Watch awkward moment Olympic Games team boss butchers squad announcement

Australia’s water polo team for the Olympics was announced on Tuesday, although chief Matt Carroll had a hard time reading out the lucky stars who have made it to Paris. 

The 13-man team, which consists of 10 debutants, was named in a unique location, with members of the squad stood beneath a shark tank as Carroll reeled off the list to the media. 

Some players weren’t present, and Australian Olympic Committee boss Carroll made sure he made special mention of those absent stars.

But it didn’t quite go to plan, with the administrator requiring help from coach Tim Hamill. 

‘Special mention to our Aussie Sharks not here today, currently playing in Croatia,’ he began.

The 13-man squad for Paris was named on Tuesday at Sydney Aquarium 

‘Jacob…’ followed by a long pause. ‘Mercep, and Marcus… Berehulak.’

Hamill, eager to help Carroll get the right pronunciation, repeated ‘Berehulak’ correctly.  

Carroll continued: ‘And in Spain, Nic Por… Porter and Jon Hedges.

‘And also Luke… Pavillard.’

Australia are an outside chance of winning gold this summer, with the sport’s powerhouses Croatia and Spain the favourites to stand top of the podium.

Co-captain Nathan Power said two months of intense training lie ahead for the team. 

‘Right now the focus is on the hard work that we still need to do between now and Paris.

Carroll needed help from team coach Tim Hamill to pronounce some names

‘The thing that’s exciting for us is that we know that our best can really challenge anyone in the world … the outcome or possibilities are endless.’ 

Hamill said: ‘It’s the biggest thing that you can do as a water polo player in the world, and as a country we know how celebrated our Olympians are,’ Hamill said.

‘What you’ll see from the Aussie Sharks in Paris is that we’re an extremely enthusiastic and motivated group, and we don’t fear any opponent.’