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After the event ended in a bang, head coach Jacco Verhaeren believes Australia will emerge victorious in the “Ashes of swimming” at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.
Cate Campbell capped a stunning return from a year off by breaking her own Australian record and claim 50m freestyle gold on the final night of the four-day trials on Saturday night.
She clocked 23.79 seconds, shaving 0.05 of a second off her national mark set in 2016.
It was the second Australian mark broken at the trials following 17-year-old Ariarne Titmus’ heroics in the 400m freestyle.
Titmus was the breakout star, becoming the first woman to claim the 200m-400m-800m national treble in 14 years.
Yet Verhaeren admitted he had not been satisfied with overall times at the meet after unveiling a 49-strong squad for April’s Games.
Only 12 members of the squad set A qualifying marks in 15 of the 32 events at the trials.
But Verhaeren wasn’t about to make any medal predictions off the trial times.
“Some (times) are very good but some would want to lift a little bit higher by Commonwealth Games but that’s part of the plan – we definitely plan to go faster at the Commonwealth Games,” he said.
“Do the trial times count? Definitely not. This is about making the team.
“Let’s see what it is worth in five weeks’ time.”
Verhaeren opted to hold the trials five weeks before the Games instead of the usual three months, following the lead of the all-conquering United States.
Great Britain came second at the 2017 world titles, claiming four gold while Australia finished eighth on the table with a solitary win.
While Great Britain will split into their respective countries, England had been backing themselves to finally threaten Australia’s Games dominance in the pool for the first time since 1986.
Asked if Australia would beat England, Dutchman Verhaeren laughed: “Of course. I have been in Australia long enough to understand this is very important – it’s the Ashes of swimming.”
Besides Campbell, former dual world champion James Magnussen’s comeback from a year off also ended in smiles after snatching his final chance to nab a top three finish and earn an individual swim for the Games.
Returning from a break to deal with a shoulder reconstruction, Magnussen finished third in the 50m freestyle final with injury-plagued veteran James Roberts securing his first national title at the age of 26.
Roberts clocked 21.97 seconds ahead of Cam McEvoy with Magnussen claiming bronze.
Magnussen had one last chance to earn his own swim at the Games after finishing fourth in his pet event 100m freestyle.
He did earn a 4x100m relay spot with his top-four finish.
Meanwhile, ex-world champion backstroker Mitch Larkin claimed an upset 400m individual medley gold then backed up in the next event to earn 50m backstroke bronze behind winner Zac Incerti.
Other winners on Saturday night were Jack O’Loughlin who upset Mack Horton in the 1500m freestyle, Emily Seebohm (50m backstroke) and Blair Evans (400m IM).