Bronte Halligan has fired the Stingers to a typically tough Olympics victory over China, enabling Australia's water polo women to end their dramatic COVID-hit week with a launchpad for a Paris medal push.
Halligan's unstoppable power shot sealed the 7-5 victory with just 22 seconds left, killing off a final-quarter comeback from the Chinese.
It was the perfect opening result for Australia after a difficult week in which five of their players tested positive for COVID-19, disrupting preparations.
Not that match-winner Halligan was keen to reveal too much about the dramas of the week, preferring instead to hail the resilient nature of the squad as they seek to become the first Aussie Olympic women's water polo champs since the 2000 side in the inaugural event.
"Every team has their challenges, and so we've just moved forward as a team, and we're all looking forward to the next few games in Paris," the 27-year-old said.
"We're all healthy now, the team just is so united and so resilient."
Quizzed on the health of the team, she added: "Everyone's tested negative now, and we're all good."
Halligan, daughter of former New Zealand rugby league star Daryl Halligan, melted the tension on the Stingers' bench with her brilliant goal, which sealed a victory that had looked as if it could slip away against a dogged Chinese outfit.
Alice Williams' penalty and a hat-trick from Abby Andrews put Australia 4-2 up early in the second quarter, before captain Zoe Arancini netted just before halftime to give them a 5-3 cushion.
"China were a really great team and were always going to put their best foot forward and they did today," said Halligan, after two goals in a minute brought them back to 5-5 in the final quarter.
A second penalty from Williams, dispatched coolly with three-and-a-half minutes on the clock gave the Stingers breathing space, but China never stopped fighting until Halligan's clincher.
"I'm really proud of the team," she said.
"We're just a really united group and we want to show the world how we can play tough, exciting, resilient and energetic water polo. And I think we did that tonight."
