| Nickname(s) | Sharks |
|---|---|
| Association | Australian Water Polo |
| Confederation | OSA (Oceania) |
| Head coach | John Fox |
| Captain | Thomas Whalan |
| FINA code | AUS |
| Olympic Games | |
| Appearances | 13 (First in 1948) |
| Best result | 5th place, 1984, 1992 |
| World Championships | |
| Appearances | 12 (First in 1973) |
| Best result | 4th place, 1998 |
| World League | |
| Appearances | 6 (First in 2003) |
| Best result | 3rd place, 2007, 2008 |
| World Cup | |
| Appearances | 6 (First in 1981) |
| Best result | 3rd place, 1993 |
The Australian national water polo team represents Australia in men's international water polo competitions and is controlled by Australian Water Polo Inc. The national men's team has the nickname of "The Sharks". It is currently organised into the Asia/Oceania regional group. The national team is currently sponsored by Qantas airlines, Turbo Water polo and Mikasa.
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Australia has competed internationally since the 1948 London Olympic Games, and has qualified for all subsequent Olympic tournaments except Atlanta in 1996, and although not achieving the success of European teams, has remained relatively competitive at international level since.
Australia did not achieve their first point in Olympic competition until they drew with Bulgaria in the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich.
The Australian team managed 5th place in both the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, and the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, the highest Olympic placing so far, and managed to finish 4th in the World Championships at home in Perth in 1998.
Australia's best international water polo success came in 1996, when the Sharks won the prestigious six nation Control Cup in Hungary, and followed it up with a bronze medal at an eight nation tournament in Italy in the same year. However, the early success of 1996 was soured when they failed to qualify for the Olympics for the first time.
The late 1990s was a period of poor form and little success for The Sharks. A reinvigorated youthful team managed to finish second to Canada in an international tournament in England in 2002, and in 2003, they beat then world Champions Serbia 12-11 in a FINA Water Polo World League match in Hungary, and followed it up by beating Croatia 10-6 at the 2003 Water polo world championship in Barcelona, Spain.
Following the 2007 FINA World Championships John Fox took over as Head coach.
| Year | Games | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1948 | 1948 Summer Olympics, London, United Kingdom | Eliminated in first round (lost 0-9 v Italy, lost 3-12 v Yugoslavia). |
| 1952 | 1952 Summer Olympics, Helsinki, Finland | Eliminated in first round (lost 2-10 v Yugoslavia, lost 0-6 v Austria). |
| 1956 | 1956 Summer Olympics, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | 9th (lost first-round matches 2-4 v Romania, lost 1-9 v Yugoslavia, lost 0-3 v USSR, won 3-2 v Singapore, lost 2-5 v Great Britain; lost 2-4 v Romania in losers' round). |
| 1960 | 1960 Summer Olympics, Rome, Italy | Eliminated in first round (lost 2-6 v Yugoslavia, lost 3-5 v Holland, lost 2-3 v South Africa). |
| 1964 | 1964 Summer Olympics, Tokyo, Japan | Eliminated in first round (lost 0-6 v USSR, lost 1-3 v Germany). |
| 1968 | 1968 Summer Olympics, Mexico City, Mexico | Qualified but did not play. |
| 1972 | 1972 Summer Olympics, Munich, West Germany (now Munich, Germany) | 12th (drew 7-7 v Greece, drew 4-4 v Bulgaria, lost 2-10 v Hungary, lost 3-6 v West Germany, lost 4-8 v Spain, lost 2-4 v Holland, lost 5-6 v Cuba, lost 3-5 v Romania). |
| 1976 | 1976 Summer Olympics, Montréal, Quebec, Canada | 11th (won 8-2 v Iran, drew 4-4 v Mexico, lost 6-7 v Hungary, lost 3-4 v West Germany, lost 5-6 v Canada, lost 3-4 v Canada, lost 5-8 v Cuba, lost 2-7 v USSR). |
| 1980 | 1980 Summer Olympics, Moscow, Soviet Union (now Moscow, Russia) | 7th (won v Bulgaria 9-5, won v Bulgaria 8-5, won v Greece 4-2, won v Sweden 9-4, won v Italy 5-4, drew v Romania 4-4, lost v Cuba 4-6, lost v Yugoslavia 2-9). |
| 1984 | 1984 Summer Olympics, Los Angeles, California, United States | 5th |
| 1988 | 1988 Summer Olympics, Seoul, South Korea | 8th (lost 11-13 v West Germany, lost 4-11 v USSR, lost 5-7 v Italy, won 7-6 v France, won 13-2 v South Korea, won 8-7 v Spain, lost 5-12 v Hungary). |
| 1992 | 1992 Summer Olympics, Barcelona, Spain | 5th |
| 1996 | 1996 Summer Olympics, Atlanta, Georgia, United States | Did Not Qualify |
| 2000 | 2000 Summer Olympics, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia | 8th (lost 4-6 v Russia, drew 11-11 v Kazakhstan, won 11-6 v Slovakia, lost 5-6 v Italy, drew 7-7 v Spain, lost 3-7 v Yugoslavia, lost 4-8 v Italy, lost 8-10 v Croatia). |
| 2004 | 2004 Summer Olympics, Athens, Greece | 9th (won 14-3 v Egypt, lost 8-4 v Italy, lost 8-4 Spain, lost 10-9 Greece, drew Germany 6-6, won 10-5 Kazakhstan, lost 6-5 v USA, beat Croatia 8-7). |
| 2008 | 2008 Summer Olympics, Beijing, China | |
| 2012 | 2012 Summer Olympics, London, United Kingdom | |
| 2016 | 2016 Summer Olympics, undetermined |
| Name | State | Stats | Position | Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DoB | Height | Weight | ||||
| Luke Quinlivan | Western Australia | 20 August 1985 | 192 cm | 100 kg | Goalkeeper | UWA Torpedoes |
| James Stanton | Western Australia | 21 July 1983 | 200 cm | 94 kg | Goalkeeper | Fremantle Mariners/ Pamplona, Spain |
| Jamie Beadsworth | Western Australia | 11 June 1985 | 193 cm | 108 kg | Centre Back/Centre Forward | Fremantle Mariners |
| Sam McGregor | New South Wales | 12 August 1984 | 192 cm | 104 kg | Centre Back | University of Sydney/ Ondoretta, Spain |
| Robert Maitland | Queensland | 4 September 1983 | 190 cm | 98 kg | Centre Back | University of Sydney/ Mediterani, Spain |
| Tim Neesham | Western Australia | 20 October 1979 | 184 cm | 86 kg | Left Hand Catch | Fremantle Mariners |
| Nick O'Halloran | Western Australia | 14 August 1987 | 188 cm | 92 kg | Left Hand Catch | Fremantle Mariners/ Mataro, Spain |
| Pietro Figlioli | Queensland | 29 May 1984 | 190 cm | 93 kg | Driver/Shooter | Pro Recco, Italy |
| Trent Franklin | New South Wales | 12 February 1979 | 184 cm | 85 cm | Driver/Shooter | University of Sydney |
| Thomas Whalan | New South Wales | 13 October 1980 | 194 cm | 90 kg | Outside Shooter/Centre Back | University of Sydney/ Savonna, Italy |
| Ryan Moody | Victoria | 20 October 1977 | 197 cm | 110 kg | Centre Forward/Left Wing | Melbourne Collegians |
| Anthony Martin | Queensland | 22 March 1985 | 192 cm | 94 kg | Utility | KFC Queensland Breakers |
| Grant Richardson | South Australia | 27 April 1981 | 180 cm | 76 kg | Utility | Adelaide Vikings |
| John Cotterill | New South Wales | 27 October 1987 | 191 cm | 87 kg | Utility | Wests Magpies/ Sant Andreu, Spain |
Correct as of 3 December 2007.
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