Queensland Thunder women’s water polo coach Benn Lees said “mind-blowing’’ talent is on the rise
Queensland Thunder women’s water polo coach Benn Lees said “mind-blowing’’ talent was on the rise which would benefit not only the state but ultimately Australian water polo.
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Queensland Thunder women’s water polo coach Benn Lees said “mind-blowing’’ talent was on the rise which would benefit not only the state but ultimately Australian water polo.
Thunder today lost 6-4 to the top of the table Sydney Uni Lions in the Australian Water Polo League at the Valley pool.
It followed last night’s 11-9 loss to the same opposition.
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But both Lees and triple Olympian Bronwen Knox were unperturbed by the two defeats.
“We have had an amazing season,’’ Lees said.
“The girls have shown tremendous maturity.
“They had a really strong game against a world class team.’’
Knox, young veteran Abby Andrews and goal keeper Kelsey Wakefield have been guiding a young side this season.
“Of our starting line-up, five of our girls are 20 years and under,’’ Lees said.
“It is mind blowing to think where they will go.
“They were playing against a team which potentially has five or six Olympians – you can’t buy that experience.
“I am generally excited about the health of women’s water polo in Queensland.
“We have players in the Australian under 16 team, we have all these girls coming through here, the culture is really building and the community it strong.
“We are all just really excited.’’
Knox added: “It is really positive to see that younger generation coming through,’’ Knox said in reference to a host of exciting rookies like Kate Blew, Charlize Andrews, Phoebe Leech, Tenealle Fasala, Molly Nasser, Alice Campbell and Amelia Watt.
“These girls shouldn’t be playing in this league for another two years.
“But they were pushed into it last year and this year which means there are going to be some gun players coming through in3-4 years time when they mature and can make those decisions without needing to be told play by play.
“There is a lot of natural raw talent and if they can harness that, it is going to be an amazing team in a couple of years.’’
Yesterday the Queensland Thunder men also went down to the powerhouse Lions but like the women, had plenty of young talent emerging for coach Dmitry Gorshkov to work with.
“We are a pretty young team and we had to build up a new team,’’ he said following the loss of six senior players from last season.
“We need time. Young boys make lots of mistakes.
“They are not huge problems, but for next season at least I know what we need to do and work on to prepare for next season.’’
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