A strong squad includes eight of the players who took silver at London 2012 - Brad Ness, Mike Hartnett, Justin Eveson, Shaun Norris, Tristan Knowles, Bill Latham, Jannik Blair and Nick Taylor.

Adam Deans and Joshua Allison join Luke Pople and Tom O'Neill Thorne, part of the Australian Spinners side who secured bronze at the men's Under-23 Wheelchair Basketball World Championships in Adana last year, complete the line-up.

Head coach Ben Ettridge named a provisional 21-man squad back in March and, following an intense four-day training camp in Melbourne last week at the Australian Paralympic Committee-Essendon Football Club joint training facility, he whittled his squad down to the final 12.

"Over the weekend, the excitement grew amongst the players - you could see the reality of what is around the corner dawning on them," Ettridge said.

"Our first session on court was meant to be a light shoot around, and before we knew it, we were getting competitive up and down the floor.

"At that point we knew then the guys were locked in for this camp.

"Our scrimmages were as competitive as I have seen in 18 months.

"We looked sharp and the chemistry we wanted was there."

Tristan Knowles will be one of the experienced heads on the Australian team as they seek to defend their world title in Incheon next month ©Getty Images




That chemistry will see Ettridge rely on his more experienced players to help guide the young talent in the squad when they take to the court in Incheon next month where they will face Germany, Sweden and Italy in Group D of the Championships.

"When you look at the likes of Brad Ness, Justin Eveson, Shaun Norris, Tristan Knowles and Michael Hartnett, you've got a core group who have played more than 150 times for their country on the biggest stages our sport has to offer," said Ettridge, who will joined on the coaching staff by Craig Friday and Luke Brennan.

"These players understand what it takes to succeed at a World Championships and Paralympics, and will provide the leadership and direction to our younger players.

"These guys are the leaders for the young players like Adam Deans, Luke Pople, Josh Allison and Tom O'Neill-Thorne, who will get their first taste of a World Championship tournament in South Korea.

"They have all proven they belong in the final 12 and I can't wait to see them show the world that the next generation of Rollers will ensure the programme remains among the world's elite."

The World Championships in Incheon, due to take place from July 3 to 15, will see 16 teams taking part in competition.

Six-time world champions the United States take on Algeria, Colombia and Turkey in Group C while Group B consists of Japan, Iran, Spain and the Netherlands.

Hosts South Korea will take on inaugural World Championship winners Great Britain in Group A along with Argentina and Mexico.

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