Rod Owen-Jones
I joined the club as a junior when I was at St Peter’s College, at this time our men’s players were recruited mainly from St Michael’s College and St Peter’s College. My water polo was improving and I was selected in State junior teams and then on to Australian junior teams. I joined the AIS in the mid 1990’s and made my first Australian Senior team in 1993.
I remember fondly the enthusiasm of the H&G coaches (Allan Dowling) and senior players (Gerry Ryan, Paul Hadfield, Garry Goodwin and Lynn Martin to name a few) when assisting junior players and the enjoyment of the game they instilled in us. My greatest memories of water polo are those junior days when the pressure of tournaments and rigour of training was not yet part of my water polo career. I have a great deal to thank those coaches and players for, for not only the skills they passed on but their enthusiasm and enjoyment of the game. H&G was a club that had a strong culture through both junior and senior racks men and women. It personified the meaning of a club in every way.
Peter Bayne's Note:
Rod made his first Australian Senior team in 1991. In total he played 221 times for Australia including two World Cups, (finishing with a bronze medal in 1993, Australia’s highest place in a senior FINA men’s tournament), bronze medals at the 1991 & 1997 World Universiade Games, World Championships and the 2000 Sydney Olympics.