Geraldton water polo round 9: Rats grab an upset win over the B52’s

Rats pulled off a surprising 7-6 win over the B52’s in round nine of the Geraldton Water Polo Association. The Rats led early in the A-grade clash and maintained their lead throughout on Saturday. Darcy Wiffen and Luke Neuwert displayed superb form for the victors, scoring five goals between them. Rats player/coach Luke Neuwert has been pleased with his team’s performances over the past few games. “Rats have started the season well with good numbers and the lads starting to gel and know what’s expected of them, it’s great getting a buy in from each player on how we play each game,” he said. “Focus is to keep working on our plays and learning the other teams’ tactics ready for an end-of-season shoot-out.” The Relics suffered a hard-fought 8-5 loss against the Demons, as Joel Cross showcased outstanding form for the Demons, scoring four goals. Both goalkeepers impressed, with Relics’ goalkeeper Jack Deschamp making key athletic saves to keep his team in contention. Drew MacGregor demonstrated his usual skill and panache in the Demons’ goal, deflecting powerful shots from Relics’ shooters. In A-grade women’s games, the B52’s secured top spot on the ladder with a close and hard-fought victory over the Demons, ending with an 8-5 score. Despite Demons having the better of the early play and a three-goal lead, B52’s came away victorious. Abbey Benham and Emma Smith each contributed three goals, securing the win for the B52’s, while Evie Smith added to her season tally and provided strong attacking plays. Corey Smith, the B52’s A-grade women’s coach, relayed his pride in his youthful side. “The ladies continue to impress me most weeks. Looking forward to seeing where this extremely young team can take us,” he said. The Rats bounced back with a morale-boosting 6-3 victory over the Composite team after a run of bad form. In men’s B-grade games, the B52’s won in style against the Rats, with a score line of 10-5 while the Demons continued their good form, defeating the Relics 5-2. In women’s B-grade games, the B52’s secured a narrow win against the Demons, 5-4. Evie Prout scored two goals for the winners, while Billie Marshall put in a great performance for the Demons. The Rats convincingly defeated the Serpents, winning 12-4, with Ava Chesson scoring a hat-trick. In men’s C-grade games, the Demons won over the B52’s 6-5, but the B52’s emerged victorious in their other game against the Rats, securing a 10-3 victory. The women’s C-grade games saw the B52’s continue their good form with a 6-1 victory over Serpents Green. The Rats Orange displayed a great performance, overcoming Demons Yellow with a score of 9-3, and Rats Black secured a narrow victory over Serpents Yellow, winning by a single goal, 7-6.