UNSW Wests Magpies won their fifth national water polo title with a 9-7 victory over Drummoyne Devils in the 2019 OVO Australian Waterpolo League.
 
The Magpies raced to a 2-0 lead at the end of the first quarter, through goals from Lachlan Hollis and Olympian Richie Campbell, the Devils were also relentless in attack applying pressure at every given opportunity.
 
In the second quarter, the Devils took advantage of an exclusion and scored their first through Tyler Martin. Mitchell Emery levelled the score 2-2 before Martin was back at it and the Devils were in front for the first time of the match (3-2).

UNSW Wests Magpies player Andrew Ford prepares to pass during the gold medal match
UNSW Wests Magpies player Andrew Ford prepares to pass during the gold medal match

In the third quarter, the Magpies responded with a show of force, scoring three unanswered goals (Hollis, Campbell and Olympian Jarrod Gilchrist) before the Devils fought back through a Blake Edwards goal.
 
Martin scored his third for the match early in the fourth and Lachlan Edwards also scored to keep the Devils in the game, but a determined Magpies outfit piled on four more goals before the final buzzer.
 
Magpies goalkeeper Joel Dennerley said the team fought though the full four quarters.
 
“We knew that Drummoyne would come out hard and we wanted to match them with the intensity but we knew it was going to take the four quarters, so we had to dig deep and they gave us a good contest,” Dennerley said.
 
“They definitely came back in the fourth and put a couple on us to make it level."

The UNSW-Wests Magpies squad features Ben Lexcen Scholars, Angus Lambie (Criminology) and Andrew Ford (Engineering) both current Australian players, along with  Elite Athlete Scholars, Josh Watkins (Commerce), Will Paynter (Landscape Architecture) and High Performance Scholar Jean Luc Poidevin (Engineering) and EAP alumnus  Michael de Gail (Const Mgmt and Property). The squad also boasts triple Olympian, Richie Campbell, Joel Dennerley  and Jarrod Gilchrist along with Canadian Olympian, Nicolas Constantin-Bicari.

Meanwhile in the women'sc competition UNSW's 2018 Team of the Year the Killer Whales, bounced back from a three-point loss to eventual champions Queensland Thunder to beat the UTS Balmain Tigers 11-7. Although it will be a disappointing finish after last year's gold medal win, the team will be pleased with their performance in the bronze medal match.

The UNSW-Wests Killer Whales squad includes Ben Lexcen Scholar and current Australian Player, Amy Ridge (Arts/Law) and younger sister and junior Australian player, Meggie Ridge (Commerce/Inf Systems) along with EAP scholar, Allie Loomis (MBA) and EAP alumnus and recent Blues winner, Fiona Walsh. The team also includes dual Olympian, Ash Southern who adds vast experience to the team.

The UNSW-Wests Killer Whales celebrate their bronze medal win
The UNSW-Wests Killer Whales celebrate their bronze medal win