Phil Kearns and Daryl Halligan will be cheering on their daughters playing for water polo Olympic gold

They have played and won Rugby World Cup finals and NRL premierships, but doting dads Phil Kearns and Daryl Halligan said nothing they ever did on the footy field tops seeing their daughters go for gold.

Phil Kearns with his daughter Tilly at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Picture: Supplied

They have played and won Rugby World Cup finals and NRL premierships, but doting dads Phil Kearns and Daryl Halligan said nothing they ever did on the footy field tops seeing their daughters go for gold.

Kearns’ daughter Tilly and Halligan’s daughter Bronte are stars of the Australian women’s water polo team that is through to the gold medal match at the Paris Olympics.

Their famous dads have watched every one of their nerve-jangling games from the stands and, while both men reached the pinnacle in their codes, they agree that winning an Olympic medal tops their achievements.

“When I was a kid growing up, the Olympics was the only thing,” said Kearns, who won two World Cups with the Wallabies and was captain.

Daryl Halligan with his daughter Bronte after the Stingers beat the USA.

“As young boy, I watched the Olympics and aspired to be an Olympian. I could never get there but she’s done it and it’s just incredible.”

Halligan won the 1995 grand final with the Bulldogs and was NRL’s all-time leading point scorer when he retired.

Known for keeping his cool under intense pressure, he also played 20 rugby league Tests for New Zealand but said nothing he endured on the paddock was as nerve-racking as watching the Stingers beat the United States in a heart-stopping semi-final penalty shootout.

“When you are playing and on your own journey, you don’t stop and break it down, you just live it,” he said. “But when you watch one of your children go through it, it’s like, wow, this is special.”

Unable to travel to Tokyo when Tilly and Bronte made their Olympics debuts, because of the Covis pandemic, there was no way Kearns or Halligan would miss Paris. So they packed their bags and brought their entire families with them.

Like the parents of the swim team, they’ve been unmissable in bright gold T-shirts and soaking up the atmosphere by celebrating wildly after each win.

“You raise children because you want them to be great people and better than you,” Kearns said. But the nerves are so much less when you’re playing because it’s someone that you’ve loved and you’ve nurtured and they love you back.

Australia celebrates after beating the USA. Picture: Andreas Solaro / AFP

“Watching them play is amazing because the girls just showed so much ticker. They didn’t lose their composure when they had some crap refereeing decisions that went against them.

“They were playing in front of 20,000 people – that’s easily the biggest crowd they’ve ever had. Down by three goals, the Americans were chanting USA USA, and they held it together and won.

“That’s really something.”

Australia’s team celebrates their win over the USA. Picture: Andreas Solaro / AFP

After the semi-finals, the players sneaked out the back exits at the La Defense Arena to rendezvous with their families. Tilly gave her old man a great big bear hug. Bronte joking to her dad about his gold beret, which he’s been wearing as a good-luck charm.

“My two parents are from New Zealand so it’s funny seeing them in green and gold, but they have completely embraced it,” Bronte said.

“Those berets are the best. It’s so nice because I can see those in the crowd so it’s great to have their support.”

2000 TRIUMPH INSPIRES PARIS GOLD MEDAL HUNT

Lachlan McKirdy and Erin Smith

The moment Gabi Palm got her hand to the final American penalty on Thursday night, Stingers legend Yvette Higgins knew she’d be in high demand.

“To be honest, my poor husband hasn’t had much engagement with me because my phone has been going hot,” Higgins said. The 46-year-old is all too familiar with one-goal wins over the USA in an Olympic knockout match. She was the hero from Sydney 2000, scoring the winning goal with a second to go to send the home crowd into raptures.

Australia celebrates after their win in 2000. Picture Graeme Fletcher.

It’s an iconic and enduring highlight of Australian sport. The same team who showed up to protest then IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch at Sydney Airport in their swimsuits for equal competition rights would claim the inaugural gold medal. This current generation of Stingers now has a chance to experience that euphoria again. After fighting back from 5-2 down against the three-time defending Olympic champions, they will take on Spain for a chance to write their own history.

Jubilant Aussies after winning in 2000,

“We were placing bets (before the game), so my bet was we’d go to a penalty shootout,” Higgins said. “I can’t believe we beat the US, it’s exciting.

“They’ve always been in the top six or four over the years and just missed out. In London, we thought they were capable of winning a medal.

That Sydney 2000 triumph has been close to mind, even though many of the players hadn’t even been born. Assistant coach Taryn Woods and team manager Bronwyn Smith were both part of the team, while head coach Bec Rippon was in the wider squad.

Brought to you by

“We talked about wanting to be like them, but doing it our way,” Rippon said. “We’re trying to make sure we drive it ourselves and create our own piece of history and legacy.”

“Those ladies were truly something incredible,” Keesja Gofers added.

“We’re excited to give it another crack.”

The former Stingers group chat has been going into overdrive the past 24 hours.

“We’re all whinging how old we are and having to get up with a lack of sleep,” Higgins said.

But she’s confident this team can become a new source of inspiration for Australian water polo.

“They keep rising each game. Physically, they’re fit and working together as a team,” she said. “Let’s hope it’s a positive outcome.”

Originally published as Phil Kearns and Daryl Halligan will be cheering on their daughters playing for water polo Olympic gold