We are excited to announce that Rowan Bennett has been appointed Men’s Head Coach and Greig Richardson has been appointed Men’s Assistant Coach for the upcoming 2026 Australian Water Polo League season. We are also delighted to confirm that Olympian Rowie Webster will continue in her role as Women’s Head Coach, bringing her leadership, experience and passion to guide the program forward.
We would also like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank outgoing Men’s Head Coach Jude Allan for his dedication and leadership since the club’s inception. Jude has played a pivotal role in shaping our Men’s program, serving with distinction as both Head Coach and Assistant Coach. His commitment and passion have been instrumental in the growth and success of our athletes and the club, and we are grateful for his years of service.
2026 will be Rowan’s 10th season working in a coaching/team manager role with Victorian National League Teams. He started in 2013 with the Tigers working alongside Jeff Barrow, then with Slobodan Macic and Anthony (AJ) Edwards for the Seals (2014–2016), Dalibor Maslan in 2017 with the Barbarians, and lastly, working with Slobodan Macic and Jude Allan for the Phoenix over the last four years. As a player, Rowan came through the state junior program representing Victoria on multiple occasions, as well as being part of the Victorian I.T.C, training under Istvan Gorgenyi. Over the past decade, he has also coached several junior state teams from U14s to U20s.
Greig has been an outstanding coach in Victoria and Australia for many years. He was the coach of the Victorian Tigers Women’s team in the former National League competition for seven years and has coached the Australian U18 Girls and U20 Women’s teams. Greig was also an Assistant Coach for the Australian Senior Women’s teams at the World League Finals in 2005, 2007 and 2010, and Assistant Coach of the Australian Senior Women’s teams at the 2007, 2009 and 2011 World Championships.
Both the Men’s and Women’s AWL teams will have separate ‘Selection Committees’ responsible for selecting athletes in each AWL squad and selecting the teams for all games. Each of the Men’s and Women’s Selection Committees will be made up of the respective Head Coach, Assistant Coach and one additional committee member with experience in the sport at an AWL level.
Victorian Phoenix Water Polo Club 