Australia men's national water polo team

Australia
FINA code	AUS
Nickname(s)	Aussie Sharks
Association	Water Polo Australia
Confederation	OSA (Oceania)
Head coach	Timothy Hamill
Asst coach	Vedran Ćirković; Andrew Yanitsas
Captain	Nathan Power
FINA ranking (since 2008)
Current	11 (as of 9 August 2021)
Highest	7 (2012)
Lowest	11 (2016, 2021)
Olympic Games (team statistics)
Appearances	18 (first in 1948)
Best result	5th place (1984, 1992)
World Championship
Appearances	21 (first in 1973)
Best result	4th place (1998)
World Cup
Appearances	9 (first in 1981)
Best result	(2018)
World League
Appearances	17 (first in 2003)
Best result	(2007, 2008, 2019)
Commonwealth Championship
Appearances	2 (first in 2002)
Best result	(2006)
Media
Website	waterpoloaustralia.com.au

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.^[2]

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.

Australia finished 2nd at the 2018 World Cup in Berlin, Germany.^[1]

At the 2020 Summer Olympics, Australia surprisingly beat former champion Croatia. Yet, the Australians were not to able progress through to the quarter finals, but still managed to clinch two wins out of their five games.^[1]

Tournament history

A red box around the year indicates tournaments played within Australia

Olympic Games

Olympic Games record
Year^[3]	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L
1900	did not participate
1904
1908
1912
1920
1924
1928
1932
1936
1948	Group stages	17th	2	0	0	2
1952	Group stages	17th	2	0	0	2
1956	Group stages	9th	6	1	0	5
1960	Group stages	15th	3	0	0	3
1964	Group stages	12th	2	0	0	2
1968	qualified but did not compete
1972	Group stages	12th	9	0	2	7
1976	Group stages	11th	8	1	1	6
1980	Group stages	7th	8	5	1	2
1984	Final Group stages	5th	8	2	2	4
1988	Group stages	8th	8	3	0	5
1992	Group stages	5th	8	4	2	2
1996	did not qualify
2000	Group stages	8th	8	1	2	5
2004	Group stages	9th	8	3	1	4
2008	Group stages	8th	7	3	1	3
2012	Quarter-finals	7th	8	3	0	5
2016	Group stage	9th	5	2	1	2
2020	Group stage	9th	5	2	0	3
2024	Quarterfinals	8th	8	3	1	4
Total	0 Titles	18/28	113	33	14	66