Callum Malcolm
22-23 Season Review:
MWP had a great season last year and we’re looking to kick on this year and build on that success.
The M1 team finished 2nd in BUCS Tier 1, missing out on the top spot to Loughborough by one match and made the Finals of the BUCS National Trophy Competition. At Varsity we played an O*ford team who had just won Prem South, the division above, and ripped them a new one by a score of 23-15, cracking the 20-goal threshold for only the 5th time in competition history.
Stand out performers from last year include Ronan “The Moose” Kirby, who finished the season with an outstanding 80 goals. Dan Gilbey, the resident team sharpshooter whose highlights include ripping a self-described “wonder goal” from half pool at the buzzer to help secure a crucial draw against Loughborough. Alastair Horn, team fixer and all-around defensive all-star. All three have unfortunately moved on, but our last standout performer is the ever-steady goalkeeper Andrew te Water Naude who remains between the sticks this season.
M2s also had a relatively successful season, beating O*ford 3 times last year. Stand out performers include goalkeeper Alex Humphries, up and comer Cai Evans, and long-time club servants Henry Stuart-Turner and Arka Banerjee who have both moved on.
23-24 Season Preview:
M1 is looking forward to a strong a season once again with most players returning from last year. The team mantra this season is “we don’t rebuild, we reload” as we’ve gotten significant minutes from 3 freshers to help cover losses from last season and big game contributions from M2 players last year who have stepped up and progressed.
Early season results are strong, we confidently dispatched Notts 2s at home and came away with a tough fought draw at Loughborough in which we thoroughly dominated for significant portions of the match. Despite ending in a draw, I’ve been told by resident club historian Andrew that it’s quote “the best result we’ve ever had away at Loughborough” which sets us up nicely in the table (Promotion Season anyone?). Additionally, we’re looking at challenging again for the BUCS National Trophy, first round is the 25th when we take on Exeter at home.
Some players to look out for are Jurgis Reinotas, last years captain who’s coming into his MJ year (the Last Dance) and looking to capitalise. Zach “Gabriel Martinelli” Lyttle who appears to be under the impression that if you say “Full Blue” often enough you’ll get one but has started the season quite strong, and Joe Gebers who despite never uttering the words is actually likely to get one off the back of his pit performances on both offence and defence.
M2s had a lot of turnover this year and a large number of the squad are water polo novices. The team is making quick strides however and we hope after a few more training sessions and a full camp in Amsterdam they’ll be fit and firing. Big time performer so far is Peter Suman who’s been an utter revelation in goal.
We’re focused and excited for the rest of the season and expect it to be a successful one for the 2nd year running.