WATER POLO: The Aussie Sharks have finalised their 13 player squad for the FINA World Championships in Barcelona later this month with a side that includes eight members of the team that finished seventh at the 2012 London Olympic Games.

Joining the experienced hands are five players making their debuts at this level – Tyler Martin, centre forwards Joel Swift and Matt Martin, Jarrod Gilchrist and youngster Nathan Power.The two players to miss out on final selection were driver Daniel Lawrence and rising star George Ford, the latter of which is currently competing at the 2013 Universiade in Kazan, Russia.

The Australians are currently in Portugalete, Spain, preparing for a final World Championships lead in tournament with games against Italy and Spain on the weekend.Head coach Elvis Fatovic, who will lead Australia into battle at a major tournament for the first time in Barcelona, said the team had been preparing well in Europe over recent weeks.

“This tour has been very good to date with solid training and games against Germany and Montenegro following our time in Slovakia and Croatia,” Fatovic said. 

“We now look forward to our final lead up tournament in Portugalete and testing the improvement of the team against Italy and Spain.

“We will continue to work together as a team and focus on executing our defensive structures in the coming week to ensure we are in the best shape possible before our first game of the World Championships.”

Fatovic said Ford was best served playing in the Universiade at this stage of his development whilst Lawrence was the victim of depth across the entire squad rather than poor form.

"After assessing all the payers over the past three weeks the unlucky one to miss out on final selection is Daniel Lawrence,” he said. “Daniel has performed well over this period but so have all the other players which is encouraging for the World Championships.”

Australia’s first game at the World Championships will be against perennial powerhouse Serbia at 930pm AEST on Monday July 22.

Aussie Sharks for FINA World Championships in Barcelona

Goalkeepers: Joel Dennerley (NSW), James Clark (NSW)
Field Players: Rhys Howden (QLD) ©, Richie Campbell (NSW), Aidan Roach (NSW), Tyler Martin (NSW), Johnno Cotterill (NSW), Aaron Younger (WA), Billy Miller (QLD) Nathan Power (NSW), Jarrod Gilchrist (VIC), Joel Swift (WA), Matt Martin (VIC)
Head Coach: Elvis Fatovic           Assistant Coaches: Paul Oberman and Chris Wybrow                    Team Manager: Prue Egan
Support Staff: Dean Kontic (Conditioning Coach), Ian Gard (Physio), Daelyn Vivers (Doctor)

Water Polo Australia