Under the new captaincy of KFC Queensland Breaker Anthony Martin, the new-look Sharks led 5-1 at halftime and then swam over the Iranians, which came after a stuttering first half. Iran was defiant but could not stop the Aussies who are fresh from a full National League season.
In other games, New Zealand women beat Japan 10-9 after being four goals clear at halftime and Japan men romped home 15-7 against a sketchy New Zealand. There are two more days of competition before the second round is played in Auckland next weekend.

FINA World League, Asia-Oceania round, Adelaide:
Men: Australia 13 (B Miller 3, A Martin, T Cleland 2, R Campbell, R Maitland, A Roach D Streets, R Howden, D Lawrence) Iran 1 (Y Soltani); Japan 15 (A Naganuma, Y Shiota, S Hazui 3, H Wakamatsu 2, K Irei, A Yanase, Y Shimizu, K Okawa) New Zealand 7 (J Ross 3, R Small 2, J Kayes, D Jackson).
Women: Australia 17 (R Rippon, R Webster 5, M Rippon 3, K Gynther 2, J Dessauvagie, N Zagame) China 13 (Sun Yujun, Ma Huanhuan 3, Gao Ao, Chen Yuan 2, Teng Fei, He Jin, Sun Huizi), New Zealand 10 (L Smith 3, E Cox, A Logan, K Mason 2, A Sieprath) Japan 9 (M Konaka 5, S Magariyama 2, C Yasumoto, N Yoshida).

Game 1, 15:00, Men, Japan 15 New Zealand 7
Quarters: 3-3, 3-1, 3-0, 6-3
JAPAN: Hitoshi OSHIMA, Kan IREI (1), Akira YANASE (1), Mitsuaki SHIGA, Hiroki WAKAMATSU (2), Masatoshi SOMEYA, Yusuke SHIMIZU (1), Atsushi NAGANUMA (3), Keigo OKAWA (1), Yoshinori SHIOTA (3), Hiroshi HOSHIAI, Satoshi NAGATA, Shota HAZUI (3). Head Coach: Goran SABLIC.
NEW ZEALAND: John LOVE, Josh POTAKA, Joseph KAYES (1), Jono ROSS (3), Conor LUI, Dan JACKSON (1), Matt REID, Eamon LUI, Richard SMALL (2), Lachy TIJSEN, Kiran DAVIS, Sam WILLIAMS. Head Coach: Jason HUNT.

Japan had the faster team, the more accurate shooters and looked a well polished outfit in beating New Zealand. New Zealand, who haven’t played internationally since the previous edition of the FINA World League, had some hard shooters but the team looked disjointed at times and went three down early. Both teams shut down the centre forwards until late in the game with outside shooting the norm and Japan was the better on extra man, converting an excellent six from 10 and one penalty goal, compared to New Zealand’s two from six. The Kiwis found themselves on the wrong side for some of the exclusions but the telling factor was the inability to score for 12 minutes in the middle of the game as Japan shot from 5-4 to 10-4. The Kiwis had some excellent hard shooters in Small and Ross but the wood was found more often than necessary. Joe Kayes, who the previous week won the Australian National League with Fremantle Mariners, was fouled out of the game midway through the third period, robbing the team of recent experience and power shooting. Japan’s Naganuma, Shiota and Hazui led the way with three goals each while Wakamatsu scored the last two goals with his second a second from time on extra.


JPN vs NZL - Men

Game 2, 16:30, Women, Japan 9 New Zealand 10
Quarters: 2-4, 1-3, 4-1, 2-2
JAPAN: Tikako MIURA, Yoko MARUKAWA, Saki OGAWA, Yuka TAKIGAWA, Yuki OKAMURA, Sayaka OKAWARA, Yoko KIMURA, Moe TSUMORI, Shino MAGARIYAMA (2), Chie YASUMOTO (1), Misa KONAKA (5), Nao YOSHIDA (1), Yumi KANNO. Head Coach: Yoshifumi SAITO.
NEW ZEALAND: Carina HARACHE, Emily COX (2), Sam SCHUBERT, Amy LOGAN (2), Lynlee SMITH (3), Ashley SMALLFIELD, Lauren SIEPRATH, Anna SIEPRATH (1), Kelly MASON (2), Kirsten HUDSON, Jasmine MYLES, Dana HARVEY, Head Coach: Todd CLAPPER.

New Zealand came away with an important victory but only after squandering a four-goal lead in the third period. New Zealand looked the more comfortable team with two excellent opening quarters but the tenacity of Japan showed through in the third with a commanding performance. The danger came from the left side as Konaka found the range and piled in four goals. When she claimed her fifth at 6:32 in the fourth, Japan was back in the game at 8-9. Smith scored her third at 5:10 to take the Kiwis 10-8 ahead and looked happy to settle for that score. Japan fought hard and took a timeout with six seconds remaining, being rewarded with a goal in the last second on the second shot. That goal could be crucial by the end of the second round. It was a classy match by two teams prepared to showcase their skills. New Zealand scored five from nine on extra compared to Japan’s one from seven.

JPN vs NZL - Women

Game 3, 18:00, Women, Australia 17 China 13
Quarters: 4-5, 4-2, 2-4, 7-2
AUSTRALIA: Alicia McCORMACK, Holly LINCOLN-SMITH, Glencora RALPH, Rebecca RIPPON (5), Jane MORAN, Bronwen KNOX, Rowena WEBSTER (5), Kate GYNTHER (2), Sarah MILLS, Jemma DESSAUVAGIE (1), Melissa RIPPON (3), Nicola ZAGAME (1), Victorian BROWN. Head Coach: Greg McFADDEN.
CHINA: YANG Jun, TENG Fei (1), LIU Ping, SUN Yujun (3), HE Jin (1), SUN Huizi (1), QIAO Leiying, GAO Ao (2), WANG Yi, MA Huanhuan (3), CHEN YUAN (2), ZHANG Lei, WANG Ying. Head Coach: PAN Shenghua.

World No 3 Australia outlasted No 5 China in an exciting game that saw both teams take leads. The match was levelled nine times and it wasn’t until the dying stages that a winner emerged. Australia only had five players backing up from the Beijing Olympics compared to China’s 10 so the game was always going to be a cracker. Australia’s Rippon sisters were to the fore with the elder Rebecca scoring five goals and Mel the captain three. Centre forward Rowena Webster enjoyed her return to the international fray with five. The Aussie Stingers gained the halftime lead at 8-7 but China had the game within its grasp at 11-10 by the final break. Webster and new cap Zagame scored to regain the lead for the host nation but China responded through Sun Huizi. Then three Rippon goals and a fifth to Webster ripped the game apart at 16-12 as Australia grabbed the crucial win. It was a game of the highest order and to have 30 goals scored was remarkable. Sun Yujun and Ma Huanhuan scored when needed for China but their team-mates cannot be upset with the quality of the play. Australia converted two from eight on extra and China scored five from six. Both converted a penalty.


AUS vs CHN

Game 4, 19:45, Men, Australia 13 Iran 1
Quarters: 3-0, 2-1, 4-0, 4-0
AUSTRALIA: Luke QUINLIVAN, Richie CAMPBELL (1), Tim CLELAND (2), Nick O’HALLORAN, Rob MAITLAND (1), Anthony MARTIN (2), Aidan ROACH (1), Aaron YOUNGER, Daniel STREETS (1), Billy MILLER (3), Rhys HOWDEN (1), Daniel LAWRENCE (1), Steve LEWIS. Head Coach: John FOX.
IRAN: Alireza SHAHIDIPOUR, Arsalan MARDANI, Seyed MIR MEHDI, Mohsen JALILI, Mehdi TEIRAN, Ali PIROZKHAH, Mahdi EMAD, Soheil KHADEMPIR, Mahdi KARAMIZARANDI, Yashar SOLTANI (1), Sajad ABDIHANJANI, Amir GHAHJAVARESTANI, Meisam JAFARI. Head Coach: Neven KOVACEVIC.

The Aussie Sharks made heavy weather of beating Iran but it was a totally different team that finished eighth in Beijing last year. New skipper Martin led the way with some rocket shots but Iran was dogged and frustrated the Sharks time and again. The 2-1 second quarter showed their preparedness to take it up to the Australians. The home side failed to settle and even in the third quarter attacks were failing to eventuate with any consistency. But then the penny dropped and Iran struggled to keep up with the pace of the Aussies, sending the game to 9-1 by the last break. The goals kept coming as Australia’s structure became evident. The shots kept raining on Iran goalkeeper Shahidipour but he did well to stop the number he did.


AUS vs IRI

Photos credit : Russell McKinnon