Australia named a strong 18-member team for the Champions Trophy hockey tournament, to be held in Chennai from December 10 to 18.

The same side will also compete in the World Cup qualifying tournament, against Fiji and New Zealand [Images], from November 15-18, Hockey Australia said in a statement.

Coach Barry Dancer said although priority for the team is qualifying for the World Cup, they are also keen to put up a good show in the elite six-nation Champions Trophy.

"Our prime objective in Fiji is to qualify for the World Cup next year, but another benefit for us is the preparation for this team leading into the Champions Trophy," said Dancer.

"The Champions Trophy is a tournament we have really set ourselves for this year. We will play two friendlies in Kuala Lumpur, where we will aim to finalise our preparations before heading to India."

For Dancer, managing the heat in Chennai will be one of the biggest challenges.

"The humidity and heat will be a real factor in India which is why we are preparing with a camp in Brisbane, followed by the World Cup qualifiers in Fiji and then matches in Kuala Lumpur because they are all quite humid climates," Dancer added.

Team: Travis Brooks, Dean Butler, Liam DeYoung, Luke Doerner, Jamie Dwyer, Nathan Eglington, Bevan George, Rob Hammond, Aaron Hopkins, Mark Knowles, Stephen Lambert, Brent Livermore, Michael McCann, Stephen Mowlam, Matt Naylor, Grant Schubert, Andrew Smith, Matthew Wells.

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