SYDNEY: Australia coach Ric Charlesworth added a youthful element to his experienced lineup for the Champions Trophy by including Matthew Swann and Brent Dancer in his squad Wednesday for the elite, six-nation field hockey tournament starting later this month.

The squad contains five survivors from the Kookuburras squad which won gold at the Athens 2004 Olympics including midfielder Brent Livermore, who has played 308 international matches dating back to 1997 but missed last year’s Beijing Olympics due to injury.

Swann, who made his international debut last month, and Dancer, who has six caps, won spots ahead of Beijing Olympics bronze medalists Kiel Brown, David Guest and Eli Matheson.

“The Champions Trophy is an important competition and selection of the squad was difficult,” Charlesworth was quoted as saying. “There was a range of players in contention and I think the selection is part of searching for those players who will compete at the World Cup next year.

“Playing in the Champions Trophy will give each player an opportunity to confirm their quality otherwise there will be someone there to take their spot.”

The Champions Trophy starts November 28 in Melbourne and features teams from Netherlands, Britain, Germany, Spain and South Korea.

Australia squad: George Bazeley, Nathan Burgers, Graeme Begbie, Luke Doerner, Matthew Swann, Matthew Butturini, Brent Dancer, Mark Knowles, Brent Livermore, Liam De Young, Fergus Kavanagh, Jamie Dwyer, Eddie Ockenden, Simon Orchard, Rob Hammond, Des Abbott, Grant Schubert, Glenn Turner.