The Tauranga Men’s Water polo team have secured their fourth consecutive national league title, becoming the first club to achieve four back-to-back wins.

For the first time, the water polo finals event was held in Tauranga, hosted by Baywave, bringing together six clubs from around the country.

“Us and North Harbor were clearly the two top teams this year,” said Tauranga Men’s Team coach Joe Kayes.

He said the Tauranga team separated itself from the competition with camaraderie and brotherhood.

“That’s why we’ve been able to win these four in a row.”

The team have three team training sessions a week along with their own personal workout routines.

The team competed against North Harbour in the finals last month, fighting a tough battle to win 10-9.

Team member Anton Sunde started water polo at age 10 and competed with North Harbour when he was growing up in Auckland.

He has competed in Europe and on the New Zealand men’s squad for years. He joined the Tauranga team when he moved back to New Zealand as Covid hit, setting in the city in 2020.

“I’ve been a part of a lot of teams and around a lot of different types of players,” he said.

Sunde said the Tauranga team had a culture inside and outside of the pool that brought them together and made them work better as a team.

“You’ve got that bond and brotherhood.”

He said about seven of the players had been part of the team for all of the wins.

Team member EJ Carrington was one of them and said the team went into the finals feeling confident.

The 21-year-old has been part of the team for five years. He started playing water polo aged 8 in Tauranga, before heading to the US when he was 18 to play at Golden West College for two years.

“This year the competition was probably the tightest it’s been in the last four years, so it was probably that extra bit more exciting when we got the win,” he said.

Carrington and Sunde said they would like to come back next season and make it a fifth consecutive win.

“It’s hard not to want to come back and push for that next year,” said Sunde.

“No team has ever done five in a row.”