Aussie Sevens stars Sharni Williams, Shannon Parry and Alicia Quirk have committed to another Olympic tilt, signing on until 2020.
The trio follows a handful of their teammates in re-signing through until Tokyo, keeping the core of the side together as the Olympic qualification season begins.
Williams and Parry have been the side's leaders in recent years and Quirk is the chief playmaker, and coach John Manenti said all three critical to the team's plans going forward.
"These three women are outstanding rugby players and leaders within our squad," he said.
“They all have such passion and drive for the program and for the game, wanting to see it grow and you can see this enthusiasm in the way they still throw themselves at everything.
“This year stands a massive year for the squad as we fight to secure Olympic qualification and to have these three as a part of our plans is the wind in our sails as we charge through our pre-season.”
Parry said she was excited to be a part of the next stage of the team's development.
“I’m really proud to be continuing my rugby journey with this amazing bunch of women," she said.
“We have an excellent program in the Aussie Sevens and a good plan for the next two years, which I am looking forward to getting into."
“The squad has continued to change and grow over the years and it’s humbling to be a part of such an exciting period for women’s rugby.
“We don’t shy away from the fact that we have high ambitions for this team, so there is a lot of hard work to come, but we’re looking forward to making sure that we are ready for the challenges that lie ahead for us.”
Williams said she felt the team still had plenty of potential to unearth after some successful seasons.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to represent my country in both Sevens and XVs and to continue my journey with the Aussie 7s for the next two years is really exciting," she said.
“As a squad, I believe we have only just scratched the surface of what we are capable of and there are more and more exciting new prospects putting their hands up all the time.
“The 2017-2018 HSBC Sevens World Series showed how much stronger the competition is now on the world stage. Teams will be coming for us and it is about how we prepare and handle those situations.
“I’m excited, pumped and ready for what lies ahead and am looking forward to the next two years.”
The Aussie women's Sevens play thieir first 2018-19 World Series tournament in Denver on October 20-21. The 2019 Sydney 7s kicks off on February 1 at Spotless Stadium, running until Sunday February 3. Buy tickets here.
