North East take ASA Boys' U18 Inter Regionals 2016 title

North East Steelers lifted the ASA Water Polo Boys’ U18 Inter Regionals 2016 trophy after victory in Division One at the Woodside Leisure Centre, Watford.

The Steelers were the only undefeated team across both days of the Boys’ U18 Inter Regionals 2016 weekend and secured the top spot after a 10-6 victory over London.

Steelers player John Pratt shone the brightest against London, scoring six of the team’s goals including the final one in the last few minutes.

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  Two players battle in the water
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  The Division 2, Welsh team collect their winners trophy
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  NE Winners - Pre match

  The North East – pre-match
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  Division 1 winners – North East Steelers
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  Divison 1 runners up – South West
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  Michael Murphy, Ireland retrieves his trophy for Top Goalscorer
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  Shane O’Brien – Ireland, retrieves his trophy for Top Goalkeeper
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  Nick Armitage-Bond, South West retrieves his trophy for Most Valuable Player
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  Connor Carpenter – North East Steelers retrieves his trophy for Most Valuable Player
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North East Water Polo Team Manager John Stephenson said: “Going in to the tournament our main objective was to remain in Division One for next year’s tournament.

“But it was clear from the start that the team were determined to pick up the trophy and they didn’t disappoint.

“They are a fantastic group of players who are totally committed to water polo and are a credit to all their coaches and clubs.”

South West took silver, while North West Tigers were third.

Statistics

• Top Goalscorer – Michael Murphy (Ireland)
• Top Goalkeeper – Shane O’Brien (Ireland)

Team MVPs

• North East Steelers – Connor Carpenter
• South West – Nick Armitage-Bond
• North West Tigers – Andrew Mattison
• London Sharks – Aril Pandya
• Ireland – Shane O’Brien

Wales were triumphant at the Manchester Aquatics Centre as they took home the ASA Water Polo Boys’ U18 Inter Regionals 2016 Division Two title and secured promotion into the first division for 2017.

The Welsh side started with early victories over North East Reivers (13-2) and North West Ravens (25-1) before ending day one with a 5-5 draw with the Midlands.

Day two saw a refreshed Welsh team dominate their opening match against the South East (11-1) before securing their promotion with a 6-2 win over the side from the East Region.

John Evans, Welsh head coach, said: “The whole team really stood out this weekend. They worked really well together and this result is credit to their strong performances throughout the tournament.”

Team MVPs

• South East – Ben Curtis
• East – Jack Warman
• Midlands – Matt Madden
• North West Ravens – Jack Phillips
• North East Reivers – Richard Murray
• Wales – Stefan Geary

Photo credit: Trevor Hyde