INTERNATIONAL RULES: Hawthorn captain Shane Crawford will again captain Australia in the upcoming International Rules series in Australia later this month
Crawford leads a 27-strong panel, which features eight of those who played in last year's trip to Dublin: Mark Bickley, Nathan Brown, Crawford, Chris Johnson, Robert Murphy, Matthew Pavlich, Matthew Scarlett and Adam Simpson. Six other players have previously played in the international series: Peter Bell, Peter Burgoyne, Brent Harvey, Brad Johnson, Luke Power and Rohan Smith.
A number of players are unavailable for selection because of close-season surgery and for other reasons. Australia manager Garry Lyon was unperturbed.
"We made a conscious decision that we weren't ever going to try and talk players into playing for Australia or representing their country," he said. "We certainly give them the opportunity and when they say they can't, for whatever reason, then we move on."
The squad will congregate six days before the first match in Perth and go to Bunbury in Western Australia for a three-day camp. They will also spend time together in the Victorian coastal town of Portsea, prior to the Melbourne Test.
The match in Perth is a sell-out, with over 40,000 tickets snapped up earlier in the season, while 15,000 tickets have been sold for the game at the MCG.
West Coast's Glen Jakovich has been earmarked to play as goalkeeper. The position is an annual headache for Australia as their own game has no equivalent.
AUSTRALIA: Leo Barry (Sydney), Peter Bell (Fremantle), Mark Bickley (Adelaide), Clint Bizzell (Melbourne), Nathan Brown (Western Bulldogs), Peter Burgoyne (Port Adelaide), Matthew Carr (Fremantle), Jared Crouch (Sydney), Shane Crawford (Hawthorn), Barry Hall (Sydney), Brent Harvey (Kangaroos), Paul Hasleby (Fremantle), Lenny Hayes (St Kilda), Glen Jakovich (West Coast), Brad Johnson (Western Bulldogs), Chris Johnson (Brisbane Lions), Brett Kirk (Sydney), Robert Murphy (Western Bulldogs), Matthew Pavlich (Fremantle), Luke Power (Brisbane Lions), Jade Rawlings (Hawthorn), Matthew Scarlett (Geelong), Adam Simpson (Kangaroos), Rohan Smith (Western Bulldogs), Daniel Wells (Kangaroos), David Wirrpunda (West Coast).
