The Rollers have officially booked their place at the 2026 IWBF World Championships in Canada after defeating Korea 79-44 in a huge semi-final performance at the Asia-Oceania Zone Championships in Bangkok today.
The victory secures Australia one of the region’s two direct qualification spots and moves the Rollers into tomorrow’s AOZ final, where they will face Japan.
Head Coach Brad Ness said qualifying directly has lifted a major weight off the group.
“How good!” Ness laughed.
“I can breathe a bit and take some of the pressure off now. Knowing we are through, that is 50% of the job we came here to do, and now we just need to keep performing.”
Ness said a blockbuster final with Japan is a fitting reflection of how far both teams have come.
“It should make for a really entertaining game,” he said.
“Over the last few years, we have kept an eye on Japan. They have got their mojo back in transition, they are up and about hitting chairs, and defensively they are probably one of the better teams, so it is fitting that Australia and Japan are in the final.”
With their ticket to Canada now confirmed, the Rollers can shift into full preparation mode for the 2026 World Championships.
“We can now really start to plan ahead, lock in tournaments, and make sure we get the best preparation possible without the unknown of having to go through another qualification route. That alone is worth more than people probably realise,” Ness said.
“It’s going to be unreal. You’re going to have the best 16 teams in the world hitting it out, you wouldn’t want to be anywhere else!”
The Rollers will meet Japan in the AOZ final tomorrow at 8:00pm AEDT.
