters’ group.

Results:
FINA Junior Men’s World Championships, Long Beach, USA, day 5:
Group A: Brazil 12 Mexico 9, Spain 8 Egypt 4, Slovakia 11 Colombia 5. Final points: ESP 10, SVK 8, BRA 6, EGY 4, COL 2, MEX 0.
Group B: Puerto Rico 4 Jamaica 1, Croatia 26 Canada 7, USA 16 France 6. Final points: USA 10, CRO 8, FRA 6, CAN 4, PUR 2, JAM 0.
Group C: Serbia 14 New Zealand 3, Australia 18 (D Lawrence 4, J Cotterill 3, P Harmer, R Campbell, R Howden, W Miller 2, N Cargill, N O’Halloran, S Cody) Japan 6, Greece 21 Iran 4. Final points: SRB 9, AUS 8, Greece 7, JPN 4, NZL 2, IRI 0.
Group D: Italy 15 Argentina 1, Germany 26 Singapore 5, Hungary 30 Kuwait 0. Final points: HUN 10, ITA 8, GER 6, ARG 4, SIN 2, KUW 0.

Juniors scalp Iran at World Championships
Los Alamitos, USA (August 21). —
Australia was back in the winner’s circle following two draws at the junior men’s world water polo championships here today.

The second win came at the expense of Iran with Australia finishing 23-5 ahead with a 10-goal, third-quarter haul. Serbia settled the group leadership, beating Greece 11-5 in the day’s feature match.

If the match had been a tie, Australia could possibly have finished third in the six-team group of 24 teams.

It was vastly different from the tough two previous Australian matches when the Aussies had wins staring them in the face, but all players gained time in the pool and to the relief of head coach John Fox, all shots were on target.

“It gave us a chance to work on a few things for later in the tournament — mainly offence. They showed good composure.”

Fox said the team was aiming to peak at the end of the week and that the game against Iran showed the team was improving.

The second win means Australia is still without a loss and will most probably finish second in the group and cross over against possibly France.

Richard Campbell struck six times in the romp with Nathan Cargill and Stephen Cody adding three each.
Australia opened with a 6-1 quarter, led 9-1 at halftime and then swam away to 19-3 before the last break.

Results:
FINA Junior Men’s World Championships, Long Beach, USA, day 4:
Group A: Colombia 8 Mexico 7, Spain 16 Slovakia 4, Brazil 9 Egypt 7. Progress points: ESP 8, SVK 6, EGY 4, BRA 4, COL 2, MEX 0.
Group B: France 14 Canada 10, Croatia 26 Jamaica 1, USA 19 Puerto Rico 1. Progress points: USA 8, CRO 6, FRA 6, CAN 4, JAM 0, PUR 0.
Group C: Serbia 11 Greece 5, Australia 23 (R Campbell 6, N Cargill, S Cody 3, W Miller, D Lawrence, R Howden, S Lewis 2, N O’Halloran, J Young P Harmer) Iran 5, Japan 10 New Zealand 6. Progress points: SRB 7, AUS 6, Greece 5, JPN 4, NZL 2, IRI 0.
Group D: Hungary 18 Germany 1, Argentina 10 Singapore 9, Italy 21 Kuwait 3. Progress points: HUN 8, ITA 6, GER 4, ARG 4, SIN 2, KUW 0.

Second draw for Aussies at World Championships
Los Alamitos, USA (August 20). —
Australia stumbled to a 7-all draw with former champion Greece at the junior men’s world water polo championships here today.

It was the second draw in two days, gaining the first with champion Serbia yesterday but still keeps the team in with a chance of second spot in the group.

Head Coach John Fox rued the missed opportunities and said: “Unless the senior players shoot inside the frame they’re not going to play.”.

The Aussies missed three sitters and two at crucial times late in the game, sending the ball anywhere but toward the goalmouth.

Australia started strongly with a 3-0 margin at quarter time but Greece came back to 3-2 before the Aussies led 5-2 and then 5-3 at halftime.

Greece scored either side of the final break to level the game.

Two goals on two attacks to Nick O’Halloran (extra man) and Richard Campbell (penalty) had the game in Australia’s pocket with less than five minutes remaining.

However, Greece scored an unguarded goal and then the equaliser just 18 seconds from time on extra.
Australia plays cellar-dweller Iran tomorrow and Japan on Wednesday in the final group matches.

Results:
FINA Junior men’s World Championships, Long Beach, USA, day 3:
Group A: Spain 15 Colombia 4, Egypt 9 Mexico 7, Slovakia 12 Brazil 7. Progress points: SVK 6, ESP 6, EGY 4, BRA 2, COL 0, MEX 0.
Group B: Canada 15 Jamaica 5, France 25 Puerto Rico 3, USA 11 Croatia 6. Progress points: USA 6, CRO 4, CAN 4, FRA 4, JAM 0, PUR 0.
Group C: Australia 7 (N O’Halloran, R Campbell, S Lewis 2, R Howden) Greece 7, Serbia 18 Japan 6, New Zealand 10 Iran 3. Progress points: Greece 5, SRB 5, AUS 4, JPN 2, NZL 2, IRI 0.
Group D: Germany 30 Kuwait 2, Italy 22 Singapore 2, Hungary 20 Argentina 6. Progress points: HUN 6, GER 4, ITA 4, ARG 2, SIN 2, KUW 0.

Juniors draw with Serbia at World Championships
Los Alamitos, USA (August 19).— 
Australia launched itself into medal contention with a 6-all draw against dual champion Serbia at the FINA junior men’s world water polo championships here today.It was a game Australia should have won with its solid defence but poor attacking options. The draw with the powerful Serbians, who were made to look ordinary at times, means Australia is well placed for a top-two finish in the group, which also contains 2001 champion Greece.

The Greeks beat a vastly improved New Zealand 15-7 after being just a goal ahead at halftime.

Australia took the early lead and was 3-1 at quarter time. Serbia had control of the second period for a 4-3 halftime lead. Australia regained the lead by the final break at 6-5 but a Serbian goal one minute into the final period was the last score of the match.

Goalkeeper Joel Dennerley was sensational, stopping two two-on-ones and once thwarting a marauding Serbian trio, which had the goal at its mercy.

He made nine saves when the tight defence let them through.

Australia will play Greece tomorrow and needs a big winning margin to make it hard for Serbia to finish top of the group.

Results (so far):
FINA Junior men’s World Championships, Long Beach, USA, day 2:
Group A: Spain 15 Mexico 4, Brazil 7 Colombia 6, Slovakia 16 Egypt 8. Progress points: Slovakia 4, Spain 4, Egypt 2, Brazil 2, Colombia 0, Mexico 0.
Group B:
Group C: Australia 6 (N Cargill 2, D Lawrence, R Howden) Serbia 6, Greece 15 New Zealand 7, Japan 14 Iran 9. Progress points: Greece 4, SRB 3, AUS 3, Japan 2, New Zealand 0, Iran 0.
Group D:.

Juniors shoot down Kiwis at World Championships Long Beach, USA (August 18).— 

Australia began its junior men’s world water polo championship campaign with a stuttering start against New Zealand here today.

Playing in the cut-throat Group C alongside the winners of the past three titles, the Aussies easily dispensed with the Kiwis 13-2 but could have made the margin easier if they were switched on for the full game.

Head coach John Fox praised his team’s defensive strategy but said many attacking chances failed to bring goals. “Attack-wise we missed a lot and we can’t afford to that against the better teams.”

The first better team comes tomorrow when champion Serbia, a 26-0 victor over Iran, will be the opponent.
Serbia was unbeaten in two previous championships and is expected to medal next weekend so it will be a tough match.

Nick O’Halloran claimed three goals on extra-man plays and Stephen Cody rammed in three more from close to the goal.

The crucial extra-man play went Australia’s way, converting five from nine but missing one penalty attempt. New Zealand scored one penalty and one from four on extra.

Meanwhile, in Bangkok, Thailand, Australia finished eighth at the World Student Games, losing to France 12-8 after trailing by just a goal at the final quarter.

The tournament was won by Montenegro with an 11-8 gold-medal final win over Italy while Hungary beat Spain 9-8 for bronze.

Results:
FINA Junior men’s World Championships, Long Beach, USA, day 1:
Group A: Slovakia 27 Mexico 7, Spain 8 Brazil 5, Egypt 9 Colombia 5.
Group B: Croatia 15 France 6, Canada 22 Puerto Rico 3, USA 20 Jamaica 3.
Group C: Serbia 26 Iran 0, Australia 13 (N O’Halloran, S Cody 3, R Campbell 2, J Young, D Lawrence, P Harmer, R Howden, J Cotterill) New Zealand 2, Greece 17 Japan 6.
Group D: Hungary 11 Italy 7, Germany 15 Argentina 6, Singapore 13 Kuwait 4.
Australian team: Rhys Howden, William Miller (QLD); Richard Campbell, Nathan Cargill, Johnno Cotterill, Joel Dennerley, John Hahn, James Young (NSW); Steven Cody (TAS); Steven Lewis (VIC); Patrick Harmer (SA); Daniel Lawrence, Nicholas O'Halloran (WA).
World Student Games, Bangkok, Thailand, day 8:
Play-offs: For 7th & 8th, France 12 Australia 8 (D Streets 3, S Robertson 2, M Turnbull, R Tracy, B McGhie); for 5th & 6th, Serbia 15 Japan 6; for 3rd & 4th, Hungary 9 Spain 8; for 1st & 2nd, Montenegro 11 Italy 8.
Final placings: Montenegro, Italy, Hungary, Spain, Serbia, Japan, France, Australia, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Russia, Great Britain, South Africa, Thailand.
 

Aussie juniors shooting for success at World Championships
Long Beach, USA (August 16).—
Australia’s best junior men’s water polo players will attempt to emulate their fellow teams who are all ranked in the top three in the world when the FINA World Championships start in Long Beach tomorrow.

Boosted by three Aussie Sharks senior men who last weekend won the bronze medal at the FINA World League Super Finals in Berlin, Germany, the juniors will have to get past the world champions of the past three tournaments — Serbia (2003 and 2005) and Greece (2001) — to be well placed for later rounds.

In recent weeks, the senior men ended a terrific run for Aussie water polo teams after the women claimed silver at the World League Super Finals in Montreal, Canada and the junior women wrested the crown at their world championships.

Prolific scorers Richard Campbell and Nick O’Halloran and Johnno Cotterill, who made his senior debut at the senior world championships in Melbourne in March, will give heart to a team that won two bronze medals in recent European tournaments.

Australia starts against New Zealand tomorrow and will then play Serbia, Iran, Japan and Greece in successive days in the group stages of the 24-nation event.

The best result attained by the junior men at this event was in 1999 when they lost to Italy by a goal in the final.

Meanwhile, at the World Student Games in Bangkok, Thailand, the Australia men will play France for seventh place tomorrow.

The Aussies were soundly beaten 14-7 by Japan in the round of 5-8 crossovers and will finish the tournament no better than seventh.

Results:
World Student Games, Bangkok, Thailand, day 7:
Play-offs: For 13th & 14th, South Africa 19 Thailand 7; for 11th & 12th, Russia 17 Great Britain 9; For 9th & 10th, Turkey 10, Kazakhstan 7. Round 5-8: Japan 14 Australia 7 (S Robertson, L Vezzosi 2, C Gronow, M Turnbull, R Tracy), Serbia 7 France 6. Semifinals: Montenegro 11 Spain 6, Italy 14 Hungary 6.

Junior men head off USA in extra time for bronze medal
Zagreb, Croatia (August 5).— 
Australia needed extra time to defeat the United States of America 10-9 for the bronze medal at a seven-nation junior men’s water polo tournament here.

It was the second bronze in two tournaments in the build-up to next week’s FINA World Championships in Long Beach, USA.

Joel Dennerley played a huge part in the win, stopping two penalty attempts from the goalmouth. The tournament was won by Hungary, who beat Croatia in the final.

In Singapore, the Australian Country men’s team will play Singapore Juniors tomorrow in the semifinals of the Singapore invitational.

Australia defeated the Juniors 11-7 in the final round games today and can be expected to play Singapore Seniors in the final on Tuesday.

The Australian Country women continued their domination of the Singapore women with a fourth consecutive win — 7-2.

Results:
International junior men’s tournament, Zagreb, Croatia:
Day 4: Australia 10 (R Howden 3, D Lawrence, D Young 2, N Cargill, W Miller, S Lewis)  USA 9 in extra time (FT: 8-8).
Final placings: Hungary, Croatia, Australia, USA, Montenegro, Italy, Slovakia.
Singapore Invitational, Singapore, day 3:
Men: Singapore Seniors 22 Malaysia 4, Australian Country 11 (M Baird, S Jacobs 3, J Tobin, 2, A McAulay, A Cleland, A Costello, L Ingwersen) Singapore Juniors 7.
Final points in tie-breaking order: Singapore Seniors 4, WA Country 4, Singapore Juniors 4, Malaysia 0.
Women: Australian Country 7 (J Lawrence 3, J Lawrence, T Elliot, L Magann, L Woodland) Singapore 2.

Junior Men's Manager's Report
Day 2 Results 1 win 1 loss.

Game 1 Australia 9 Def Montenegro 5.1-1, 2-2, 3-0, 3-2,Scorers R. Howden 5, W. Miller 2, S. Lewis, J. Votan.The Australian 20 & Under Mens team played their best game on tour so far by beating giant-killers Montenegro who had beaten Hungary on Day1. The Aussies played a very solid 1st half, keeping the two outstanding center forwards at bay. The team was lead brilliantly by Rhys Howden who shone both defensively and in attack scoring 5 goals for Australia. Australia showed marginal improvement in extra man scoring 5 from 11 and restricting MNE to 1 from 7.

Game 2 Hungary 12 - Australia 63-2, 3-0,.1-3, 5-1.Scorers S.Lewis, W. Miller 2, P. Harmer, R. Howden.

Australia started slowly against the strong Hungarian outfit who were still smarting from their loss at the hands of Montenegro but were rested by not having an earlier game today as had the Aussies.The Aussies very quickly found themselves down 3-2 but rallied late in the first to be 3-2 down.Hungary rested the initiative back in the second quarter scoring 3-0 to take a commanding 6-2 Half Time lead.To the Aussies credit they dug deep and came back all guns blazing to outscore Hungary 3 -1 and getting the score to 5-6 in the third. Frustratingly Australia missed two vital counter attack shots and continued to miss extra-man opportunities in the last  allow the Hungarians to rally and score 5-1 in the last.Whilst disappointed with the loss coach Mark Hubbard had much to take from the loss given the opportunities AUS created only to be let down by a 1 from 11 extra man count.Australia have finished second in it Group B on goal difference and now play Croatia in the crossover.

Group placings thus far.Group A - Croatia, Italy, USA, Slovakia.Group B - Hungary, Australia, Montenegro.

Parents, all is well with a few niggles.Rhys,s wrist is sore again, Jordie has a sore throat, John Hahn is feeling much better but unfortunately Dan Young lost a tooth and is >nursing a sore head courtesy of a wayward Hungarian fist.Thankfully his dad and sister are here for moral support !Training in am and game in pm tomorrow.

Game 3 v Croatia,
Croatia 15 Australia 10. 3/3, 7/3, 2/2, 3/2. Scorers, R. Howden 3, S. Lewis, N Cargill 2, S, Cody, B. Miller, D. Young.

Game 4 v USA. Australia 10 USA 9 3/1, 1/2, 4/1, 0/4. 8 all at full time. AUS won in exta time.>>Scorers, R. Howden 3, D. Lawrence, D. Young 2, N. Cargill, B. Miller, S. Lewis.In a heartstopper the boys rallied having given away a healthy 4th qutr lead to win in extra time and take 4th place. Joel Dennerley was particularly outstanding in goals saving numerous shots including 2 penalties.

Final Placings: Hungary, Croatia, Australia, USA, Montenegro, Italy, Slovakia.

Boys are all well and looking fwd to 2 free days before flying to LA.

Jon Harmer

Bronze for junior men in Slovakian tournament
Novaky, Slovakia (July 30).—

The loss to Croatia was disappointing as Australia failed to convert any of its 11 chances on extra man.

The team now has a three-day camp in Hungary before contesting another tournament in Zagreb, Croatia this weekend.

Results:
High Tatras Cup, junior men Novaky, Slovakia, day 2:
Croatia 11 Australia 2 (R Howden, J Young).
Day 3: Australia 14 (S Cody, D Lawrence 3, R Howden, S Lewis 2, P Harmer, W Miller, D Young, J Young) Egypt 2.
Final placings: Croatia, USA, Australia, Slovakia, France, Egypt.

 News from the High Tatras Cup
Novaky, Slovakia (July 29).—
Australia gained two wins and a draw in its first three games of the High Tatras Cup junior men’s water polo tournament here.

The tournament is being used as part of a build-up to the FINA World Championships in Long Beach, USA on August 18-26.

Results: Hi Tatras Cup, junior men, Novaky, Slovakia:
Day 1: Australia 10 (W Miller 4, S Cody, P Harmer 2, N Cargill, D Lawrence) Slovakia 4, Australia 8 (S Cody, W Miller 2, R Howden, S Lewis, J Votan, J Young) USA 8.
Day 2: Australia 12 (J Young 3, D Young 2, N Cargill, S Cody, P Harmer, R Howden, D Lawrence, W Miller, J Votan) France 8.

Day 3

High Tatras Tournament , Novaky, Slovakia.

Croatia 11 def  AUS 2.

2-1, 2-0, 3-0, 4-1.

Scorers R. Howden ( P ), J. Young.

A disappointing result although the score did not entirely reflect the game. AUS shot poorly and converted 0 from 11 in Extra Man.

AUS 14 def Egypt 2

1-0, 1-0, 4-1, 8-1.

Scorers, S. Cody , D. Lawrence 3, R. Howden, S. Lewis 2, P. Harmer, B. Miller , D. Young, J. Young,

A very disappointing game in the first half by AUS, once again having poor shot conversion.

The team travels by bus at midday to Budapest for 3 day camp with Hungary before our next tornament in Croatia.

Boys generally well. Rhys has had sore wrist that is improving, John is struggling with some sinus / congestion & Nathan was hit in the eye yesterday but is OK.

Day 2

HIGH TATRAS CUP  20&Under Mens Tournament, Novaky, Slovakia.

Australia 12 Def France 8

5-1, 2-1, 4-1, 1-5.
Scorers J. Young 3, D. Young 2, N Cargill, S. Cody, P. Harmer, R. Howden, D. Lawrence, W. Miller, J. Votan

The Aussie boys made a sensational start to the game trouncing the French with excellent defence and scoring many well executed team goals on counter attack. A lapse in the 4th quarter saw the French score 5 to 1 and put some respectability back in the 11-3  3rqtr scoreline. Proxy Foxy - coach Mark Hubbard, the interim coach who is taking the team until John Fox resumes control at the World Championships in Long Beach, was happy overall stating that the team has played  progressively better as each game has been played.

The Aussies play Croatia in this afternoons top of the table clash.

DAY 1 

Australian Juniors start solidly in Novaky, Slovakia.

The AUS 20&Under men opened solidly on day 1 of the High Tatras Cup in Novaky, Slovaky.
game results as follows.

Game 1 VS Slovakia,

AUS 10 Def Slovakia 4. Scorers W. Miller 4, S. Cody 2, P. Harmer 2, N. Cargill, D. Lawrence.

3-1, 3-1, 3-0, 1-2.

Game 2 VS USA , AUS 8 Drew USA 8. Scorers S Cody 2, W. Miller 2, R. Howden, S. Lewis, J. Votan,J. Young.

1-0, 4-3, 2-3, 1-2.

Australia opened brightly on Day 1 after some sluggish pre tournament warm up games. Joel Dennerley was outstanding for the Aussies in goals. AUS opened sensationally v USA going to a 4-0 lead in the 2nd only to be slowly reeled in by the US. Australia are the only team playing with 13 in this tournament as they await the return of Campbell, Cotterill and O'Halloran for the World Champs, compared to the opposition 15.

Australia play France and Croatia on Day 2.