Olympic champion Australia defeated World Cup champion Hungary 7-5 in the final of the ZF Hungarian Cup women's water polo tournament.

The victory set the team up for the July World Championship in Spain but head coach Istvan Gorgenyi said there was still plenty of work to do before then.

"There were some beautiful action goals and we are improving every game. The women are starting to know one another really well," he said.

The game was won on counter-attack where Australia excelled, while the systematic defence reaped big rewards.

Hungary led 2-1 at the quarter but Australia won the next three periods 2-1 to assert their authority, scoring four from nine on extra while Tanya Keogh (Qld) made six saves and one steal in goal.

Hungary won the World Cup in Perth last December while Australia finished sixth.

In the bronze medal play-off, Greece beat The Netherlands 6-3 and Russia finished fifth with an 11-5 score over Germany.

Australia now travels to Greece for training and another international tournament this weekend.

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