Australia men's national water polo team
The Australian national water polo team represents Australia in men's international water polo competitions and is controlled by Water Polo Australia. The national men's team has the nickname of "The Sharks". It is organised into the Asia/Oceania regional group.History
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.
In 1968, the team qualified to compete at the Mexico Olympic Games, but was denied entry by the Australian Olympic Federation.
Australia scored their first point in Olympic competition when they drew with Bulgaria in the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich.
The Australian team placed 5th in the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, and in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, the highest Olympic placing so far, and finished 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 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, they failed to qualify for that year's Olympics for the first time since 1948.
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.Tournament history
A red box around the year indicates tournaments played within AustraliaOlympic Games">Water polo at the Summer Olympics">Olympic Games
- 1973 – 14th place
- 1975 – 11th place
- 1978 – 9th place
- 1982 – 11th place
- 1986 – 10th place
- 1991 – 8th place
- 1994 – 10th place
- 1998 – 4th place
- 2001 – 10th place
- 2003 – 7th place
- 2005 – 10th place
- 2007 – 10th place
- 2009 – 10th place
- 2011 – 9th place
- 2013 – 8th place
- 2015 – 8th place
- 2017 – 7th place
- 2019 – 6th place
- 1981 – 7th place
- 1985 – 7th place
- 1989 – 7th place
- 1991 – 7th place
- 1993 – Bronze medal
- 1999 – 8th place
- 2010 – 6th place
- 2014 – 5th place
- 2018 – Silver medal
World League">FINA Water Polo World League">World League
- 2002 – Did not participate
- 2003 – 7th place
- 2004 – 7th place
- 2005 – 11th place
- 2006 – 4th place
- 2007 – Bronze medal
- 2008 – Bronze medal
- 2009 – 6th place
- 2010 – 4th place
- 2011 – 6th place
- 2012 – 7th place
- 2013 – Did not participate
- 2014 – 4th place
- 2015 – 5th place
- 2016 – 5th place
- 2017 – 7th place
- 2018 – 6th place
- 2019 – Bronze medal
Commonwealth Championship">Commonwealth Water Polo Championships">Commonwealth Championship
- 2002 – Silver medal
- 2006 – Gold medal
- 2014 – Did not participate
Team
Current squad
Roster for the 2019 World Championships.
Head coach: Elvis Fatović
| № | Name | Pos. | Height | Weight | L/R | Date of birth | Club |
| 1 | Joel Dennerley | GK | | | R | |  UNSW Wests Magpies |
| 2 | Richard Campbell | FP | | | | | |
| 3 | George Ford | CB | | | R | | UWA Torpedoes |
| 4 | Joe Kayes | CF | | | R | | ACU Cronulla Sharks |
| 5 | Nathan Power | CB | | | R | | UNSW Wests Magpies |
| 6 | Lachlan Edwards | CF | | | R | |  USC Trojans |
| 7 | Aidan Roach | FP | | | R | | Drummoyne Devils |
| 8 | Aaron Younger | CB | | | R | | Fremantle Mariners |
| 9 | Andrew Ford | FP | | | R | | UWA Torpedoes |
| 10 | Timothy Putt | FP | | | R | | |
| 11 | Rhys Howden | FP | | | R | | Brisbane Barracudas |
| 12 | Blake Edwards | FP | | | R | | USC Trojans |
| 13 | Anthony Hrysanthos | GK | | | R | | Sydney University Lions |
Notable players
