Athelite Australian Emus Announced for 2026 Asia Pacific Opens Touch Cup

Touch Football Australia (TFA) is proud to announce the Athelite Australian Emus teams selected for the 2026 Asia Pacific Opens Touch Cup (APOTC), to be held in Mudgee, New South Wales, from 23 to 26 April.

The Asia Pacific Open Touch Cup will welcome twenty-five teams from thirteen nations to the Glen Willow Regional Sporting Complex for four days of elite international competition. The event will include featured games on Anzac Day between Australia and New Zealand to honour the significance of the occasion.

Players were initially selected into national male and female squads, from which Men’s, Women’s, and Mixed Open teams were formed to compete at the APOTC. Both squads also included Alliance athletes, providing increased visibility at the highest level to strengthen the national pathway.

Zach Bouzounis, Joshua Moffit, Harry Griffin, Jackson Mills, Flynn Kelso, Andrew Searle, and Justin Cridland will be unavailable for this event. While John Paul and Robert Catalano have both elected to represent their heritage and will compete for Lebanon at the event, showcasing the continued growth of the international game.

The female squad also saw multiple experienced players unavailable for this event – Steph Maiolo, Evie Clarkson, Sammy-Jo Love, Abbey Good, Lucy Spain, Rachel Walsh, Zara Nicholas, Patricia Michaelopolus, Emily Ward, and Jade Pond – opening the door for emerging talent who will now experience representing their country in an international setting.

Strong leadership will underpin the national teams, with Dylan Hennessey and Tim Baartz again set to captain the Men’s and Mixed Open teams, respectively, bringing significant international experience. Following Kim Sue See’s decision to step back from Opens-level representation, Danni Norman will captain the Women’s Open team after earning Ron Hanson Medallist honours at last year’s Open Trans-Tasman Series.

TFA congratulates all players selected as squad members and those named in the teams that will take the field next week.

Australian Emus Men’s Open Team

• Head Coach – Phil Gyemore
• Assistant Coaches – Jason Boyd & Chris Loth
• Manager – Tim Villalba

Australian Emus Women's Open Team

• Head Coach – Renee Murphy
• Assistant Coaches – David Crase & Mel Mitchell
• Manager – Amy Hope

Australian Emus Mixed Open Team

• Head Coach – Dave Nolan
• Assistant Coaches – Jason Martin & Justin Creighton
• Manager – David Rose

* Denotes debut for Australia.

** Denotes debut for Men's Open.

National Male Squad

• Tjadyn Ashby
• Bailey Assay
• Tim Baartz
• Luke Cain
• James Courtney
• Zayne Cox
• Lachlan Crow
• Bailey Deakin
• William Eagleton
• Jack Edwards
• Wilson Groth
• Jakob Hall
• Braydon Hegarty
• Dylan Hennessey
• Keeron Hughes
• Riley Jones
• Malcolm Kenny
• Daniel Langbridge
• Chris Lennon
• Luke Mansour
• Maxwell Marsters
• Hayden Moffat
• Luke Moffitt
• Peter Norman
• Jake Notley
• Luke Osborne
• Drew Price
• James Price
• Blaise Prendergast
• Bradley Russell
• Corey Russell
• Kai Simbolon
• Logan Toohey
• Mitchell Wilton
• Alliance: Jaxson Tutavaha

National Female Squad

• Demi Ashurst
• Rebecca Bartlett
• Caitlyn Blade
• Tynise Bowrey
• Tiarni Bryce
• Sophie Davis
• Brittany Donovan
• Lucia Fildes
• Isabella Fildes
• Summer Halliwell-Quinn
• Kate Hammond
• Georgia Harris
• Chelsea Hindmarsh
• Rachel Jeffs
• Keesha Kapea
• Andi Law
• Lucy McDonald
• Alice Mitchell
• Meg Muir
• Sinead Murphy
• Chloe Nikola
• Danni Norman
• Maggie O'Reilly
• Sailor Perrett
• Jess Potts
• Holli Raaff
• Brittney Rudd
• Isabella Slattery
• Tayla Sykes
• Adelaide Sylvester
• Ruby Thomasyu
• Charlotte Vandermeer
• Ellie Wilson
• Alliance: Lily Quigley & Zoe Leaver

Touring Officials

Medical Team

• Steve Cunningham
• David Goodwin
• Rob Hoy
• Dr Steve Broad

TFA Operational Support

• Marcus Ashcroft
• Angela Trenerry
• Rebecca Trenerry
• James Sharp