WSL2 - Editor

This week saw our top women's side take a break, with a scheduled Bye. Next week it will be a top of the table clash (1 vs 2) as they face ladder leaders Richmond!

WSL3 - Report by Lisa Murray-Segal

Tuesday this week marked a significant day in the calendar, and it had nothing to do with Charles and Camilla on the steps of the Opera House.  A milestone birthday for our team manager - who put the call out on Sunday night longing for a celebratory win.  Surely the team would come through and deliver a great birthday present?  Numbers were slightly reduced this week, but we had a solid 10 from our 15 strong squad.  The girls were pumped and right from the start matched the Combo Junior side for speed and enthusiasm.  Some strong work at CF by Clare throughout the quarter and plenty of swimming drives earned her 2 goals and Hannah managed to get one in under pressure near the goal line.  But the juniors were also on the case putting away 2 for the term giving us a 3-2 lead as we went to the break.  The second quarter was tight, with neither side getting the upper hand, with plenty of attemps and turnovers.  Each team scored, with Clare bagging her third, giving us a 4-3 lead at the halftime break.  Our third quarter was solid, and we started to sense we could wrap this win with a bow.  Some great saves from Sandra in goals, and some impressive defensive work from Sally, LisaAs and Georgia contributed to keeping the Combo Junior side scoreless.  Up the other end, Caitlin and Hannah made good leads to position themselves near the goal, but it was Clare again and newbie Megan hitting the net to push our lead out to 6-3.  The final quarter saw us double down on our defence after the Combo Juniors scored, not wanting to open that door.  For her efforts Georgia gained an elbow to the face, breaking her nose.  Polina, Sally and Megan continued to apply the pressure and tried creating some movement up forward but their defence had also tightened up, so we couldn't score.  The clock ticked down and the whistle blew giving us our first win since Round 3!! 

Dedicated to the old girl, a gift-wrapped win! Happy 60th (surely that's a typo!!) LisaMS! 🍾🥂🥳

Essendon defeated Essendon/Monash//NYPD/DVEA : 6 - 4   Goals : Clare 4, Hannah 1, Megan 1

WSL3 (Combo Jnr Team) 

Essendon/Monash/NYPD/DVEA were defeated by Essendon : 4 - 6   Goals : TBC

MSL4 - Report by Marcus Jones

The Essendon boys turned up on a chilly Thursday night to play long time friendly club – Monash. This would be a tough game as Monash has a lot of fit 20 somethings against our exciting mix of youth and salt'n'pepper experience. The first quarter was an even contest with both teams playing great polo. But dear reader, the Essendon boys stepped up in the 2nd quarter scoring 3 goals to zip. Felix was a brick wall in goals – so much so Monash requested larger goals in the 2nd half and our Michael Venosta was instrumental by completing 3 goal assists!!! The 3rd quarter wasn’t great for us and we had to regroup. At three quarter time we asked for control, we asked for the team to share the ball around like Ambrose shares his Tinder account. And it worked – we smashed them in the last quarter through hard swimming and great team work – well done gents – best quarter we have played all year.

Essendon defeated Monash : 11 - 6   

Goals : Silver Fox(Lee) 4, Romeo Mills(Ambrose) 3, Old Balls Mills(Ryan) 2, Callum 1, Hayden 1

Special mention : Michael Venosta - 4 goal assists and GoGo Paul - 1 swim off win.

Special shout out to Big Vince (glandular fever, unable to play this season) - we miss you mate!

12&U Mixed - Report by Sheridan Mom

ROUND 1 GAME : Finally, the first round of the season, with the combined Essendon/Geelong team for our mixed under 12s. This team has five Essendon players, however only 3 were available this week, as well as some Geelong players unavailable. So, numbers were a little low for the team with only 1 spare. First game we faced off against DVE. They had a very handy bench and lots of great driving by some of their strong swimmers. The team found it tough to get down the pool at times, and the shot clock not in our favour. But eventually, we found the back of the net a few times.

Essendon/Geelong were defeated by DVE Aquatic : 3 - 13   Goals : TBC

ROUND 2 GAME : The kids rallied again for the second game, after some tips from coach Matt, encouraging them to stick goal side in defence. However, before the match had started, we were advised Monash/NYPD could only field 5, as one of their players was not well, so it was a forfeit win for the team. A scratch match was arranged in the end, 7 on 7, so the kids still had a good hit out. There was big improvement after the first game, and the team connected well and created more scoring opportunities. Well, done to all the U12s who played their first games of water polo, and they will learn and improve as the season progresses.

Essendon/Geelong defeated Monash/NYP Dragons : 8 - 0 (WALKOVER)   

14&U Girls - Report by Kate Simnett

The summer season kicked off for the Essendon/Geelong girls on Sunday with two tough games!  The first was up against Melbourne Collegians and the second game against Richmond Black. We had goals from Ari, Emily (in her first game!) and Josie.  Whilst the scorelines looked poor, the positives were some excellent passing, defence and in both games the girls played much better in the second half!

ROUND 1 GAME : Essendon/Geelong were defeated by Melbourne Collegians : 2 - 15

ROUND 2 GAME : Essendon/Geelong were defeated by Richmond Black : 1 - 17

14&U Boys - Report by Natalie Meissner

This week the boys were a player short, but thankfully MC were kind enough to match us for a 6 on 6 game. While starting off a little slow and falling behind a few goals, the boys came together stronger towards the end of the quarter and played competitively through the second and third. Sadly the lack of bench slowed the Essendon/Monash group as fatigue set in towards the end of the 4th.  They held strong though, with the boys finishing just 1 goal down.  There were certainly a few exciting moments, including a rushed goal to Angus, who took advantage of a rebound off the goal frame that the goalie didn’t have a solid hand on.  The boys will be excited to have another Essendon player to join them this Sunday as Ashton joins the team for his first game! 

Essendon/Monash were defeated by Melbourne Collegians White : 11 - 12   Goals : TBC

16&U Girls - Editor

The Essendon/Monash team had a scheduled Bye this week, but will face Melbourne Collegians for their Round 3 game.

16&U Boys 

Essendon/Monash were defeated by DVE Aquatic : 6 - 14   Goals : TBC