KAP7 Cup, Australian Water Polo League live stream: Queensland Thunder, UNSW Magpies win big

Queensland Thunder’s job is only half done after winning the KAP7 Cup, and if the close call in their final game is any indication, they need to be wary. See who made the Championship division.

They may have gone through the KAP7 Cup undefeated but Queensland Thunder women’s team know the challenge of defending their Australian Water Polo League title only gets tougher from now.

A one-goal defeat to Cronulla in Adelaide on Sunday was described as ‘stressful’ and perhaps gave rival teams a few holes to exploit in the coming weeks. The Championship games kick off on March 12.

Thunder star Tenealle Fasala, who was captain for the match against the Sharks, said it had been a close call.

Queensland Thunder are the KAP7 women's champs.

“It was very tight,” she said.

“It was a lot more stressful than we wanted it to be, but a win’s a win so we’re happy with that.”

The reigning women’s champions came into the final weekend having already secured the KAP7 title and their spot in the next phase. The UNSW Wests Magpies were crowned men’s champions last weekend after a big few days in Perth.

Fasala said going into the Championship rounds on an unbeaten run is a massive boost.

“I remember our first season, we were undefeated and we kind of wanted to go all the way through with that as well,” she said.

The top six ranked teams from the KAP7 Cup move on to the Championship, with the Thunder to face off again with Fremantle Marlins, UWA Torpedoes, Sydney Uni Lionesses, ACU Cronulla Sharks and UTS Balmain Tigers.

Although Fasala named Fremantle as her side’s biggest rival, she insisted each game will be tough in its own way.

“All the teams we’ve played so far have been different and they’ve all got different strengths,” she said.

“Fremantle has got Zoe (Arancini) on the outside, so we kind of want to knock her down. Then there’s Cronulla, they’ve got Dani (Danijela Jackovich) who’s just a driving centre and who is just very aggressive.

“So we’ve just trying to press on their most experienced players and work our defence around that.”

In the two-week break leading up to the next round, Fasala said the team plans on getting back to basics.

UNSW Magpies are the men's team to beat.

“Obviously we have peaks and troughs in games, which I think stems from our training environment, so we’re trying to push ourselves to our maximum at every single training session and hope that leads into games.”

Meanwhile, the Magpies men will also go into the Championships undefeated on their way to back-to-back titles, however they did pick up two draws against local rivals Drummoyne Devils and Sydney Uni Lions.

They will face them again in the next round, along with UWA Torpedoes, ACU Cronulla and UTS Balmain Tigers.

The five teams from both the men’s and women’s will face off in the Southern Cross Cup.