The following is a Blog of what is happening in Auckland with the 16 and Under tour. The site will be updated every day with results and any notable activities.

Sunday 5th July: The team departed Brisbane airport this morning arriving in Auckland at approximately 2.00pm NZ time. After organising the cars and losing Duncan on-route to the apartments we finally got checked in to the Bianco off Queen. The players had a swim down at local pools followed by a spit roast in the court yard at the apartment complex.

Monday 6th July: A full day at Sacred Heart Pool for the tour party. First up was our Girl's White team who trained with the NZ U15 team for 1 hr inlcuding a small 30 minute training game. The Boy's Maroon Team were next playing the NZ U15 team in a full game. Unfortunately it was not the start that the team would have wanted losing 7-10 against a sharp NZ outfit. Goal scorers for Queensland were Connor Arnold (2), Stewart Greenbank (2), Oliver Chambers, Harry Morris and Tyler Sinclair (1 each).
Next up were the Girls Maroon Team for training with the NZ U16 team for 1 hour. This training session was then followed by the Boys White team playing against the NZ U16 team. The final score line was 0-9 yet the difference did not reflect the game.

After a lunch break the teams were back at Sacred Heart for the next session of game. First up were the Girl's White team up against the NZ U15 team. In a hard defensive game the final score line was 2-2. Goal scorers for the Qld team were Lydia Moreland and Savannah Forth. The next game were the Qld Boys White team up against the NZ U15 team. The boys matched it for the first half with the much larger and stronger NZ team however faded in the later part of the game going down 5-11. Goal scorers were Lachlan Pettiford (2), William Suess (2) and Steve Yule (1). The Maroon Girls were next in the water against the NZ U16 team, unfortunately things did not go to plan in the first half allowing NZ to get too big of a lead before pulling it back to lose 4-7. Goal scorers were Bridget O'Connor (2), Kiasten Borleis and Maggie Morrison (1 each). The Maroon Boys were the last game of the night up against the NZ U16 team. After a shaky first quarter the boys started to fire and started to play more like what Duncan believed they could. In a very tight game the final score was 9-9. Goal scorers were Connor Arnold (5), Tyler Sinclair (2), Max Goode and Stewart Greenbank (1 each).

Tuesday 7th July: The morning session saw each of the girls teams have a training session against their opposition. The Maroon Boys team were up against the U15 NZ team and looking for a reversal of the performance yesterday morning. In a controlled game built on good press defence the boys came out strong and built a good lead of 10-5 at 3 quarter time. NZ came back strong to close the gap however it was Qld by 10-8 at the final hooter. Goal Scorers were Connor Arnold (5), Nathan Diehm, Oliver Chambers, Max Goode, Tyler Sinclair and James Broadley 1 goal each. The other game in the morning session was the White boys team up against the U16 NZ team. After a 0-9 result yesterday the boys came out strongly and matched it with the much larger and stronger NZ players. At 3 quarter time the Qld team was only down 2-3. Unfortunately they tired in the 4th to eventually go down 2-7. Goal scorers were Jayke Convery and Lachlan Pettiford.

In the evening session it was all NZ. After a 2-2 draw yesterday the Girls White team had no answer for the NZ U15 team losing 0-7. The Boys White Team were beaten 5-12 (Goal scorers - Connor Arnold 2, James Broadley 1, Stewart Greenbank 1, Bryce Woollett 1). The Girls maroon Team were defeated in a very close game 3-5 (Goal scorers Bronte Colenso, Maggie Morrison, Sarah Kramer). The Boys White team were defeated 3-13 against the NZ U15 boys (Goal scorers Lachlan Pettiford, Jordan Sheterline, Caelyn Jones). 

Wednesday 8th July;
Today was the last day of the Test series, the girls had their normal training sessions in the morning while the boys teams played their cross over series. The Maroon team were first up against the U15 NZ team and finally put together 4 quarters of solid water polo. The team came out firing to lead 4-2 at quarter time and were never headed after that they led at every break 5-3 at half time, 8-4 at 3 quarter and finished with a 11-7 win. Goal scorers were Bryce Wollett (4) Connor Arnold (4), Nathan Diehm, Tyler Sinclair and Cameron Wallace (1 each). Unfortunately the White team could not find the back of the net against the U16 NZ team losing 0-13.

The evening session saw the Girls White team first up and needing a win to level the series and they didn't disappoint. In a close match the Qld girls led at each break 1-0, 4-2, 4-3 and finally 5-4. The goal scorers were Savannah Forth (3), Margot Lesson-Smith and Lydia Moreland (1 each). Unfortunately as NZ were the trophy holders they retained the cup with the team tied at 1 win and a draw a piece. The boys White Team were next up against the NZ U15 team and once again they stuck with them for most of the game. NZ pulled away in the second half to come out winner 2-12. The Girls Maroon team's game was unfortunately cut short because of a black out at the pool and the surrounding suburb. As such the game which was just about to go into the 4th quarter was called with NZ leading 8-3. Because of the blackout the Boys Maroon game could not be played and it is now hoped that the teams will play each other again in the U18 tournament starting tomorrow. The boys need to win the game to tie the series to match with a win in the cross over series against the U15 NZ team.

Tomorrow will be the start of the Pelorus Trust U18 Invitational with the team spread between the Sacred Heart Pool and the West Wave Aquatic Centre. This will be a tough series with the majority of their opposition being at least 2-3 years older than our players.

Thursday 9th July:
Today was the start of the U18 tournament, all of the girls games were played at Sacred Heart today, the Girls white team were first up against the NZ U16 team. The girls struggled to contain the NZ team finishing 1-11. The goal scorer was Savannah Forth. The Maroon girls were next to play against the U16 team from California. The girls put it all together leading at every break to finish 16-1 winners. The goal scorers were Kiasten Borleis 3, Sarah Kramer 3, Bronte Colenso 2, Cass Armstrong 2, Casey Lewis 1, Issy Malcolm 2, Maddi Wall 2 and Tara Pitman 1. The Girls white team in their second game played the U18 Claifornian team and narrowly went down 3-4. In the Maroon teams second game they defeated Waitakere 7-3.

The Boys games were played at the West Wave pool, the White team were first up against the Marist team from Auckland. The much younger boys played an outstanding game in both defence and offensive but could not quite match the older players going down 8-12. Goal scorers were Lachlan Pettiford 3, Luke McKenzie 3, Angus Gibson, Jo Conlon and Caelyn Jones (1 each). Unfortunately their second game against the NSW A team was a tough encounter losing 1-15. The goal scorer was Lachlan Pettiford. The Maroon teams first game was against the NSW B team and after a disasterous first quarter final started putting it back together and won the next 3 quarters to finish 11-10 winners. Goal scorers were Connor Arnold 5, Tyler Sinclair 2, Stewart Greenbank, Max Goode and Nathan Diehm (1 each). Their second game was against the home team Waitakere, with 4 players from the opposition able to stand on the bottom of the pool and still have their head above water the Maroons struggled against the opposition. The final score was 8-16, the goal scorers were Tyler Sinclair 3, Connor Arnold, Nathan Diehm, Stewart Greenbank, Harry Morris and Max Goode.

Friday 10th July:
Another big day at the pools in Auckland, The Girls White team had the biggest day playing 3 games. Their first game was against the Marist club from Auckland. The game started out very close with scores locked at 1-1 after the first break, they led 2-1 at the half, tied again at 2-2 in the 3rd but they let Marist pull away in the 4th quarter to lose 2-5 at the final siren. Goal scorers were Kiasten Borleis and Casey Lewis. Their second game was against the NZ development team and they managed to turn things around with an 8-5 win. Their third and final round game was against the NSW Waratahs, they led at each break 3-2, 5-4, 7-4 and finished winners at 9-6. This placed the Maroon team in second place in their pool and now play the first placed team from the other pool for a place in the grand final.

The Girls White team unfortunately had 2 losses today but played exceptionally well in both games. Their first game was against the NSW Blues team (A team) in the morning at Sacred Heart pool, the girls held their own to finish only 4-8 down. The goal scorers were Savannah Forth 2, Ainsley Masek and Claudia Waller. Their second game was against the older North Harbour team and and in an exciting game were pipped by the final siren to lose 3-4, goal scorers were Savannah Forth, Emma Swete Kelly and Lydia Moreland.

The Boys Maroon Team played the fancied North Harbour team in the morning game and were defeated 8-17. Their second game was against the U15 NZ team and things seemed to be on track for another win against the NZ team after a 3-0 first quarter. Unfortunately the next 3 quarters allowed NZ to creep back to finally be defeated 8-9. Goal scorers were Connor Arnold 3, Cameron Wallace 2, Max Goode 1, Oliver Chambers 1 and Tyler Sinclair 1.

The Boys White team played the U16 NZ team in the morning, in previous games the Qld team had not been able to score against their larger and older opponents however this time they came out firing and with more work in offensive to finally go down 7-10. Goal scorers were Lachland Pettiford 4, Alex Milliken 1 and Luke McKenzie 2. The same score line was the final result against the second opponents the NSW Waratahs. The goal scorers were Luke McKenzie 2, Jo Conlon 2, Angus Gibson, James Pettifer, Caelyn Jones and William Suess 1 each. Tomorrow the White team will play the Maroon team in their cross over game in the morning game.

Tomorrow is the final day of competition for all of the teams.

Saturday 11th July:
Today is the last day of the competition, the first to to play today was the Girls white team at Sacred Heart up against the U16 Californian team (Central Coast), the girls started slowly and were down 0-2 at the first break. The the girls got their defence right and started to slowly claw their way back to only be down 1-2 at the half and then draw even at 2-2 at 3 quarter time. The 4th quarter was all Queensland to finish 5-2 victors at the final siren. The goal scorers were Margot Leeson-Smith 2, Savannah Forth, Meg Waller and Lydia Moreland all scoring as well. The white girls next game was against the NSW Waratahs team and finished a very credible 3-5 down (NSW last goal was scored on the final siren). The goal scorers were Meg Waller. The girls played a 3rd game against the Californian U18's team and were 2-2 at 3 quarter time but let in 4 unanswered goals in the forth quarter to finish 2-6. Claudia Waller and Beth Hamilton were the goal scorers.

The Maroon Girls team first game was the semi final and they played the NSW Blues team (NSW A). the scores were locked through the first 3 quarters 2-2, 3-3, 5-5 but could not stop them in the 4th quarter to lose 5-7. The goal scorers were Bronte Colenso 2, Kiasten Borleis 2 and Tara Pitman 1. This meant that they played the NZ Youth team in the Bronze medal game, unfortunately there was no medal to be had at the end of the game losing 6-12 after only trailing 5-7 at half time. The goal scorers were Bronte Colenso 3, Maggie Morrison 2 and Sarah Kramer 1.

The Boys White team and the Boys maroon team played each other in their first game of the day and it was all maroon in the first quarter taking a 5-0 lead by 1st quarter. The maroon team extended the lead to 8-2 at the half and then 13-5 at 3 quarter time before a final score line of 16-6. Goal scorers for the Maroon team were, Connor Arnold 4, Bryce Woollett 2, Max Goode 2, James Broadley 2, Stewart Greenbank, Nathan Diehm, Cameron Wallace, Harry Morris, Jayden Lee-Williams and Tyler Siinclair. The goal scorers for the white team were Lachlan Pettiford 4, Jayke Convery 1 and Jordan Sheterline 1.

The White teams second game was against the NZ U15 team and unfortunately the boys could not keep track of them losing 4-11. The goal scorers were Jayke Convery, Alex Milliken, Caelyn Jones and Lachlan Pettiford.

The maroon teams second game was against the NSW Blues team (A Team) in a very close match the boys eventually went down 7-8 after being tied at 5-5 at the end of the 3rd quarter. The goal scorers were Stewart Greenbank 2, Connor Arnold, Nathan Diehm, Bryce Woollett and Max Goode.

The teams attended the final trophy presentations for both tournaments at the West Wave Aquatic Centre where Bronte Colenso was presented with a player of the tournament award for the Under 18 tournament. After the awards the teams all had dinner at the Valentines restuarant before heading back to the apartments to get ready for leaving tomorrow.

In closing it has been a long hard week for all of the players and I believe have learned a lot and developed as water polo players.

Peter Marriott - tour leader