How to watch Tasmanian 18-and-under team compete at Australian Youth Water Polo Championships in Brisbane
Tasmania’s 18-and-under team is set to compete at the Australian Youth Water Polo Championships in Brisbane next week — but the competition is under threat due to a COVID-19 outbreak.
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THERE is no danger of the Tasmanian 18-and-under team set to compete at the Australian Youth Water Polo Championships in Brisbane next week lacking cohesion.
Seven of the 10 members of the squad have been playing together since 2015, when they were 12 or 13.
This year’s Australian Water Polo League — which was due to start this week — has been cancelled due to a COVID-19 outbreak in Brisbane, but the youth championships may still proceed.
A decision will be made on Friday as to whether the youth championships, due to start on April 7, will be go ahead.
If the youth championships proceed they will be livestreamed across the www.themercury.com.au and all News Corp sites.
Tasmanian coach Dean Wright has been managing the team from the outset, and said the players had had years to gel.
“It’s a small competition locally, so they play against each other all the time, they train together two or three times a week, and then we probably, under normal circumstances, would have two to three trips away a year,” Wright said.
“They all understand how they play, where they play, what positions, their role in the team.”
Wright said the team had come a long way since its initial youth championships, when it finished about 30th out of 31 teams, and finished 12th last year. He said the players were eyeing off a top ten finish this year — if the championships go ahead.
“We’ve got a lot of parents who have outlaid a fair bit of money and time, and the boys have outlaid a lot of effort, so we’re hoping that it goes ahead,” he said.