A successful inaugural campaign will wrap up with a highly-anticipated grand final day for Narrabri Dolphins Water Polo Club on Sunday when they host the 2023/24 season deciders at the Narrabri Aquatic Centre.
There will be three games played on the day. The under-14 match between Namoi and Kaputar will get the action underway and it will be followed by the senior competition’s third-place playoff game between Kurrajong and Wilga. The main event will then see senior grand finalists Barwon and Nandewar go head-to-head to be crowned the inaugural champions.
The junior match will get underway at 1pm and the senior grand final is scheduled to start at 2.40pm.
Barwon are the heavy favourites for the senior decider on Sunday after they were crowned undefeated minor premiers last Friday evening.
The 15-round regular season was initially set to end on Sunday, March 3, but those games were moved back to Friday as many players across both the junior and senior competitions were away at NSW Water Polo’s junior country club championships event.
Barwon had entered the Christmas and New Year break on top of the ladder following 11 victories from as many games, and they won all four of their matches after the competition resumed on Sunday, February 11. They knocked off Wilga 21-3 in their first game back, beat Kurrajong 14-4 in round 13, defeated Nandewar 17-8 in round 14 and then got the job done 11-6 against Wilga on Friday night. Those results saw them finish with a maximum 45 competition points and they were the only team to finish with a positive for and against difference after they piled on 214 goals and only conceded 79.
Kurrajong placed second with 29 points following six wins, two draws and seven losses, Nandewar finished third with 23 points following four wins, a draw and 10 losses, and Wilga ended up fourth with 21 points after two wins, three draws and 10 losses.
Sunday’s semi-finals were first v last and second v third contests and it was Barwon and Nandewar that won their way though to the decider.
Barwon scored their 16th straight victory when they downed Wilga 19-5, and Nandewar edged out the higher-ranked Kurrajong 9-8 in a contest that looked set to go down to a shootout.
The junior game on Sunday was won 10-4 by Namoi over Kaputar and they will meet again in the championship match on Sunday.
Narrabri Dolphins Water Polo Club president and Barwon player Dean Clarke told The Courier that he was excited for Sunday’s season finale.
“I’m really pumped for it,” Clarke said.
“They should be three really good games.
“The progress a lot of people have made this season has been great to see and so was how close one of the games was on the weekend. I thought it was going to go down to a penalty shootout.
“It’s been a good season and I have heard a lot of good comments about how much people have enjoyed it.”
Clarke said that both the senior and junior players who travelled to play at the NSW Water Polo country club championships events had all come away from them as better players, which is raising the standard of the games here at home.
The Dolphins will host their 2023/24 season awards presentation event at the Tourist Hotel on Saturday, April 6, where both club and team brilliance will be recognised and a successful season will be farewelled.
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