A Riverina side stacked with Wagga talent produced their best ever placing at the NSW Combined High School Sports Association water polo championships in Sydney on Thursday.
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Riverina has historically performed poorly at the event, placing no higher than fifth in the past four years.
However, a remarkable 6-5 win over Sydney East in their opening round encounter on Monday sparked a four-game unbeaten streak that only ended at the hands of championship favourites Hunter.
Speaking ahead of the side’s semi final, Riverina coach Tom Hawkesworth expressed his pleasure with the team’s efforts during the round robin stage.
“We’ve never been this far before and through my years, we’ve never placed higher than fifth, so we’ve already beaten that,” Hawkesworth said.
“It’d be great to get through the semi and have another crack at Hunter, who will most likely play in the grand final.”
It wasn’t to be for Riverina, who were beaten 10-2 by Sydney North in a lop-sided semi final before slumping to a 7-5 loss to Sydney East in the bronze playoff on Thursday.
Riverina won four and drew one of its six pool games before its ill-fated finals series.
Wagga star Rex Gallagher was among Riverina’s best throughout the tournament to date but remains ineligible to qualify for the state team due to his age.
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