Narrabri Dolphins Water Polo Club’s 2024/25 season began at the Narrabri Aquatic Centre on Sunday, with six teams taking the pool.
This season is the club’s second and follows a successful debut campaign in season 2023/24.
There are four senior teams and two junior teams once again this season, and all of those teams have had a new sponsor come on board.
The two junior teams are Kaputar – Specialised Civil Services and Namoi – Swansons Industries, and the four senior teams are defending champs Barwon – JA Smith Solutions, Wilga – Damien Chiplin Plumbing, Kurrajong – Carla Baxter Real Estate and Nandewar – Inland Freight.
The first two weeks of the season are grading games for the two junior sides but Sunday saw the senior teams line up for their round one games.
Barwon continued where they left off following an undefeated season in 2023/24 as they downed Kurrajong 12-7 after Wilga had beaten Nandewar
13-5.
Wilga went into the quarter-time break ahead 4-2 after Stewart Todd had bagged a double and his teammates Karla Carruthers and Tammy Bushby had scored a goal each.
Lachy Dunn and Brooke Wright hit the back of the net once each for the Nandewar side, and Dunn scored two more in the second quarter while Paul and Tammy Bushby netted once each for Wilga as they entered half-time with a 6-4 lead.
Wilga then kept Nandewar scoreless in the third term while piling on four more goals as Carruthers scored two more goals and the Bushbys added one more each to make the score 10-4 at the break.
Carruthers, Todd and Paul Bushby then scored a goal each in the fourth and final quarter while their side held Nandewar to one goal, which was scored by Dunn, as Wilga prevailed 13-5.
Last season’s top goal-scorer Dean Clarke dominated in the second game of the day as the Barwon captain netted nine of his side’ 12 goals.
He scored all three of their goals in the first quarter, two in the third and all four in the fourth, while Melanie Clarke scored a goal in the second and third quarters and Luke Lowick netted in the third.
The Barwon side led 3-1 at the first break, 4-2 at half-time, 8-3 at three-quarter-time, and the sides scored four goals each in the fourth quarter as Barwon prevailed 12-7.
Nick Brennan scored four goals for Kurrajong and his teammates Daniel Smith, Matlida Wallington and Lily Carter netted one goal each.
Dolphins president Dean Clarke told The Courier that everyone was pleased that water polo season has returned.
“Comparing the first week this year to the first day last year, it was a huge improvement,” Clarke said.
“The teams were all setting up a rudimentary mushroom, which can often take five years to perfect. They have obviously remembered from last season and they are now just naturally doing it. There wasn’t much talking from the side, they just sort of knew where they needed to be which was good to see.
“It’s going to help with the new people coming in too. It’s a lot easier to get people up to scratch when the bulk of the team knows what to do.”
The regular season is 15 rounds long and will wrap up in March next year. It will be followed by a finals series, which is expected to run across two weekends, but that has not yet been confirmed.
The season will also break for the Christmas and New Year period, with the last games in 2024 to be played on Sunday, September 22, and the first games in 2025 scheduled for Sunday, January 19.
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