The NT Land Rover Mozzie 7s squad has been finalised 2 weeks out from the Nationals in Bendigo.
Former Aussie 7s captain and Mozzie 7s coach Tim Atkinson has selected a mixture of youth and experience in his squad.
Half of the squad from the successful 2016 Adelaide Nationals campaign will return including Robbie Butcher, Bobby Nurse, Rhys Mulholland, Ryan Oakley, Wise Sekitoga and Vinny Mehn.
Former Fijian 7s International Abele Atunaisa has been included after relocating to Darwin at the start of the year.
Abele featured for South Darwin this season leading the way in the NTRU with 26 tries in 12 games.
Hone Edwards and Darren Caulton bring an unknown excitement factor after representing the Youth Mozzies in 2016.
Darren has already featured with the Aussie U18s 7s program and he will certainly be on the radar of the senior National selectors in Bendigo.
Darwin Dragons and Mozzie stalwart Drew Tobin will bring valued leadership qualities to the group.
Drew’s fitness levels and his ability to play in the backs and forwards was a key factor in his selection.
New arrivals at Souths Dallas Penetito and Bryn Templeman round out the squad of 12.
There are 5 training sessions left before the Mozzies depart for Bendigo on November 24th.
The tournament runs over the weekend of November 25th and 26th.
The Mozzies are seeded 4th for this event after defeating defending champions, NSW Waratahs, in the quarter final last year.
The Mozzies are pooled with the ACT Brumbies, Australian Defence Force and Western Australia.
All the action will be live streamed on the ARU website – www.rugby.com.au
NT LAND ROVER MOZZIE 7s SQUAD – 2017
National 7s - Bendigo Victoria:
Vinny Mehn – South Darwin
Bobby Nurse – Casuarina Cougars
Dallas Penetito – South Darwin
Robbie Butcher – University Pirates
Darren Caulton – South Darwin
Wise Sekitoga – University Pirates
Hone Edwards – University Pirates
Abele Atunaisa – South Darwin
Ryan Oakley – University Pirates
Drew Tobin – Darwin Dragons
Bryn Templeman – South Darwin
Rhys Mulholland – South Darwin
Coach – Tim Atkinson
Manager – James de Dassel
Doctor/Physio – Nathan Trist
Remedial – Mal Brown