Have you ever wondered what it is like to play professional water polo in Europe?

Rosebery’s Aussie Sharks star Johnno Cotterill has been doing it for five years and says that culturally, there is nothing else like it.

“In the two years I have been in Greece I have played in clubs with massive supporter bases and sometimes you pinch yourself as to how popular the sport is,” Cotterill said.

“Last year in Chios it was almost the only sport on an island with a population of 30,000 so we got crowds in the thousands on a number of occasions and everyone knew about the team.

“This year, being in a big sporting club such as Panionios, means the fans of the soccer really get behind all the sports. Thankfully we have been successful and this has meant the fans coming to the games with their banners, flares and chants.”

“Overall, though, there is a totally different attitude. It is more professional, as in water polo is a job, with the players having a large interest in the social and monetary benefits. That’s compared to Australia, where our players try to juggle polo with study and a career, so it makes for an interesting balance.

“I think the locals also enjoy having Aussies and overseas players in their team. In both Greece and Spain they have taken full advantage of my lack of language skills and have managed to influence my vocabulary and indeed convince of varying definitions for words.”

Cotterill, who has just returned to Australia to focus on Aussie Sharks selection for the 2012 London Olympics, is one of a handful of Australian men plying their trade in Europe and credited the increased stature of the sport overseas for his progression to the elite.

“Playing overseas has definitely given me an insight in different styles of water polo as well as attitudes towards the sport,” he said.

“Greece for example definitely has strong centre forwards on the whole, however being able to watch the smaller players and how they deal with a physical game provides an interesting insight.

“It’s also nice for me to compete weekly against players who are considered in the top echelon of players in the world. It certainly gives me confidence for later games and for winning with the national team.

“This year with Panionios has been eye opening. We are a young team, with a lot of unknown potential, however we have won against some of the best teams in Greece and Europe and this gives me a lot of confidence that Australia, with all our potential, can make 2012 into our most successful year in men’s water polo history.”

The 24-year-old will increase his Olympic preparations when he lines up for the NSWIS at the men’s NTC Challenge, which begins today in Newcastle.

A spot in the Australian team for the 2012 Water Polo Pan Pacs in Melbourne in January is the next challenge and Cotterill is hoping he and his teammates can show the rest of the world the true strength of Australian water polo.

“One thing that a lot of the foreigners and Greek players constantly ask me is when will Australia reach its full potential. Everyone knows how dangerous we can be, and understands that we have the ability to compete with anyone on our day.

“In my mind there is no doubt that we can compete with anyone and win, and European players know this. For us it is just about putting it all together at the right time.

“The Olympics is obviously the best possible stage to do it on and being there for that occasion would simply be achieving a dream that I have held since I started playing competitive sport at about eight years old.”

Australian Water Polo Inc.