Jimmy Scannell bagged five for the Tigers in the 16-6 demolition of an under-strength Pool Pirates at the Albury Pool.

He said the Tigers were a lot fitter than at the same time last year.

“Our fitness compared to last year is probably twice as good and we are only going to get better as the season wears on,” Scannell said.

“It is critical we maintain that fitness, we lost a lot of our bigger guys from last year so we have had to change the way we play — we need to break teams down with the swimming, physically exhaust from just having to go with us up and down the pool.

“Certainly both sides were under strength but we swam hard and showed we were a lot fitter than the opposition.”

Scannell also said the younger players stood up in yesterday’s game.

“A couple of the younger guys took some pressure of the regular goal scorers today,” he said.

“Tom Duck in particular got a lot of inside water and a lot of kick outs for us.

“He was constantly getting in front of his player, leading them to the ball, and that is a big advantage in any game.”

Scannell said the Tigers can go a long way in the finals but they needed to maintain their superior fitness level.

“Some are training for water polo three and four times a week, others are doing three days swimming training as well as club water polo training,” he said.

“You need to be able to sprint and recover, have the endurance fitness but also the power to pull out sprint after sprint for the four quarters.”