The camp squad is relatively unchanged from the team that toured Europe, with only Bec Allen unavailable while Sara Blicavs and Abby Bishop return from injury and WNBA commitments respectively.
Australia finished their Japan and European tours with an 8-3 record, defeating Japan three times, Argentina, Italy, Belgium, Cameroon, and China with their three losses coming against top ten ranked countries in Spain, Canada and France.
"The tours [were] positive in respect to exposing areas we need to improve and what we do well,” said Opals head coach Brendan Joyce.
“The tours add to our preparation for August by giving the coaching staff a chance to trial the players and different combinations and test them in various roles as well as giving the players themselves some international experience.”
One final international tour is scheduled for the Opals before they reach Brazil, when they fly to the USA from July 28-August 1 once the official team is announced to play a warm-up tour against Canada, France and the USA.
That clash against USA will be competed at Madison Square Garden, the first time the Opals will play at the famous venue.
In the more immediate future, the Opals will head into their third camp on home soil since preparations began back in March.
Their camp aims will be to continue to build the team cohesion and chemistry they want to replicate from the 2014 World Championships Bronze Medal performance but also with a focus of improvement and a focus on opponents now known for the group stage for the Olympic campaign.
Australia (ranked second in the world) will begin the tournament with a game against Brazil (ranked seventh) on Sunday August 7 at 6.30am AEST.
They will then face Turkey (ranked equal-tenth) at 6.30am on August 8 with a day’s rest being earned before they play France (ranked fourth) on August 10 at 1.15am.
Their final two games of the group stage come against Japan (ranked 16th) on August 12 at 6.45am before clashing with Belarus (ranked equal-tenth) at 1.15am on August 14.
The 2016 Jayco Australian Opals Camp 3 Squad:
| First Name | Surname | Club | |
| Suzy | Batkovic | Townsville Fire | |
| Abby | Bishop | Seattle Storm | |
| Sara | Blicavs | Dandenong Rangers | |
| Natalie | Burton | Perth Lynx | |
| Elizabeth | Cambage | Shanghai | |
| Katie-Rae | Ebzery | Sydney Uni Flames | |
| Cayla | George | Townsville Fire* | |
| Laura | Hodges | Bourges (France) | |
| Rachel | Jarry | SEQ Stars* | |
| Tessa | Lavey | Perth Lynx | |
| Tess | Madgen | Pszczolka AZS UMCS Lublin (Poland) | |
| Leilani | Mitchell | Adelaide Lightning* | |
| Stephanie | Talbot | University of Canberra Capitals | |
| Marianna | Tolo | University of Canberra Capitals | |
Unavailable:
- Rebecca Allen – New York Liberty
- Erin Phillips – Dallas Wings
- Penny Taylor – Phoenix Mercury
*2015/16 WNBL season
Head Coach – Brendan Joyce
Assistant Coaches – Damian Cotter, Lori Chizik
Guest Coach – Peter Lonergan
Analyst – Wade Hobbs
Physiotherapist – Gaylene McKay
Doctor – Dr Simone Page
Soft Tissue Therapist – Kerry Lawrence
Strength and Conditioning Coach – Jan Legg
Manager – Tamara Sheppard
Media contact:
Lizzie Joyce
Lizzie Joyce Publicity
Mobile: 0408 234 109
Email: lizzie@lizziejoyce.com
