The Australian senior men’s Wheelchair Basketball team, the Rollers, will ramp up their preparation for the 2021 Tokyo Paralympic Games when they assemble in Canberra for a weeklong camp.
To be held at Basketball Australia’s Centre of Excellence at the Australian Institute of Sport, the camp will run from January 28 – February 4, and will involve the current Rollers squad announced in July 2020 plus a number of invitees. Speaking about the upcoming camp,
Rollers head coach Craig Friday said:
“With a little over six months until the Paralympic Games, this camp is extremely important to our Tokyo preparations. “Due to COVID and the travel restrictions involved both domestically and abroad, we’ve not been able to train together as a squad since October 2019. So during this weeklong camp there will be plenty of court-time where we will work on technical and tactical aspects of our game in readiness for the challenge ahead. “With some key members not in camp due to travel restrictions and other commitments, there is a great opportunity for squad members to put their name up in lights in front of the coaching staff.” “There is plenty of competition for spots in the final Rollers team for the Paralympics and I’m expecting that competitive spirit to be on show in Canberra.” The 2021 Rollers Squad (in alphabetical order):
| Squad Member Name |
Current Home City/Institute Scholarship |
| Michael Auprince |
Wetzlar, Germany / NSWIS |
| Jordan Bartley |
Brisbane / QAS |
| Jannik Blair |
Bilbao, Spain & Horsham / WAIS |
| Jontee Brown |
Bendigo / VIS |
| Lachlin Dalton |
Brisbane / QAS |
| Steven Elliott |
Gympie / QAS |
| Phil Evans |
Perth / WAIS |
| Jake Kavanagh |
Perth / WAIS |
| Tristan Knowles |
Melbourne / VIS |
| Bill Latham |
Madrid, Spain / QAS |
| C.J McCarthy-Grogan |
Darwin / NTIS |
| Thomas McHugh |
Perth / WAIS |
| John McPhail |
Dallas, USA & Sydney / NSWIS |
| Matthew McShane |
Gold Coast / QAS |
| Shaun Norris (captain) |
Perth / WAIS |
| Luke Pople |
Wollongong / NSWIS |
| Tom O'Neill-Thorne |
Darwin / NTIS |
| Frank Pinder |
Perth / WAIS |
| Kim Robins |
Munich, Germany & Perth / WAIS |
| Shawn Russell |
Wollongong / NSWIS |
| Brett Stibners |
Wollongong / NSWIS |
| Jeremy Tyndall |
Waaia, Victoria / VIS |
| Samuel White |
Adelaide / SASI |
Due to playing commitments abroad and or COVID-19 quarantine requirements, the following squad members are unable to attend the camp: Michael Auprince, Jannik Blair, Jake Kavanagh, Bill Latham, John McPhail, Ryan Morich, Frank Pinder and Kim Robins. Since the 2020 Rollers squad was announced in July 2020, Damon Fent and Dylan Gawthorne have both taken a break from the sport and withdrawn from the squad. With an eye on the future, Friday has invited five athletes to attend this camp. These invitees are not vying for a seat on the plane to Tokyo, however their presence provides each with an opportunity to experience this high-performance environment and push for future honours.
Camp Invitees (in alphabetical order):
| Name |
Current Home City/Institute Scholarship |
| Jaylen Brown |
Warrnambool, Victoria |
| Brayden Foxley-Conolly |
Mackay / QAS |
| Eithen Leard |
Brisbane / QAS |
| Benjamin Moncrieff |
Perth / WAIS |
| Hayden Seibuhr |
Brisbane / QAS |
| Kurt Thomson |
Brisbane / QAS |
The Australian men’s Wheelchair Basketball team’s last Paralympics medal was at the 2012 London Games when they claimed silver. The team went on to secure a bronze medal at the 2018 Wheelchair Basketball World Cup.
