The water polo community in the Southern Highlands and through out Australia were saddened at the announcement of the passing of Raymond Leslie Smee OAM, OLY, JP.
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Ray the long serving patron of Southern Highlands Water Polo Club, passed away peacefully on Thursday 14 November 2019, aged 89.
Ray was a dual Olympian, having represented Australia at the Helsinki and Melbourne Olympics. Ray moved to the Southern Highlands at the age of 65 and played with the Polar Bears team until into his seventies, no mean effort in a game like water polo.
He coached and refereed and sponsored young players. He made friends and gained the respect of all who knew him. He will be sadly missed.
The water polo provided some entertaining and enjoyable games on Monday evening.
In A Grade Sharks 7 drew with Dolphins 7, with Daniel Barnes scoring 6 of Dolphin's 7 goals.
The Sharks haven't lost a game this season thus far and were pressed to the limit to avoid the jaws of defeat after Dolphins turned in a great effort in a drawn the match. Sharks were in control in the first quarter with two goals to the Dolphins one.
Ian Feary scored one and Stephen Maitz, scored his first of three goals.
Dolphin's goal came from Daniel Barnes, his first of an amazing six for the match. The second quarter was a shock for the Sharks, with the Dolphins posting three goals, to Sharks two and locked up the halftime score at 4-4.
In an exciting second half the Dolphins went two goals ahead early in the third period, Steve Dunn chiming in as the Doplhins other scorer, besides Barnes, before Sharks showed determination to level up the scores with two of their own at the end of the third period.
Dolphins again hit the lead early in the last quarter and their defence was holding strong before the exclusion of a Dolphins player gave the Sharks the opportunity they had been seeking.
With the extra player, Stephen Maitz rammed home the goal to tie up the match. The final two minutes were intense with both teams having opportunities but good goal keeping kept the scores locked up until the final whistle.
Polar Bears 9 defeated Horton's Heroes 6, in their first win of the season.
The first quarter finished even at 2-2 after the teams exchanged goal for goal.
Alex Ta-me scored both of the Horton's Heroes goals while Dominic Ulana and Lauren Balla, her first of four goals scored for the Polar Bears.
Polar Bears were powerful in the second quarter out scoring Horton's Heroes 4-1 to set up a 6-3 halftime lead. Horton's Heroes were certainly not feeling frozen out of the match, as they rallied to take the third period 3-1 and come right back into the game with a 7-6 score line.
Polar Bears weren't about to let the game get out of their clutches, their defence stepped up to keep Horton's Heroes scoreless for the quarter. Alan Balla, the Polar Bears goal keeper pulled off a couple of great saves that were turned into goals with the quick turn around of possession, resulting in the final two Bear's goals.
Polar Bears passing was impressive with young recruits Jack Hatcher, Dominic Uliana, Lauren Balla and Hamish Tregenza providing a real boost for the team.
In B Grade Horton's Heroes 7 defeated Dolphins 3 in a dominant display.
They didn't ever look to be under pressure despite a spirited effort from the Dolphins, especially in defence.
Horton's Heroes scored a goal in each of the first two quarters to Dolphins one, to lead 2-1 at halftime. Horton's Heroes two unanswered goals in the third period really gave Horton's the match, as they scored through Mathew Colgan and Gisele Townsend to lead 4-1 going into the final quarter.
They kept up the pressure with Mathew Colgan scoring another two goals, while Craig Ford added the final goal for Horton's Heroes.
Dolphins added another two through Steve Dunn and Oliver Bell-Mackie for the final 7-3 score line.
Polar Bears 8 drew with Smugglers 8 in a match where Smugglers snatched a draw with less than 10 seconds remaining.
The Polar Bears took an early lead in the match 2-1 at the end of the first quarter.
Jack Hatcher scoring his first of four goals, along with Karl Nurse with his first of two for the Bears and Lachlan Ismay scoring for Smugglers.
The Polar Bears managed to keep the lead 4-3 at halftime with both teams going goal for goal, 2-2 in the second quarter.
The Smugglers brought out their best in the third period to outscore Polar Bears 4-1 and take a 7-5 lead.
The Bears came out of hibernation to post the next three goals, the final one with only 25 seconds of the match remaining to take an 8-7 lead.
The Smugglers kept pulling out the attacking moves and were rewarded with a goal to Charlie Grainger with seconds remaining. The draw was a fair result for the match.
Oxley Gold 10 defeated an under strength Oxley Blue 3.
Oxley Blue found themselves down to the basic seven players with school commitments taking away several players.
Oxley Gold kept up the pressure through out the game keeping up a steady scoring rate.
Oxley Gold were impressive, as they are developing a cohesive combination.
Oxley Blue did well to score three goals and provide a good defensive effort but Oxley Gold was too strong on the day.