May 2005 - After narrowly scrapping through the last of the regular season NWPL games, the 5th placed Barracudas Women's team headed to Sydney for the Elimination Finals facing off against 4th place Sydney Uni Lions. The Barracudas won the series in 3 games with 1 game going to extra time and two others coming down the wire. The victory in Sydney paving the way for a birth in the Finals Series in Brisbane.
The home advantage Finals Series saw the Barras girls facing off against Minor Premiers the Balmain Tigers. The girls played solidly in their first game but lost 12 - 8. Backing up the very next day with a terrific team performance saw the game go into sudden death extra time until Eleni Anderson fired one in to take the series to a third game and seeing the Barras beat the Balmain Tigers for the first time in the club's history. In the third and deciding game victory was in hand as the Barras were up 10 -9 with 30 seconds remaining in the game when Balmain's Rebecca Rippon took a last ditch lob that snuck in and the game went into extra time. Extra time saw Jodie Stuhmcke put one in but Balmain managed to get 2 into the back of the goals and were off the Grand Final against the Fremantle Marlins.
Playing better with each Finals Series game, the Barras Ladies made short change of the Perth Comets in the Bronze medal game winning comfortably 10 - 5 with a truly outstanding team effort and four solid quarters of waterpolo. Jodie Stuhmcke was stellar in centre forward notching 4 goals from the position. Pictured above: Kate Gynther seals the Barracudas win with a cross cage bullet that got past Perth's star Olympian goalkeeper Emma Knox (Photo courtesy Wendy Philips).