Atlantis, North Harbour Claim Under 16 Titles

The Auckland Water Polo Under 16 finals were held over the weekend, with the Atlantis Tridents taking out the girls competition and North Harbour Maroon the boys.

The Atlantis Tridents

North Harbour’s Maroon Boys

All of the Division One final matches were tightly contested at Diocesan School for Girls. Two bronze medals went home with Mountfort Park sides, who edged out their challengers by just one goal in both the boys’ and girls’ games. North Harbour’s Black boys managed to return from a 6-0 deficit, scoring 3 goals in 2 minutes to open the third period. A last minute penalty wasn’t quite enough, with the final score reading 8-7 to Mountfort Park. The girls game was less certain, with a penalty shootout seeming likely right up until the final minute. While neither team could get more than a two-goal lead, Mountfort Park had the final say with a goal in the final two minutes taking the scores to 7-6 in their favour.

North Harbour looked strong in the boys’ gold final, heading into the third quarter with a four-goal lead. It wasn’t enough to be comfortable however, with Sea Wolf challenging every ball and making their shots count. The discipline of the Maroon boys was reflected on the exclusion board, which saw Sea Wolf receive 12 majors to North Harbour’s 6. An 8-3 lead at the end of third quarter proved to be enough for North Harbour, who closed out the game with a 9-5 win.

The North Harbour Maroon girls, keen to repeat the boys’ success, managed to keep the Atlantis Tridents to two goals for the first half of the game. They couldn’t manage to take the lead however, with the Tridents making the most of man-up opportunities to lead by four goals in the third period. A further three goals to North Harbour’s one in the final period confirmed the result as a 10-5 win to the Atlantis Tridents.

In the Division Two competition, the bronze medals went to Mountfort Park Matau (girls) and Hibiscus Coast Gold (boys), while North Harbour White (boys) and Atlantis Cyan (girls) took out the titles.

Congratulations to all of the teams who have taken part in the Auckland Water Polo Under 16 League, and best of luck for the national championships which kick off right here in Auckland this week!

Photos from the finals weekend can be found on our Facebook and Instagram pages, or on here on the Under 16 League page. The full list of results can be found on the draw here.