Live stream: Drummoyne Devils v Balmain Tigers, Australian Water Polo League Round 8

That Drummoyne have been able to turn their AWL fortunes around in such a short time is testimony, in part, to their ‘focus on team cohesion’. Catch them in action on Saturday from 3pm.

A disappointing 2023 Australian Water Polo League campaign sparked centre forward Brooke McClean and her Drummoyne Devils teammates into action.

A series of early defeats left the Devils outside the top six when the competition was split into two, pushing them into the second-tier Southern Cross Cup. That they won it was scant consolation.

But a tough pre-season on top of a focus on team cohesion seems to have galvanised the team this time around.

CATCH ALL THE ACTION FROM THE SATURDAY DOUBLE-HEADER HERE

The Devils take on local rivals UTS Balmain in the Battle of the Bridge on Saturday, with the double header to be streamed LIVE and EXCLUSIVE on KommunityTV.

Check out the LIVE STREAM details below.

The early results for the Devils are very encouraging, with wins in all four of their games so far in 2024.

“We had a pretty intense pre-season,“ she said.

“We had one week where we trained six times, so that was a lot, but I think it’s paying off at the moment.

“We’ve been building for about three years, we’ve been focusing on team cohesion and the results have shown we’re a stronger team this season.

“Obviously last year we didn’t get the result we wanted.

Brook McClean said the Devils are more confident this season.

“We were in the bottom six and we really weren’t happy with that, but I think this year we’ve reflected on what worked and what didn’t and have worked toward that team cohesion.”

Drummoyne have picked up wins over Hunter Hurricanes, ACU Cronulla Sharks and FYFE Adelaide Jets (twice) last round.

But coming up against Balmain on Saturday, followed by Sydney Uni on Sunday, will be a massive test, according to McClean.

“They’re probably going to be two of our hardest games,” she said.

“Being so close together we play them more than any other teams, so we definitely know them inside and out.

“Both teams have some really experienced players in the national sense, especially with their juniors.

“But with our juniors, they’ve been training with the team for so long and built that rapport and cohesion, it’ll give us a bit of an edge.”