In what was possibly the most exciting match of 2023, the Orcas won their relegation head-to-head against Kingston, 13-12, thanks to a phenomenal comeback in the last quarter and a late goal with 7s left of the game to play.

Away at Kingston, all odds seemed against the Orcas who, on top of playing in a shallow-end pool, also lost their goalie to injury within the first 3 minutes of the first quarter.

In the unfortunate event, Jeremy bravely swam out of goal to save a counter and got hit in the eye during a collision with the attacker.

Michael thankfully stepped in as goalie for two quarters while Jezza tried to recover – he came back for the last two quarters and finished the game as our defence leader.

Despite that, the Orcas ended the first quarter leading 5-4, thanks to the initial advantage of attacking in the deep end.

The second and third quarter were a real struggle as we hadn’t quite figured out how to attack in the shallow end, and Kingston were on a roll in the deep.

And so, the third quarter finished 8-11 for the home team.

In the last quarter, the Orcas had to recover a big deficit while also attacking the shallow. But in the hardest of times, we see the true quality of a team. The Orcas knuckled down, determined not to leave the pool without another W on the scoresheet.

We pulled together as one, digging deep in defence to drop on pit, block every shot that came our way, and then swimming up the pool for the attack, like real-life orcas after their prey.

One save after the other, one steal after the other, and one goal after another, the Orcas levelled and then took over Kingston and at 0’27” the score stood at 12-11 for us – the home team having scored no goals in the quarter.

At that exact moment, a penalty for the home team is called and the goal that followed balanced the game once more with one attack left in the game.

We set up for the final attack and immediately conquered an extra player – the clock ticks 0’18”.

The ball passes around from Fesey to Joe and then back to Fesey. He moves in dummying and shifting the defence – 0’13” – one more dummy and then Filippos calls for the ball on the left.

A quick pass and an immediate shot to the back of the net catches the defence off guard. The clock says 0’7”, the Orcas are back up, 13-12.

On the re-start, Kingston tries a shot from the mid-field, but Joe blocks it and it’s the end.

We won away, against all odds, like a true team. I could cry.

Love you all xx