Live stream: Sydney Uni kick off Australian Water Polo League title defence in clash of the cats against UTS Balmain

The UTS Balmain Tigers will have mixed feelings after a tough day at the office at the Dawn Fraser Baths to kick off a new year in the Australian Water Polo League. Catch up on the REPLAYS.

A whirlwind fightback has sealed the UTS Balmain Tigers an opening round victory over Sydney Uni Lionesses in the women’s Australian Water Polo League.

The clash of the cats certainly lived up to expectations, with the Tigers rallying late to run down the the defending champions in the final quarter and claim a 8-6 victory.

It was some comeback too, as Balmain outscored the Lionesses five goals to two in a thrilling finale which had the big crowd at the Dawn Fraser Baths in full voice.

The fiercely contested game had been a defensive arm wrestle for the first three quarters, with Balmain trailing by a goal (3-4) at three-quarter time.

But defence quickly become attack as both teams threw caution to the wind and went on the offensive in search of victory.

Olivia Mitchell, Lily Dunn and Nioko Thomas all picked up two goals for Balmain, while Alexie Lambert was the only multiple scorer for the Lionesses.

REPLAYS

UTS Balmain Tigers v Sydney Uni Lions (Women)

Replay in the window above.

UTS Balmain Tigers v Sydney Uni Lions (Men)

LIONS GET JUMP ON BALMAIN

A quick-fire opening quarter has been the catalyst behind Sydney Uni Lions leaving UTS Balmain Tigers in their rearview mirror as they kicked off a new men’s Australian Water Polo League campaign in style.

A spectacular pass to Ashton Brown and subsequent goal set the standard, while Lions legend Billy Miller joined the party early on with a strong finish for his 763rd league goal.

But UTS Balmain was determined to stem the bleeding and hit back smartly with the first two goals of the second quarter when Daniel Lawrence was responsible for a smart throw into the back of the net.

A cross-cage finish to Matt Small after he was left unattended too long allowed the UTS Lions to regain their three-goal buffer and that was soon extended again.

Pietro Ricci hit back late for Balmain, his second for the match, as the Tigers trailled the Lions 6-3 at halftime.

Mitch Robinson kept Balmain in touch with the first goal of the second half, but their fightback quickly stalled.

Loui Schuler added his second and Nick Hallam joined in as the Uni Lions skipped away. From then on it was a procession as Lions players took it in turns to score.

Despite a far more committed effort by Balmain in the final quarter, the Uni Lions held sway for an impressive 13-8 victory.

PREVIEW

Isabelle Pamp can’t wait for the Sydney Uni Lionesses Australian Water Polo League title defence to start — and that the first game is against UTS Balmain Tigers makes it even more special.

The Lionesses kick off their new campaign in the clash of the cats on Saturday afternoon as part of a big double-header at Dawn Fraser Baths.

Catch all the action LIVE and EXCLUSIVE on KommunityTV.

See the full LIVE STREAM draw for the series below.

Goalkeeper and co-captain Pamp said her team was relishing the added pressure that comes with a title defence, and predicted a ‘very strong, very fierce competition’ against the Tigers.

“They (Balmain) love to win just as much as us so it’s always a tough battle with them,“ she said.

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“They have a really strong centre-forward play and a lot of strong, fast players so we do have specific tactics to help counter them.”

Pamp said the Lionesses, who beat UWA Torpedoes in last year’s final. should be feared.

“The other teams should be wary of us, because we are coming for them,” Pamp said.

“We’re excited and we’re ready to compete.”

Sydney Uni Lions took out the 2023 Australian Water Polo League title.

Sydney Uni are bringing a stacked team of talent this season, including national team players Keesja Gofers, Sienna Green and Matilda Kearns, as well as 2x Spanish Olympian Clara Espar and American Karli Canale.

Although it’s a very similar squad to last year’s championship winning side, Pamp said it’s a completely different vibe.

“Our new imports have been really amazing so far and have been helping out with our younger girls too,” Pamp said.

“The new girls have some really big shoes to fill, but so far everything has been really positive.”

Sydney Uni Lions co-captain and goalkeeper Isabelle Pamp.

Though the competition this year is set to be fierce with the Olympics just around the corner, Pamp said the whole team is eyeing a second consecutive title.

“We would love to go back-to-back, it would be great to add a x2 next to our championship,” Pamp said.

“At the moment, at least for the first part of the season, we’re really focused on gelling together as a team and making sure everyone understands our systems.”

Originally published as Live stream: Sydney Uni kick off Australian Water Polo League title defence in clash of the cats against UTS Balmain