Nic’s got the knack for heroics in the net

ROOKIE Aussie Sharks goalkeeper Nic Porter has helped the men escape their firstround world championships water polo clash with Kazakhstan relatively unscathed.

Porter, 23, saved seven of the 10 shots fired towards his cage, before making way for fellow keeper John Hedges in the final quarter.

The 10-4 win over Kazakhstan, in Budapest, shot the Aussies to the top of their pool’s table.

Luke Pavillard and Nathan Power proved unstoppable in front of the cage – scoring three goals each.

Porter described the team’s efforts as brave.

“First and foremost I think we were really brave, there was nine of us making our world championships debut,” Porter said.

“We were really brave in defence, lots of great field blocks – we were able to identify their better players quickly and nullify them which was good.

“It’s not just me putting in the hard work, it’s our whole defensive line-up. The guys in the field were doing their job, I was doing my job and it just worked really well tonight.”

It was a slow start, with the Sharks finishing the first quarter ahead 1-0.

They put another two away in the second quarter, with the score 4-0 at halftime.

Kazakhstan found a way into the game in the third quarter, scoring two goals to Australia’s three.

But the opposition were unable to keep it up in the final quarter letting the Sharks in three more times.

Aussie men’s coach Tim Hamill said it was a great performance.

The strong win puts Sharks at the top of their pool after Serbia won a close battle with the USA 17-14.

Sharks will next play Tokyo gold medal winners Serbia, at 2am (AEST) on Friday.

The Aussie women were due to play New Zealand at 2am (AEST) on Thursday.