GERMAN powerhouse Florian Naroska had accomplished everything before he came to set up a new life and play with the UWA Torpedoes. Now he has helped the club win a maiden National Water Polo League premiership and couldn’t be happier with life in Perth.

Before deciding to make the move down under, Naroska had put together quite the remarkable water polo career representing Germany in the 2008 Olympic Games where he scored goals against Italy and Serbia along the way.

On top of that, he played for Germany at five separate World Championships and another four European Championships so it’s fair to say he arrived at the Torpedoes with quite the reputation.

He had a significant impact on UWA breaking through for a first NWPL premiership last year as well. He then won the Tom Hoad Medal after leading the UWA City Beach Bears to the Water Polo WA Premier League title back in December.

That was all leading into this 2017 NWPL with the reigning premier Torpedoes with Naroska the only import in the team after there were three last year, and with him assuming a new role solely settling into the centre forward position.

The physical toll that Naroska goes through every game at centre forward quite simply needs to be seen to be believed as well.

Now 19 games into the season with home matches against the Brisbane Barracudas (two) and the Fremantle Mariners to go and his body is feeling it. But Naroska is happy to do what’s best for the team and he has played a crucial role in setting up what appears another finals appearance.

“I go from game to game with my body at the moment. Usually the second game of the week is a bit tougher than the first game, but I’m just trying to get enough rest and have a sleep before a game and eat a bit more healthy, and drink enough. I’m doing my best and it’s working out at the moment,” Naroska said.

“Sometimes I feel like my body is expired already I think. For me this year I’ve been playing a new position. Last year I played most of the time centre back and a bit centre forward, but this year it has been 100 per cent centre forward and helping out on defence on bit.

“It is pretty physical in that position but it’s all about how the refs are doing their job as well. Sometimes there should be a kick out and you don’t get it, or you get a turnover instead of a kick out.

“That’s frustrating, but I have been asked to play this position and I’m trying my best. It has kind of been successful at the moment and I have a lot of experience so I try to use that to help the other players as well.”

Looking back on his remarkably successful career and now winning time in Perth already at UWA, Naroska has plenty of memories to last a life time but it’s the enjoyment you get from being part of a team performing well with good chemistry that will stick with him the most.

“Most of the highlights are the same as here with the Torps, if you are playing in good teams most of the time you are having fun. Training is easier, you enjoy travelling together and that’s because you are in a good mood all the time when you are winning and playing well,” he said.

“But playing at World Champs and Olympics, they are decent memories and experiences that I’ve had. All the big events stays in your memory and there’s always something good and bad that happens, but you never forget.

“They show what you can achieve when you train hard and the boys here understand that. They are looking for something bigger and that might be playing overseas or at World Champs or Olympics. That’s good motivation for every sportsman.”

As for what brought him to Perth in the first place, Naroska and his wife were just looking for a fresh challenge. He felt his time representing Germany was nearing an end, so a new start in water polo and life on the other side of the world couldn’t hurt.

He didn’t know where it would take him to start with. But he touched base with Luke Quinlivan having known him when he played with Australia and the rest is history.

“I knew I was at the end of my career so I thought it would be a good experience to play in another country, especially Australia. I knew Quinny from the national team so I wrote him an email saying I wanted to play, and he told me to come over,” Naroska said.

“So with my wife we decided to do it. We cancelled everything in Germany to move to Australia and we’ve tried our best here. We’ve found work, played water polo and am enjoying the weather so it’s all good so far.”

As for Quinlivan, Naroska certainly doesn’t see any sign in his goalkeeping that he has slowed down at all. While it will be strange to play without him at the Torpedoes next year, he’s not even sure of his own plans just yet.

“Next year is next year and I don’t know if I will be going to play or not either, but Quinny is outstanding. It was a shame that he didn’t go to Olympics because I think he is a world-class goalkeeper,” he said.

“Even now when he’s not able to train as much, he is still there to cover your back in the games and if you make a mistake, he can save you. He’s stopping a lot of shots that most goalkeepers wouldn’t be able to.

“He’s still probably the best goalie in Australia and if he had more time to commit he easily could be one of the best in the world. But he has other priorities now with family and work. Life changes, and you need to move on sometimes.”

As for water polo in Australia and especially the national league, Naroska has noticed that in comparison to Europe the spread of talent is much more even and the fact that every team is competitive means you can never take a day or night off.

“The good thing in the national league is that every team is equal, or at least competitive. Even if you are playing against a team lower on the ladder, you can still lose and we’ve showed that last season and this season as well,” Naroska said.

“It’s very competitive here and you need to be at 100 per cent for the game or you won’t win no matter who you are playing. That’s a big difference than back in Germany where you have two or three strong teams, and the rest might not be as good. We travelled by bus everywhere and sometimes you sit on a bus for eight hours, get smashed and then go back again.

“Every team is competitive here in Australia which is good. The road trips are something new too like when we go to Sydney and play six games in six days. That’s pretty exhaustive and you are shredded after that, but it’s all an experience. There is high-quality players here too with a lot of current or past Olympians, or guys who have played in Europe. It’s a good challenge here.”

At 34, Naroska isn’t sure how long he can keep playing at a high level for but while he is still healthy, enjoying it and contributing to his team he sees no reason not to continue.

Coaching is something he has already begun doing some work with but he’s not ready to throw himself fully into that yet.

“If you do a sport for enough years and have a lot of experience, it’s a good thing to give it back to young players as well. I did the Underpinning last year and that was pretty good to show them something, and if they adapt it then you can see that they are making progress,” Naroska said.

“That’s a good feeling. I can’t tell in which direction I will go when I stop playing so we’ll see what happens. I honestly don’t know what will happen, at the moment I’m still focused on playing and I don’t know what’s happening next season or in coming years.

“But once you are in a sport, you usually stay in the sport whether it’s as a coach, manager or whatever because you are always connected to it. It’s hard to just walk away completely.”

The future outside of water polo and where life will take him is also something Naroska isn’t too sure about, but life in Perth has been so good for him and his wife that he can’t see himself leaving anytime soon.

“I have no idea about the future. In the moment everything is still open and we’ll see what happens, but I think we will stay at least for another few years and see what happens after that,” he said.

“Perth is a bit special and everyone who lives here, and is born in Perth knows that it might be a little bit slower than the bigger cities in Australia like Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. My wife and I like it and it goes at its own rhythm.

“Sometimes you get the feeling Perth is a few years behind everything, but there is so much to love about living here. This is the lifestyle we like. We lived four years in Berlin and it’s too busy.

“I think Sydney and Melbourne are similar, they are too busy and too big and it’s too hectic all the time. As soon as you settle in here in Perth, you can enjoy the beaches and the weather is good even if it’s a bit too hot sometimes.”

The move to Perth initially was certainly a risky one after the life that Naroska and his wife had set up for themselves in Berlin, but they have never regretted it for a second.

“We were just going to try it, we didn’t know what to expect. We had nothing left in Germany after cancelling everything so it was a bit of a risk, but we had no kids and we felt free to travel and move to try something new,” Naroska said.

“It was a big decision to make and at one point it’s good for your soul and everything to go somewhere else, and start something new and see what happens. Everything you do can be risky but this move has worked out for us. My wife and I are pretty happy here, the team is good and I’ve made good mates and it has been pretty positive.”