It wasn't too long ago that Australia Men's Sevens coach John Manenti was digging deep in his black book to fill his squad for the World Series.
Now, the coach has fresh problems narrowly down a squad for the Perth SVNS over the Australia Day Weekend.
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The Australians are preparing for January's inaugural event in Perth, with Manenti's squad a far cry from the 'misfits' assembled week-to-week for events after their full-time players were cut dramatically after the Olympics.
Since then, they have gone on to win the World Series in 2021-22, with a core group of players remaining with a renewed focus on Paris.
This has attracted a host of fresh athletes to the program and on top of this, Manenti's injury list is starting to thin out, most notably the impending return of Henry Hutchison.
The growing competition has helped the side find their best form in Cape Town with a runners-up finish behind Series leaders Argentina, leaving Manenti with an abundance of talent to select from.
“We trained yesterday and there were 20 guys and a few aren’t fully contracted but it makes such a difference to the quality of training… Every one of them is putting their hand up for selection, I’ve genuinely got headaches,” Manenti told Rugby.com.au
“You have guys like Ben Dalton who plated last time and did and good job, Aden Ekanayake travelled with us, played up in Queensland for us and if you saw us train, you would’ve thought he was first picked along with Michael Icely coming back. You then have Henry Palmer, James Turner and Hadley Tonga vying for two spots
“They’re great headaches to have and I haven’t actually had them before, it was finding who might be available before and we’re still having those conversations with the Super clubs around getting potentially getting access to players who might be involved with the program down the track.”
Hutchison's potential return was welcomed by Manenti, who was held back for the home event.
The vice-captain ruptured his ACL almost 12 months ago and is itching to return after an extended period on the sidelines.
“He was touch and go for the last tournament (in Cape Town) and we ended up more on the conservative side and left him out but he’s jumping out of his skin to get back out and play," Manenti said.
“He’ll make a big difference just lightening up some of the stuff for Nick and he gives us another strong leader out on the field and an experienced player so really looking forward to having him back.
“…It’s going to be tough for him because he trained for so long but it’s 12 months since his last game and it’ll be in a World Series tournament but he’s such a professional about his preparation and getting it right.”
Matt Gonzalez is also in line to return from injury, with Henry Paterson set to be given every chance to be fit for the home event.
