GB have been drawn in group B and will play Malta (12 June), Georgia (13 June) and Luxembourg (14 June).
The team has been plagued by injuries and player availability issues - and the ‘curse of the left-handers’ continued after Steven Larsson picked up an injury with his club Randers. He is the fifth left-hander to be forced to withdraw from the squad. Larsson’s misfortune has given NEM Hawks’ Stefan Whaley the chance to impress after Interim Head Coach Ricardo Vasconcelos named him as Larsson’s replacement.
The championship is an under-24 event, with three over-age players allowed. However, Vasconcelos will now have just one over-age players, 2012 Olympian Mark Hawkins. The squad has an average age of just over 21, as the team uses this competition to build for the future.
GB team for Emerging Nations Championship:
Alex Bradley - Warrington Wolves
Owen Insou - Saris Val d’Europe (France)
David Klaening - IK Nord (Sweden)
Brian Lindsay - BM Alarco Ciudad Real (Spain)
Ryan Goodwin - NEM Hawks
Ross Strachan - Livingston
Mark Hawkins - West London Eagles
Liam Welsby - Warrington Wolves
Stefan Whaley – NEM Hawks
Tomeu Lopez-Nieto - Handbol Sant Cugat (Spain)
Jamal Braithwaite - NEM Hawks
Stephen Clark - Warrington Wolves
Jordan Price - Nottingham
Ben Tyler - Warrington Wolves
