We are one month away from the Opals taking to the floor once again. The Australian national team will head to Belgrade, Serbia for the World Cup qualifying event that kicks off on February 10.

While the Opals have been granted automatic qualification to the Sydney World Cup due to their status as hosts, there is still much to play for for the Aussie side. Looking to put the heartbreak of the Tokyo Olympics behind them, and with the hopes of building upon the success of the youthful squad at the Asia Cup, the team will be looking to gain momentum in the lead up to Sydney.

As we’ve come to expect from the Opals, their frontcourt did a lot of the heavy lifting in Tokyo. Ezi Magbegor, Cayla George and Marianna Tolo were the standout performers and look to have all but cemented their position on the squad for the World Cup.

Behind them, however, the team got little production from the backup power forward position. This has been a recurring theme for the Opals in recent times and is something that needs to be addressed.

A strong group of power forwards will be hoping to claim their spot on the World Cup team. With little separating all five players, it looks to be the most hotly contested roster crunch facing the coaching staff.

Let’s take a look at the candidates.