Rising star Joel Swift and the always-dependable Johnno Cotterill scored seven goals between them on Thursday to help steer the Australian men's water polo team to a convincing 14-5 victory over Argentina in the quarter-finals of the FINA World League Intercontinental tournament.
The Aussie Sharks' win sets up a tantalising semi-final with the USA, who earlier on Thursday won a high scoring 17-10 match against Kazakhstan.
The semi-final berth ensures Australia qualify for the FINA World League Super Final, to be held from June 23-28 at Bergamo in Italy.
Irrespective of the victory, Sharks head coach Elvis Fatovic was left frustrated with the performance, saying a focus on a simple game plan would keep the Aussies in contention against the US.
"It was a disappointing game for us, and it showed that we don't have enough opportunities to train and play together to prepare for tournaments," Fatovic said.
"We need to have better concentration and keep it simple, focus on the process. That way, we can avoid slow, low intensity starts like we had tonight, which was the reason behind a few mistakes that threw our rhythm off.
"We didn't quite play the defensive system we wanted and they (Argentina) continually changed players after defence, which made it difficult for us to counter attack.
"The team who plays better defence tomorrow will have the advantage. We respect the USA and will do our best to win."
Swift reiterated Fatovic's comments, but said the team began to feel a little more comfortable during the second half.
"We went into the game with a specific defensive plan against an unpredictable team. Unfortunately, it took time for us to adjust to the game, which kept it close in the first half," Swift said.
"When we solidified our defence in the third quarter, the game turned our way and, in the end, we finished with a strong lead."
Australia's semi-final against the USA is on Saturday (12.30pm AEDT).
