Two national titles for St John's College canoe polo teams

St John's College senior players Jayden Petersen, left, Brad Brunton and Liam Ward tackle a competitor during the NZ Secondary School canoe polo championships last weekend. Photo/supplied

Talent, combined with dedication and hard work has paid off for the St John's College junior and senior canoe polo teams who secured golds at last weekend's New Zealand Secondary School championships.

Held in Palmerston North the competition featured 42 teams from 20 schools across the country, but for the St John's College junior team the ultimate victory was a done deal from as soon as they hit the water.

Team manager Natalie Carter said it was amazing, with the team gaining seven wins in their seven round robin games.

"The juniors were untouchable - in a game where the scores are usually very low they just thrashed everyone in the lead-up to the final - the closest was 7-3."

Their final score was a decisive 11-3 against Karamu High School.

Ms Carter said the competition was a lot more intense for the senior team reflected in their tight winning score of 4-3 against Palmerston North Boys High School.

"They drew their first couple of games and then went on a winning spree up to the final."

The results were a rewarding pay-off for the hard work that the players had put in all year, she said.

"They have put the time in, they have been to every away competition and played above their weight - they have all put in so much effort."

Another reward was the selection to the New Zealand under-18 team for four of the senior players - Liam Ward, Jayden Petersen, Liam Brunton and Brad Brunton, who will play for New Zealand in two weeks time at the under-18 Oceania Championships.

Among the two teams, 12 players in all represent Hawke's Bay teams across various teams and grades.

School principal Paul Melloy said he was "really chuffed" with the weekend's results.

"Any national title is huge but to have two teams, the juniors and the seniors, get these titles is great."

The school runs sports institutes for multiple disciplines, and last year an institute was established for canoe polo.

This, along with expert coaching from the school's head of the physical education department and former New Zealand men's coach Jason Pearson, had made a big difference.

Mr Pearson coached the players three mornings a week throughout the year and the dedication and skills were really starting to show through now, Mr Melloy said.