RICHMOND’S OLYMPIANS

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ROWENA “ROWIE” WEBSTER #7

Known as one of the toughest defenders in Water Polo, Rowie Webster made her third Olympic appearance in Tokyo 2020 as Captain of the Aussie Stingers team.

Rowie began her Water Polo career with Richmond in the U12 competition. It’s not hard to choose Water Polo as your sport, when your three older siblings all play it. Rowie has played for Richmond, The Victorian Tigers, the Balmain Tigers in Sydney and currently for the Victorian Phoenix. Rowie holds the record for the most goals in a National League Season, an impressive 99 goals.

Under former Balmain coach Phil Bower, Rowie played in the Australian Junior Team which won gold in 2007 at the FINA World Junior Championships. Rowie played college Water Polo with Arizona State University as an 18-year-old, before she moved to Greece for five months in 2008 to play in the professional league there.

Rowie was part of the Bronze medal-winning 2012 Aussie team in London and was Australian Vice Captain at the Rio Olympics in 2016. She was a vital part of the 2013 World Championships and 2014 World Cup Aussie teams, both winning Silver medals.

The Tokyo 2020 Stingers team narrowly missed out on a semi final spot in their match agains the Russian Olympic Committee. Not defeated the team then lifted to win their final two matches to take out 5th position.

Rowie was named as a finalist for FINA’s Best Water Polo Player of the Year award in 2013 and 2014 in recognition of her talent. She is the only Victorian to ever Captain a National Australian’s Women’s Water Polo team, something she is extremely proud of.

Rowie has represented Australia 305 times.

  • Ian "Millsy" Mills #3

    Ian Mills represented Australia in two Olympic Games, 1964 Tokyo and 1976 Montreal. He was also a member of the Australian team at the first two World Championships in Belgrade (1973) and Cali (1975). In total Ian represented Australia 222 times.

    A long standing representative for Victoria, Ian was selected continuously from 1962 to 1980 and captained the team from 1973-80. During this time Victoria won six national titles, a remarkable record.

    Ian has been described as an excellent defender, great in counter attacks and a brilliant tactician.

    In his roles as player, coach, manager and President of Water Polo Victoria (1990-01), Ian developed some great friendships which he values and continues to enjoy to this day.

    In 2011 Ian was inducted into the Australian Water Polo Hall of Fame.

  • William "Billy" Tilley #13

    William Tilley represented Australia at the 1972 Munich Olympics. William played the position of goalkeeper. He was also selected in the Australian touring team in 1967 & 1973.

    Bill represented Australia 117 times during his career.

    He represented Victoria, as goalkeeper from 1961-62 and 1965-73.

  • John "OBIE" O'Brien #4 (1931-2020)

    John O’Brien represented Australia in two Olympic Games, Melbourne (1956) and Captaining the team in Rome (1960).

    Coming from humble beginnings in the suburbs of Melbourne John showed talent early on in the pool as a swimmer. In 1946 Water Polo returned as a local sport after WW2 and John found his passion. He said of his first coach Alf Barnett that he trained the boys not only in Water Polo but also in life.

    One of his team-mates described him as, “The toughest player I every played with” , and another, “He had great skills with the ball and was a very dangerous man if required”.

    John was a long standing representative for Victoria being selected continuously from 1953 to 1970. He captained the team from 1959-1968 and coached the team from 1963-1970. Highly respected as both a player and coach John always led by example, he was determined and aggressive in the pool and possessed an inherent ability to inspire his team-mates. He was a true legend of the sport and respected by his team and competitors alike.

    In 2010 John was inducted into the Australian Water Polo Hall of Fame an honour which he described as a highlight of his extensive Water Polo career.

  • James "JIMMY" O'Doherty (1927-1996)

    James O’Doherty was a member of the Australian 1952 Helsinki Olympic team.

    In 1949 at the age of 19 James was rated as a “possible’ chance to make the the Victorian State team. With perseverance and practice he was able to knock out a few “probable” rated players to seal his position.

    In just 12 months he was selected in the Australian team, one of only 3 Victorians. The team travelled to New Zealand to compete in the Centennial Games at the end of 1950. This core group of players were to form the Olympic team in 1952.

    Jimmy represented Australia 40 times during his career.

    After his Water Polo career Jimmy became a notable swimming coach and began his own swimming club, O’Doherty’s Swimming Team. He produced many State, National and International swimmers. Jim O’Doherty was awarded Victorian Swim Coach of the Year in 1986.