The Hurricanes men's team have targeted their clash with Queensland Thunder in Newcastle Harbour on Saturday as a must-win if they are to challenge for the Australian Water Polo League finals this year.
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The Hurricanes were soundly beaten twice by the powerful Drummoyne away last weekend to start their season and they face the Thunder on Saturday (2.30pm) at Queens Wharf then at Lambton Pool (11am) on Sunday.
Queensland started with a win and a loss against Cronulla before a defeat to Balmain, who they were playing again on Friday night.
Hurricanes coach Dan Marsden said the home games, especially the harbour clash, were winnable matches for Hunter.
"This is definitely a game we targeted," Marsden said.
"If we are serious about making finals, we've got to win these games."
Like Hunter, Queensland have a mostly young line-up.
Marsden also expects star Queensland player Rhys Howden to miss the matches because of a broken finger sustained in training games for Australia against the US.
"I'm assuming Rhys is out but Billy Miller is their other marquee player," he said.
"He was a London Olympian and is obviously still a very good player, so he'll be their main threat. They have a pretty young team.
"We don't have the experience of Billy in the water, but the experience of our juniors, as far as junior players are concerned, is quite high, so we rate ourselves a good chance."
He believed Hunter would have an edge in the harbour.
"We're lucky. We get to play a couple of harbour games every year," he said.
"The teams we come up against, they may have only experienced venues like Gunnamatta Bay and Dawn Fraser Baths, which aren't open to the elements like this is, so it is an advantage for us.
"Our guys aren't scared of the sharks and we'll make sure the opposition are aware that the sharks breed out there on the point.
"The atmosphere is fantastic. The surrounds are packed and it's one of the few venues where there's a pub right there on the doorstep, so generally the crowds are even more vocal. We love playing there."
Hunter centre-back Jake Robinson will miss Saturday's match with work training commitments.
The Hunter women's side face a tougher task against the defending champions at 1pm. They take on Thunder again on Sunday at Lambton Pool from 12.30pm.
Thunder defeated Cronulla twice in their season opener and made it three in a row against Balmain, while Hunter went down by 14 and 13 goals to Drummoyne.
"Andrew Dunford will have to step in a defensive role, more so than an attacking role that he usually plays," he said. "It also opens the door for one of our young guys, Brady Holmes, to make his debut."
