The final full day in Australia broke to glorious sunshine and the anticipation of a day on Rottnest Island before their last tour game against our hosts Aquinas College.  The boys had a great time touring the Island on bikes and swimming off the sun-drenched sandy beaches.  22 degrees C in winter is not a bad temperature!!

We played again under lights at 7.30pm.  The juniors went first and found their match at last. The first quarter was a close run thing, BMS sneaking it 1-0 with an Andy fast break.  We could have had three as the Aquinas boys sorted out their defensive strategy.  In the second period Aquinas came back strongly and countered hard off bad passes and missed chances.  At half time they led 2-1.  The third quarter went the same way with Aquinas playing much more efficiently than ourselves. James scored a well fought for goal, netting a rebound off his own shot! Aquinas won the quarter 2-1.  In the last session Aquinas had their defensive system working well and scoring opportunities were limited and when we missed we had to work hard to cover the counter-attack.  We gave away a few too many majors and allowed our hosts too many scoring chances which they accepted enthusiastically to win that quarter 3-0 and the game 7-2.

For our stats we played 11 games, winning 6, drawing 2 and losing 3 which is a fantastic set of results.  Everyone played a part and played well above expectations. James Owen top scored with 31 and was the best player on pitch in many of the games.  Andy Court followed close behind with 21.  We will miss Dom next year and his 7 goals were important to the team's success.  Only Phil and Rupert failed to hit the target but both hit the keeper, Rupert far too often, though his contribution in the games were increasingly manful and Phil has improved throughout the tour.

The seniors have progressed steadily during the last fortnight and were determined to win their last game.  They have taken ownership of their team and play the better for it.  Defensively we were tremendous at the start with some really good active zoning.  In a full size pool we soon found the task very hard and leaked too many counter attack goals.  As ever, we never gave up and 11-2 against the strongest side we played was a much improved performance on the bigger scorelines in the south.  Adam M and Sam W both scored well-taken goals.  It was good to see all the players dropping to help on centre-forward and then block the arc players.  If we can do this at home in our smaller pools we will be very effective indeed.

Statistically, out of the 11 games played, 2 were won, 1 drawn and 8 lost.  Adam Monico top scored with 11, Sam Whittle and Rohan netted 6 each and Rob Thurmott and Blair Abrahams netted 5  apiece.

After the games the teams were treated to a fantastic barbeque around the poolside put on by the parents and friends of Aquinas College which was a fitting end to our tour!

Wherever we have gone we have been treated royally and the boys' responses have been well received.  The whole reason for going on tour is to leave behind a legacy and the hope that all our new found friends will visit our little corner of the world and give us the chance to return their incredible hospitality. The boys attitude and demeanour throughout has been delightful and they have been a credit to themselves and the sport of water polo.  The support of Steve & Judi Monico and Liz Bryant to the boys and me has been tremendous and made the trip all the more enjoyable.

Tim Whitwham