Mark Arbib visits Sharks, final training camp games in Singapore
From left: Doug Chester (Australian High Commissioner to Singapore), Sam McGregor, Mark Arbib
The Aussie Sharks have lost their final tune up ahead of the FINA World Championships to Hungary by a margin of 15-8.
Led by captain Sam McGregor with three goals the Sharks put in a patchy performance but coach John Fox was left with some positives.
In extra man attack the Australians scored four goals from seven chances while in defence they restricted the powerhouse Hungarians to just three goals from their ten chances.
“Despite the margin there were some very positive aspects tonight,” Fox said after the game.
“We had passages or periods in the game when we matched it with the Hungarians. We had a poor second quarter and then good periods in the third and fourth.”
With their first game of the World Championships tournament against Romania on Monday Fox was adamant he knew what the Australians needed to do.
“We need to be more consistent and smarter with better communication,” he said.
The Sharks fly into Shanghai today.
Sharks settle into Singapore surrounds well
The Aussie Sharks men’s water polo team have settled in well to their Singapore surrounds as they finish off last minute preparations for their FINA World Championships campaign in Shanghai, China next week.
After two matches so far in the pre world championships tournament against Germany, Hungary, Spain and Croatia, the Sharks have mixed their form with an impressive 8-5 victory over Croatia and a 10-7 loss to the Spaniards.
Watching closely at the Australian camp over the weekend was Federal Minister for Sport, Senator the Hon Mark Arbib, who was in Singapore to cheer on the Australian Diamonds netball team at the Netball World Championships.
Arbib met and talked with the Australian men’s team and expressed his interest for the game having played as a youngster at school and was presented with an Australian team shirt and Sharks swimming trunks.
In fine style, the Sharks responded to their high profile visitor with a confidence boosting 8-5 victory over 2007 World Champions and 2009 bronze medallists Croatia.
While the three games in Singapore are being treated as unofficial tests, the contest against Croatia was a perfect opportunity for the Aussies to find some form ahead of the world championships and star player Richie Campbell said the result was very promising.
“It was pleasing that we played at such a higher level against a team such as Croatia. Our structure in offence improved tonight and in defence we applied significantly more pressure,” Campbell said.
In last night’s clash against Spain, the Sharks were unable to claim another top scalp going down in a tight match by three goals.
Lack of composure in extra man attack cost the Aussies with their 2 from 10 conversion rate the main difference.
Australia has a game remaining against Hungary before flying to Shanghai on July 14.
