Captain Rowie Webster scored five goals as the Australian women's water polo team beat Kazakhstan 16-4 at the world championships in Hungary.
The Stingers were first to score in Budapest on Sunday in the teams' opening group D match before world No.12 Kazakhstan found a quick reply.
But that's where the Kazakh resistance ended as Webster scored three times and Zoe Arancini and Maddy Steere twice each as Australia, ranked fourth in the world, took a 8-2 lead into halftime.
A third-quarter lapse saw Kazakhstan cut the advantage to 10-4 before Australia scored four unanswered final-quarter goals to seal the victory.
The win gave the Stingers top spot in their group after Russia beat Greece 9-7.
Australia next play world No.5 Russia on Tuesday before their final pool match against the Greeks on Thursday.
Meanwhile, four-time winner United States began their title defence with a 24-2 rout of South Africa, while Spain won against New Zealand 10-2.
Italy defeated Canada 10-4 and China began its campaign with an 11-4 victory over Brazil.
The Netherlands smashed France 24-2 and host Hungary beat Japan 20-11.
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