Stingers Set For World Cup
Paris silver medallist Abby Andrews chats to HER WAY ahead of the Aussie water polo team’s return to the pool this week in Greece.
Early Wednesday morning the Aussie Stingers water polo team, the reigning Olympic silver medallists, will return to the pool in international competition for the first time since their Paris triumph when the World Cup gets underway in Greece.
Only seven members of that successful team will be in the pool this time around, with some having other playing commitments, such as Tilly Kearns completing her college commitments at USC, while several others have not made themselves available. As with some Olympic sports, the Stingers team is now going through a cycle of regeneration ahead of LA 2028, and the nine new faces will be putting their hands up to become regular members of the team.
One of the Paris medallists who is part of the World Cup team this week is star Abby Andrews. It’s been a hectic few months for Abby, signing a contract to play with Greek side Olympiacos soon after Paris before helping them win the Super Cup trophy. She also flew back to Australia to graduate university, did the customary round of public appearances as an Olympic medalist, and spent Christmas back home before returning back to Olympiacos. HER WAY caught up with Abby as the Stingers were in final preparation mode in Greece, and asked her what those months after Paris were like.
“I think I had a good month and a half at home where I got to experience the change in life from being a medallist and to share my story with a lot more people in schools and media platforms and I really enjoyed it, because water polo was having its moment.”
How did she keep functioning at such a constantly high level at what was the busiest and most overwhelming time of her life?
“So much adrenaline. I think all the highs from the year just kind of had a rollover effect . It was a very interesting time, because it was a big comedown from the Olympics that you kind of experience. There were definitely times where I was like, maybe I should’ve had a longer break instead of diving straight back into it.”
As Olympic silver medallists, the Stingers experienced a surge in popularity not seen for several years. With so many new young players now coming into the national system, how do Abby and the other long term (Abby is a veteran at just 24 years old) members of the squad ensure the most is made of this ‘moment’ ongoing?
“I think now is a really interesting period, because obviously it’s quite a transition into the next Olympic cycle, so we’ve got a lot of new girls starting. And we’re trying to show them our legacy and it’s obviously a great time to do that, because when you’re younger you might not necessarily have followed the Olympics for water polo, so you might not know how successful the water polo history is in Australia. But being able to share it especially now, where we’ve gotten a really good result and we knew we had a lot of people watching, is such a good time to really showcase who we are and what we want to lead and bring in to the next cycle.”
While a lot of media and casual fans place huge importance on the Olympics every four years, events like this week’s World Cup are also of huge significance to the players - a message Abby is passionate about communicating to sports-mad Aussies.
“Obviously a lot of fans just watch the Olympics, so I kind of want to showcase what’s on in between, because we have at least two massive events on every year - we’ve got World Champs, we’ve got World Cup right now. It’s the same teams competing, it’s the same pressure, so I think it’s important for everyone to know that it’s not just the Olympics for us.”
Indeed, the World Cup will feature Olympic champs Spain, powerhouse USA, plus several other teams the Aussies faced, and defeated, in Paris, including the Netherlands, Italy plus hosts Greece. Like the Stingers, they will also field lots of new faces compared to their Olympic squads, meaning there is a sense of unknown about how each team will play.
This World Cup acts as a stepping stone to April’s World Cup Super Finals, with the top six teams across the two groups progressing. It also has implications for the World Championships later this year.
There’s a sense of unfinished business for Abby, who was part of the Stingers team in 2023 who failed to make the Super Finals.
“There’s definitely a huge motivation. We know there’s definitely teams that we can step ahead of, and we really want to make those finals, because every opportunity we have to play international water polo will help us.”
HER WAY asked Abby how this new squad is coming together ahead of their first game against the Dutch, who the Aussies edged out in a shootout in Paris.
“A lot of those girls I’ve never played with before. Seeing them come in with this hunger and determination - everyone’s super motivated. You couldn’t necessarily tell me who the younger players are because they’re all getting in, they’re all taking the shots, willing to be confident and step up, because they all know what they want to contribute to the Stingers legacy.”
The new look to the playing squads right across the two groups make it hard to know which teams will perform best. But one thing is certain - as silver medalists, Abby believes other teams will now be coming after the Aussies, and she’s confident the young squad is up to the challenge to represent the country.
“Obviously that pressure to perform is exciting, but it will be a challenge as well to face, because we don’t know what these new teams look like, how the new rules will be interpreted because they’ve reduced our shot clock time to make the game a bit more exciting.
I hope it will be a really strong showing from us, and I think it will be. We’ll just come out firing and do what we can, but it’s going to be pretty tough.”
WATER POLO WORLD CUP
Aussie Stingers matches (AEDT)
15/1 6:00am v Netherlands
16/1 6:00am v Israel
17/1 6:00am v Italy
18/1- 20/1 Finals & Classification
Matches Streamed on WorldAcquatics.com