Teams and disciplines for 2025 Trans Tasman announced
The teams and disciplines for the Right at Home Jackaroos 2025 Trans Tasman campaign have been announced ahead of the tournament at Naenae, commencing January 31.
Following the release of the full squads on Monday, Bowls Australia’s (BA) National Selection Panel has decided the makeup of the respective Australia, Para and Australia A teams that will face off against the Blackjacks.
The Open women’s quintet has seen just one alteration from the team that defeated New Zealand in February with Chloe Stewart coming in for the unavailable Ellen Fife.
Stewart will take part in the triples and fours as she adds to her tally of 140 international appearances.
In a positional switch, World Champion Dawn Hayman will take the singles mantle for the first time in her career after a plethora of strong displays in the format at national level throughout 2024.
The New South Wales star will skip the pairs Western Australian and Commonwealth Games gold medallist Kristina Krstic as her lead.
Krstic will lead the fours with Stewart as second and Natasha Van Eldik as third for Kelsey Cottrell as the anchor for the quartet.
Cottrell will also skip the triples with Stewart and Van Eldik as her front two.
Just a solitary change has come to the Open men’s team that conquered the 2023 World Bowls Championships and 2024 Trans Tasman and that comes in the form of Lee Schraner.
It is a remarkable story, with the New South Welshman set to add to his solitary international cap after a 14-year gap between appearances.
Schraner’s sole appearance for the Jackaroos came at the 2010 Moama International, when his 2025 fours teammates in Corey Wedlock and Aaron Teys were 14 and 17 respectively.
The recently crowned two-time World Champion of Champions winner will anchor the fours with Wedlock, Teys and Carl Healey as his front three.
Healey will skip the triples with Wedlock as his lead and Schraner at second.
Aaron Wilson will once again take the singles position and will reunite with Teys in the pairs after the duo took silver at the World Bowls Championships in 2023.
The Australia A women’s team sees a talented lineup band together as the five look to defend the trophy they claimed in February this year.
Cassandra Millerick will play in the singles position and take the lead role in the triples ahead of Kylie Lavis and Jessie Cottell.
Jamie-Lee Worsnop will skip the pairs both the pairs and fours with Brianna Smith as her lead in both disciplines, with Lavis and Cottell as the second and third in the latter.
Following his scintillating performance at the World Bowls Junior Indoor Championships in Hong Kong, Kane Nelson has been backed in the singles as well as in the skipper position in the triples.
His front two will be Nick Cahill and Cody Packer, with the latter moving to the lead spot in the fours and former to second.
In-form South Australian Nathan Black will play as third in the fours and lead in the pairs, with Commonwealth Games silver medallist Ben Twist to skip both disciplines.
The Para contingent will see the World Bowls Championship winning duo of Damien Delgado and James Reynolds back together in the men’s pairs with the latter to skip once again.
Louise Hoskins will lead for her Queensland teammate Serena Bonnell in the women’s pairs while Jacky Hudson and her director Rob Hudson will play up front in the vision impaired mixed pairs with Jake Fehlberg and his director Cody Fehlberg skipping.
National Coach Gary Willis is thrilled with how the team looks as the Jackaroos head into an important block in the lead in to the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
“The makeup of this team is sensational and I am looking forward to seeing how the athletes combat what can be tricky conditions at Naenae at the end of January,” he said.
“It is fantastic to see the form of some pay off to warrant selection in the open team or in certain positions and they certainly deserve the opportunity presented to them.
“The 2025 Trans Tasman is an incredibly important competition for us as it gives the players a chance to represent Australia once more and put their best foot forward in the lead in to Glasgow, which is fast approaching.”
See below for the respective teams and disciplines at the 2025 Trans Tasman:
Open Women
Kelsey Cottrell (QLD)
Dawn Hayman (NSW)
Kristina Krstic (WA)
Chloe Stewart (QLD)
Natasha Van Eldik (NSW)
Women Singles – Dawn Hayman
Women Fours – Kristina Krstic, Chloe Stewart, Natasha Van Eldik, Kelsey Cottrell (s)
Women Pairs – Kristina Krstic, Dawn Hayman (s)
Women Triples – Chloe Stewart, Natasha Van Eldik, Kelsey Cottrell (s)
Open Men
Carl Healey (NSW)
Lee Schraner (NSW)
Aaron Teys (NSW)
Corey Wedlock (NSW)
Aaron Wilson (NSW)
Men Singles – Aaron Wilson
Men Fours – Corey Wedlock, Aaron Teys, Carl Healey, Lee Schraner (s)
Men Pairs – Aaron Teys, Aaron Wilson(s)
Men Triples – Corey Wedlock, Lee Schraner, Carl Healey (s)
AUSTRALIA A
Women
Jessie Cottell (NSW)
Kylie Lavis (VIC)
Cassandra Millerick (VIC)
Brianna Smith (NSW)
Jamie Lee Worsnop (NSW)
Women Singles – Cassandra Millerick
Women Fours – Brianna Smith, Kylie Lavis, Jessie Cottell, Jamie Lee Worsnop (s)
Womens Pairs – Brianna Smith, Jamie Lee Worsnop (s)
Women Triples – Cassandra Millerick, Kylie Lavis, Jessie Cottell (s)
Men
Nathan Black (SA)
Nick Cahill (QLD)
Cody Packer (WA)
Kane Nelson (QLD)
Ben Twist (NSW)
Men Singles – Kane Nelson
Men Fours – Cody Packer, Nick Cahill, Nathan Black, Ben Twist (s)
Men Pairs – Nathan Black, Ben Twist (s)
Men Triples – Nick Cahill, Cody Packer, Kane Nelson (s)
PARA SQUAD
Women
Louise Hoskins
Serena Bonnell (s)
Men
Damien Delgado
James Reynolds (s)
Vision impaired
Jackie Hudson – Robert Hudson (DIR)
Jake Fehlberg (s) – Cody Fehlberg (DIR)
The 2025 Trans Tasman will run from January 31-February 2, 2025, at the Naenae Bowling Club in New Zealand.
