Lilliana Prucha hadn’t even rolled onto a wheelchair rugby court the last time the Steelers played at the World Championships, but next year she will be a driving force behind the Aussies’ title defence.
A silver medal at the Asia Oceanic Championships has earned the Steelers automatic qualification for the 2026 Wheelchair Rugby World Championships in Brazil.
Prucha, a Bond University Bachelor of Data Analytics student who only played her first international game with the Steelers this year, was paramount to the squad’s success across the Asia Oceanic tournament.
Australia won four of their five games, with victories over New Zealand, South Korea, Malaysia and host nation Thailand.
They then pushed Paris Paralympic gold medallist Japan to the wire in the final, falling just short, losing 53-52 in the final minute of the game.
“This journey has come from a lot of hard, consistent work and has been a huge learning curve for me as a professional athlete,” Prucha said.
“I’m excited to keep growing and seeing where it leads. I am honoured and proud to wear the green and gold and represent Australia.”
In the pool game against Malaysia, the Steelers came close to an all female line-up, dubbed “The Steelers Angels” with Prucha playing alongside Shae Graham and fellow Bull Shark, Emilie Miller.
“Seeing three out of four players on court for Australia being female was a huge milestone for a sport that has been traditionally dominated by male athletes,” Prucha said.
“Wheelchair rugby is an amazing mixed sport, and it’s been fantastic to see an increase in female participation coming through not just in Australia, but internationally as well.
“The pathway for women is strengthening, from the grassroots social games all the way to the elite level, and being part of this representation feels really meaningful.”
In that same game, fellow Bull Shark Brayden Foxley-Connolly, an up and-coming star of the Steelers, reached his 50th capped game in the team’s 42-4 win.
“We call him (Foxley-Connolly) Red, he’s a young 21-year-old with a lot of adrenalin and energy and I think the future of the sport is going to be safe with him,” Steelers stalwart Ryley Blatt said.
“He’s improving in leaps and bounds and actually he’s making myself and Bondy (Chris Bond), who are the most capped players for Australia, fight for our spot against him.
So that’s very good.” Prucha – who is the first wheelchair rugby player to receive Bond’s prestigious John Eales Rugby Excellence Scholarship – also represented the Steelers in June at the Wheelchair Rugby World Challenge.
Australia finished in that competition with silver after a tight 64-60 final against the Netherlands.