The Aussie Stingers, Australia's women's water polo team, has tuned up for tomorrow's gold medal showdown with the USA at the Water Polo Pan Pacs by edging out China 8-7 at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre.

The victory ensured the Stingers finished the round robin games undefeated - their wins over Beijing Olympic silver medallists the USA and world number two China earning the Australians favouritism to take out the tournament.

A win in the final will be a huge confidence boost for the winner with an eye on the London Olympic Games later this year.

Today's game had no impact on the standings as the finalists had already been determined but it was still a quality, and at times brutal, match between two genuine Olympic contenders.

China jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first quarter but when veteran dual Olympian Mel Rippon broke away on the counter attack to feed rising star Ash Southern for Australia's second goal with a minute to go in the period the tide had already turned.

Both teams scored a pair of goals in the second quarter, China's to Ping Lui and Australia's to Nicola Zagame and Southern.

China's Huanhuan Ma, the tournament's leading goal scorer, drilled three past Stingers goalkeeper Alicia McCormack in the third including two penalties but Australia's dangerous outside shooter Glencora Ralph kept her team in the game with two of her own to make it 7-6 to the visitors at the final break.

The Australians came out firing in the final term and scored the only two goals of the quarter, one each to Zagame and captain Kate Gynther before some stout defence sealed the victory.

Beijing Olympian Gemma Beadsworth was a tower of strength in the centre-back position in the late stages, waging a one-woman war with China's massive centre-forward Jin He, preventing the Chinese star from scoring all game.

Australian head coach Greg McFadden paid tribute to his side's defence, saying any victory over China is a special one.

"It was a tough game. They are number two in the world so it's a great win," McFadden said.

"The two penalties we gave away in the third quarter were disappointing but apart from that we played a good game and the girls showed plenty of ticker.

"Our centre-backs did a great job as did the rest of our defence and if you take away the two penalties they only scored five goals and that isn't many at this level."

Ralph, who sparked Australia's comeback with a brace of goals in the third term and had the Chinese defence on edge from that point on, said she changed tactics after the first few quarters and became more energetic with the ball in hand.

"Being such a tough, physical game, to be able to come through with the win was really good for us," Ralph said.

"We weren't doing what we were supposed to be doing in the first half and it was a matter of being more aggressive and taking the early shot. On extraman I took it quickly and the goalie wasn't ready."

The Australians were keen to continue their recent domination of China, especially with an Olympic match up possible in London.

"It's a matter of dominating them and not believing they can beat us," Ralph said.

"We might play them at the Olympics and we want them to be intimidated by us."

Tomorrow's women's gold medal match begins at 2.15pm with the men's decider, also between Australia and the USA, starts at 3.45pm.

Result: Australia 8 bt China 7

Quarters: (2-2, 2-2, 2,3, 2-0)

Scorers AUS: Ashleigh Southern 2, Nicole Zagame 2, Glencora Ralph 2, Isobel Bishop, Kate Gynther

Scorers CHN: Huanhuan Ma 4, Ping Lui 2, Yujun Sun

Australia: Alicia McCormack, Gemma Beadsworth, Ashleigh Southern, Rebecca Rippon, Isobel Bishop, Holly Lincoln-Smith, Rowena Webster, Kate Gynther, Glencora Ralph, Sophie Smith, Melissa Rippon, Nicola Zagame, Kelsey Wakefield

China: Jun Yang, Fei Teng, Ping Liu, Yujun Sun, Jin He, Yating Sun, Donglun Song, Cong Zhang, Yi Wang, Huanhuan Ma, Huizi Sun, Lei Zhang, Ying Wang

Barbarians gallant in US defeat

The Australian Barbarians have put up a spirited performance against the USA women's water polo team going down 12-5 in what was another competitive game between the two nations.

Jane Moran netted the first goal of the match to put the Barbarians 1-0 up. For the Americans, Kami Craig fought it out at centre-forward, but young Barbarian's centre-back Genevieve Venosta denied her on three occasions.

The Americans netted two first quarter goals including one to veteran Brenda Villa, who was able to find space on a fast break and get one past Australian keeper Victoria Brown.

The USA stepped up their defensive efforts in the second term and were rewarded as they netted four straight goals to lead 6-1 at the main break.

After half time there was renewed intent amongst the Barbarians as substitute keeper Lea Barta made two brilliant diving saves to deny the Americans more scoring chances.

Bronwen Knox netted two third period goals and with Moran scoring her second of the game, the deficit was brought back to three.

Despite these efforts and more amazing saves from Barta, the USA scored three more including one Mathewson to go into the last break with a 9-4 lead.

The Barbarians continued their game effort in the final term but the power and discipline of the Americans was too strong with the world number-six ranked North Americans sealing the win 12-5.

Aussie keeper Barta said the team was very proud of their performance and gave credit to the squad's younger members for stepping up and playing so well.

"We knew it would be a tough hard game, they're always very physical, so we just wanted to play our game and keep moving,"Barta said.

"I was happy with the way I played. Probably thought I could've got to a couple more but all in all it was good.

"It's really just a big experience for the younger Barbarians' players so to play with them and help them out is great.

"To also play against these top international teams is a massive step up for them and if you look at the way they have coped they have overachieved completely".

The Barbarians will now face Brazil in the playoff for 5th and 6th at 8.00am tomorrow morning.

Note: The Barbarians cannot compete in any finals match other than the 5v6 game.

Result: USA 12 bt Australian Barbarians 5

Quarters: (2-1, 4-0, 3-3, 3-1)

Scorers USA: Courtney Mathewson 3, Brenda Villa 2, Kelly Rulon 2, Lauren Silver, Tanya Gandy, Melissa Seidemann, Elsie Windes, Juliet Moss

Scorers AUS BAR: Jane Moran 3, Bronwen Knox 2

USA: Tumua Anae, Heather Petri, Melissa Seidemann, Brenda Villa, Lauren Wegner, Lauren Silver, Courtney Mathewson, Jessica Steffens, Elsie Windes, Kami Craig, Kelly Rulon, Juliet Moss, Kami Craig, Tanya Gandy

Australian Barbarians: Victoria Brown, Bronwen Knox, Hannah Buckling, Bronte Colenso, Jane Moran, Emily Benson, Genevieve Venosta, Eliesha Brown, Cathryn Earl, Olivia King, Zoe Arancini, Jess Martin, Lea Barta

Day 5:

The Stingers notch fourth win of tournament

The Australian women's water polo team, the Aussie Stingers, have continued their unbeaten run at the 2012 Water Polo Pan Pacs securing a 8-3 victory in Thursday's local derby clash against the Australian Barbarians.

The win puts the Stingers at the top of the table and guarantees them a berth in Saturday's gold medal match.

Despite the victory, assistant coach Ryan Moar said the performance wasn't as polished as the team would have liked.

"We were a little bit disappointed by today's effort. Our attack was off and we weren't able to execute our plans as we had hoped," Moar said.

"Some of the decisions in attack were poor and the finishing left a lot to be desired.

"In all fairness though, the Barbarians played very well and they rose to the occasion to push us all the way."

In what was touted as the perfect opportunity for players from both teams to push for Olympic selection, the two teams came out firing, eager to gain the advantage over their colleagues.

The young Barbarians squad were able to stick it to their senior counterparts for most of the first period keeping the score to 0-0, before Rebecca Rippon and Ashleigh Southern were able to break the deadlock.

Centre forward Gemma Beadsworth then rose to prominence in the next two quarters scoring two superb lobs to take the Stingers to a 6-1 lead at three-quarter time.

Holly Lincoln-Smith scored a gutsy centre forward goal for the Barbarians early in the last period to bring her team within just four goals, before Kate Gynther and Hannah Buckling sealed the win to make it six wins from as many games in the new year.

Barbarians' goalkeepers Kelsey Wakefield and Lea Barta were superb throughout the match, thwarting many Stingers' attacks to frustrate their countrywomen.

Aussie Stingers' goalkeeper Alicia McCormack said it was a tough match to get a guage on and echoed the thoughts of her assistant coach believing a lot of the Barbarians' players had definitely pressed their claim for selection in the top team.

"I thought the Barbarians lived up to their potential today with their two keepers playing very well, and at times that prevented us from playing at our best," McCormack said.

"We did only allow three goals so I guess our defence was ok, but we would have liked to have score more goals.

"The benefit of the whole match was that the Barbarians pushed all the way and Greg (McFadden) is now going to have a hard time selecting his team with the amount of talent he had in the pool tonight.

"For me, there are three great goalkeepers still in contention, so I'm looking to save as many goals as I can and overall I'm pretty happy with how I played."

The Barbarians now face the USA, while the Stingers close out their round robin phase with a clash against FINA World Championships runners-up China.

Result: Australia 8 bt Australian Barbarians 3

Quarters: (2-0, 2-0, 2-1, 2-2)

Scorers AUS: Ash Southern 2, Gemma Beadsworth 2, Rebecca Rippon, Glencora Ralph, Kate Gynther, Hannah Buckling

Scorers AUS BAR: Sophie Smith, Holly Lincoln-Smith, Bronte Colenso

Australia: Alicia McCormack, Gemma Beadsworth, Ashleigh Southern, Rebecca Rippon, Isobel Bishop, Bronwen Knox, Rowena Webster, Kate Gynther, Glencora Ralph, Hannah Buckling, Melissa Rippon, Nicola Zagame

Australian Barbarians: Kelsey Wakefield, Holly Lincoln-Smith, Sophie Smith, Bronte Colenso, Jane Moran, Emily Benson, Genevieve Venosta, Eliesha Brown, Cathryn Earl, Olivia Kings, Zoe Arancini, Jess Martin, Lea Barta

Day 4:

Stingers pip the US in close finish

The Aussie Stingers have clung on for a tense one-goal victory over the American women's water polo team on night four of the Water Polo Pan Pacs at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre.

Australia got off to a brilliant start edging out to a convincing 4-0 lead at quarter time, before the USA restored some respectability closing the game to 4-3 at the main break.

Scores remained locked in the third period as each team exchanged goals, but a defensive lapse from the USA saw them have two players excluded leaving Rowena Webster convert in double extra man.

America had a chance to tie the game with less than a second left but Kami Craig's backhand shot hit the top of the bar.

Aussie Stingers coach Greg McFadden said he was pleased with the result and was looking forward to a possible rematch in the gold medal final.

"It's always a tough game against the US and I can't remember how many times we have won by a goal, the US have won by a goal, or it's been a draw," McFadden said.

"We now only have to have one more win to qualify for the final and that's the main thing for us.

"I thought our first quarter was amazing to get out to 4-0, but then as usual the US fought back, but I though it was great that we could hang on in those dying minutes and get the win."

Gemma Beadsworth was the hero for the Stingers scoring three goals while Rowie Webster was outstanding at centre back.

McFadden commended all the girls for their efforts saying it was a true team performance.

"Defensively I was very happy with how we played. To keep any team under eight goals is amazing," McFadden said.

"I thought all the girls played really well. It was a heavy game and they all stood up at certain times.

"Rowie led the defence fantastically and Gemma was awesome up front, but on the whole it was the team that earned the kick outs and converted the extra man plays."

The Stingers now have their local derby clash against the Australian Barbarians at 6.00pm tomorrow night.

Result: Australia 8 bt USA 7

Quarters: (4-0, 0-3, 2-2, 2-2)

Scorers AUS: Gemma Beadsworth 3, Rowena Webster 2, Hannah Buckling, Ashleigh Southern, Kate Gynther

Scorers USA: Melissa Seidemann 2, Annika Dries, Kami Craig, Heather Petri, Maggie Steffens, Tanya Gandy

USA: Betsey Armstrong, Heather Petri, Melissa Seidemann, Brenda Villa, Lauren Wegner, Maggie Steffens, Courtney Mathewson, Jessica Steffens, Elsie Windes, Kami Craig, Kelly Rulon, Annika Dries, Tanya Gandy, Lauren Silver

Australia: Alicia McCormack, Gemma Beadsworth, Ashleigh Southern, Rebecca Rippon, Isobel Bishop, Bronwen Knox, Rowena Webster, Kate Gynther, Glencora Ralph, Hannah Buckling, Melissa Rippon, Nicola Zagame, Kelsey Wakefield

Barbarians notch first win of the championships

The Australian Barbarians have scored their first victory of the Water Polo Pan Pacs overcoming a young Brazilian side 10-3.

After opening with two goals in the first period, the Barbarians asserted their dominance as they went into half time with a 5-2 lead.

Sophie Smith scored two goals while keeper Victorian Brown stopped everything the Brazilians threw at her.

A goal from Cecilia Canetti in the third period allowed Brazil to keep in touch, but Jess Martin replied to take the lead to four goals.

The Australians took control in the last period thanks to Holly Lincoln-Smith who scored her second, while Genevieve Venosta scored her third with a long shot from outside five metres.

Izabella Chiappini managed to get one past substitute goalie Lea Barta in dying the seconds to leave the Brazilians six goals behind at the final siren.

The coach of the Australian Barbarians, Aleks Osadchuk, said he was very pleased that the team was able to get their first victory for the tournament.

"We didn't know too much about the Brazilians so we just tried to focus on our game," he said.

"I was pleased with the way we kept pressure on the Brazilian defence with our attack. There were no individual performances, we just really played well as a team today."

Victoria Brown, who has been recovering from illness over the past two weeks, said she was pleased as to how she was progressing and was looking forward to upping her schedule.

"I see every little bit that I get to do as a bonus," Brown said.

"I felt great today and will look to progress to full games and training after the Pan Pacs.

"This is the first week we have increased my work load and so far I have pulled up quite well."

The Australian Barbarians take on the Australian Stingers tomorrow while the winless Brazil will play China.

Result: Australian Barbarians 10, bt Brazil 4

Quarters: (2-0, 3-2, 3-1, 2-1)

Scorers AUS BAR: Genevieve Venosta 3, Sophie Smith 2, Holly Lincoln-Smith 2, Eliesha Brown, Zoe Arancini, Jess Martin

Scorers BRA: Marina Zablith, Gabrilea Mantellato, Cecilia Canetti, Izabella Chiappini

Australian Barbarians: Victoria Brown, Holly Lincoln-Smith, Sophie Smith, Bronte Colenso, Jane Moran, Emily Benson, Genevieve Venosta, Eliesha Brown, Cathryn Earl, Olivia Kings, Zoe Arancini, Jess Martin, Lea Barta

Brazil: Izabela Chiappini, Marina Zablith, Camila Gomes, Viviane Bahia, Diana Abla, Melani Dias, Mirela Coutinho, Tatiana Veloso, Cecilia Canetti, Bruna Couri, Luiza Moraes, Gabrilea Mantellato, Manuela Canetti