MEREWETHER'S Richie Campbell finished his fourth and final Olympic campaign on a high, scoring two goals as Australia claimed a last-round win.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
With both nations already out of medal contention, the Sharks beat Kazakhstan 15-7 at Tatsumi Water Polo Centre on Monday night.
Australia, also featuring New Lambton's Nathan Power, were up 7-1 at half-time.
Campbell netted in the first and third quarters, giving him a career-best nine goals for this campaign.
The 33-year-old now has 28 goals to his name from appearances in Beijing (2008), London (2012), Rio (2016) and Tokyo (2021).
The Sharks were ranked ninth overall and fell short of qualifying for this week's quarter-finals.
Australia finished fifth in group B, dropping below Montenegro on goal difference despite having the same competition points from a 2-3 record.
The Sharks were defeated by Montenegro 15-10 in the opening fixture, but rebounded to upset Croatia 11-8. They had back-to-back losses against Serbia (14-8) and Spain (16-5).
"We've got a group that's been together for a long time, with plenty of experience," goalkeeper Joel Dennerley told AOC media.
"We know our preparation was quite strong, in terms of our conditioning, philosophy and tactics.
"The lack of match experience we've had in the last couple of years probably caught up with us a little bit. But that doesn't take away from the belief that we could do something special here."
Australian coach Elvis Fatkovic has now ended his time at the helm.
IN THE NEWS:
- Greater Bank, Newcastle Perm unveil merger plan to be 'financial powerhouse'
- The Newcastle suburbs where death rates triple national average
- EDITORIAL: Blame game misses point of Hunter's fury at Pfizer shift
- Put vaccine cancellation chaos right at Belmont hub: Catley
- 199 new COVID cases in NSW
- 'Launching a business during global pandemic isn't what I envisaged'
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark: newcastleherald.com.au
- Download our app
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Google News