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| 30 Mar 2023 | |
| SPOC Sport |
| Water Polo |
On Friday 17 March the senior SPOC Men’s and Women’s teams played against the first team in the P. Hadfield and L. Spry Cup respectively. These games honour the massive contributions of their namesakes to water polo at St Peter’s College and St Peter’s Girls School, while fostering the relationship between the schools and SPOC.
The Lynn Spry cup game was the first of the night, and was a close match between even teams. The SPOC Women had a one goal lead heading into the last quarter, but with a big effort from Saints Girls, the game was tied at the final siren. Going into penalties, Saints Girls was able to come out on top 3-1, ending the shoots early after 3 misses from SPOC Women.
Following this, the Paul Hadfield Cup was set to be another closely matched game. This year was a special game for the Maddern family, with Oliver Maddern at Saints facing off against two of his uncles, Nic and Julien Maddern at SPOC. This game showcased the different styles at play in the pool, with SPOC Men making use of their experience and game knowledge, while the Saint’s boys utilised their superior fitness and teamwork. The SPOC Men looked dominant in the pool, but failed to convert their opportunities against solid defence, while the Saints boys were fast and lethal on counterattack opportunities. Again, the game closed out regular time with a tie after SPOC Men managed to hold strong and defend against a double extra man attack from the boys. Penalties went to five shots, with the SPOC Men coming out on top 4 - 3.
This was the third year for the Paul Hadfield cup, and second for the Lynn Spry, with a cumulative score of 2 - 1 to SPOC Men, and 2 - 0 for Saints Girls School. SPOC would like to wish both schools good luck in their upcoming Intercol games.
SPOC Water Polo would also like to congratulate and wish good luck to Paul Hadfield, who is retiring after 40 years of service to both St Peter’s College and the water polo program. Many of the boys currently playing at SPOC have fond memories of their time playing under him at school, and his contribution to water polo at St Peter’s cannot be overstated.
Jack Duggan (FLL 2018)
SPOC Water Polo