Kookaburras coach Graham Reid has backed a promise to treat next month's World League Semi Final like an Olympics as his team attempt to clinch a Rio 2016 men's hockey berth.
Reid on Tuesday named a vastly-experienced squad featuring 14 of last year's World Cup-winners in his 18-man outfit for the tournament in Antwerp.
An exception is 18-year-old Wollongong forward Blake Govers, brother of Olympic bronze medallist Kieran, who impressed in recent internationals in Tasmania.
The top-ranked Australians can secure a Rio Olympics berth if they finish in the top three in the 10-team tournament.
Hockey legend Jamie Dwyer, 36, will feature after recently becoming Australia's most capped player, overtaking Jay Stacy's record of 321 appearances at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia where he scored eight times.
Kieran Govers and Matthew Swann return from injury and duties in the Dutch Hoofdklasse league while Fergus Kavanagh also re-joins the group following a season in the Netherlands.
Four athletes could be in line for milestone appearances with Eddie Ockenden approaching 250 career matches, Kavanagh, 200, Kieran Govers, 100, and Tyler Lovell, 50.
"Our main objective is to qualify for the Olympics," said Reid.
"To do that, we've picked as strong a team as we could."
The Australians will face India, Pakistan, Poland and France in Pool A before coming up against the likes of Belgium, Great Britain, Malaysia, Ireland and China (#31) in the latter stages.
Kookaburras squad: Daniel Beale, Kiel Brown, Andrew Charter, Chris Ciriello, Tim Deavin, Jamie Dwyer, Matt Gohdes, Blake Govers, Kieran Govers, Fergus Kavanagh, Mark Knowles, Tyler Lovell, Eddie Ockenden, Simon Orchard, Matthew Swann, Jake Whetton, Tristan White, Aran Zalewski.
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