Sharks lying in wait for London attack

7/3/2012

The words ‘youth and experience’ have never been better used than to describe the men’s water polo team today selected by the Australian Olympic Committee.

Gavin Woods is the most senior member of the team at 34 years of age and London will be his fourth Olympic Games – as it will be for teammate Thomas Whalan. At the other end of the spectrum, there is 20-year-old Aaron Younger, one of seven Olympic debutants on the team.

Leading the team will be captain Sam McGregor, keen to see the Aussie Sharks vie for a medal after finishing 9th in Athens and 8th in Beijing.

“I feel very lucky to be able to attend my third Olympics,” 27-year-old McGregor said.

"It is an amazing honour to lead this incredible group of men into battle for the ultimate prize in our sport, an Olympic gold medal. Our goal in London is to just stick to executing our game plan.”

That game plan will be put in place by head coach John Fox, who is happy with his team’s progression with just over a month to go until London.

"This Olympic team will be the best prepared of any team to have had the distinction of representing our country,” said Fox, who coached the team in 2008 and also competed himself in 1988 and 1992.

"The final composition of the team contains a balanced mix of experience along with youthfulness.

"The final cut proved to be the hardest when trimming the squad from 15 to a team of 13 players. The difficult decision to omit Rob Maitland and Anthony Martin was a painful process but made in view of the outstanding performances of other players."

One of the young debutants who will be out to prove his worth in the pool is 21-year-old Aidan Roach.

The son of rugby league personality Steve “Blocker” Roach, the young Sydneysider has little over 40 caps with the national team but his performances in 2012 ensured he was picked in the 13-man side.

Scoring in the final match against the USA in Australia's first series of 2012, Roach did not play again until the World League Finals but there he showed his star potential, scoring five goals in the tournament, including three in Australia's 13-6 win over Brazil.

“It is definitely half a dream come true,” Roach said of his selection. “I have always dreamt of playing the best in world on the world’s biggest stage. However the other half is actually winning the biggest tournament in our sport and I think most of the boys are the same. Now we have to focus on our main goal of achieving our dreams.”

Roach and his teammates certainly have the tournament of their lives ahead of them. Competition kicks off at the Water Polo Arena in Olympic Park on Day 2 of the Games with Australia facing Italy. They will then see out the rest of the preliminary matches where they will meet Greece, Kazakhstan, Spain and Croatia as they push for a finals berth.

The men’s water polo section of the 2012 Australian Olympic Team:

Name Age Now Age at Games Born Lives
Jamie Beadsworth 27 27 Perth, WA Perth, WA (6009)
Richie Campbell 24 24 Newcastle, NSW Newcastle, NSW (2291)
James Clark (GK) 21 21 Nowra, NSW Sydney, NSW (2039)
Tim Cleland 27 27 Perth, WA Perth, WA (6016)
Johnno Cotterill 24 24 Sydney, NSW Sydney, NSW (2032)
Joel Dennerley (GK) 24 25 Sydney, NSW Sydney, NSW (2162)
Rhys Howden 25 25 Brisbane, QLD Brisbane, QLD (4069)
Sam McGregor (C) 27 27 Darwin, NT Melbourne, VIC (3123)
Billy Miller 24 24 Brisbane, QLD Brisbane, QLD (4001)
Aidan Roach 21 21 Sydney, NSW Sydney, NSW (2113)
Thomas Whalan 31 31 Sydney, NSW Sydney, NSW (2025)
Gavin Woods 34 34 Sydney, NSW Sydney, NSW (2132)
Aaron Younger 20 20 Perth, WA Perth, WA (6157)

For more information please contact:
Alice Wheeler alice.wheeler@olympics.com.au
Dave Lyall dave@sportscomm.com.au

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