The 29-year-old is in Denmark playing for Australia's wheelchair rugby team as the Steelers bid to reach their fourth successive world final.

McQuillan spent 11 months in hospital after suffering a serious spinal injury playing for Albury Tigers against Yarrawonga in 2014.

The injury may have ended his football career but a fierce love of competitive sport has now carried 'Quill' to a global platform he would never otherwise have reached.

"For me, it's an incredible opportunity, not only to compete in these championships but just to get back to team sport, which is something I loved prior to my injury," McQuillan said.

"I grew up idolising people who were playing for Australia in different sports, whether that was able-bodied sport or para sport.

"I always thought they were amazing and I never thought I'd be someone who would be able to get into that position.

"But I find myself in Denmark after spending a week in Italy with the Australian team, training for the World Championships.

"If you'd told me 12 months ago this is what I'd be doing, I wouldn't have believed you."

Indeed, McQuillan took up the sport less than a year ago, initially to break the boredom of lockdown but soon showing he had the potential to go higher.

"I'd seen the sport after I initially injured myself," he said.

"They used to play it at the rehab centre and it interested me but when I returned to Albury, there wasn't much in the way of para sport.

"During lockdown, I was living in Melbourne and sent a message to one of the now assistant coaches of the Australian team.

"I went to some local games, filled in a couple of times and when they saw me getting around in the chair and handling the ball, they asked if I'd be interested in doing this more seriously.

"So I started training with the Australian squad and it's been a bit of a whirlwind since then.

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"I definitely didn't expect it to go this far, especially in such a short period of time but I'm really enjoying the journey.

"It's brought a lot of really great opportunities to get back to team sport, play in a high-performance environment and also travel and see a bit of the world."

Australia's squad of 12 begin their campaign against Brazil on Tuesday before taking on Canada, Denmark, Colombia and Japan with finals to follow.

"I'm learning a lot about the importance of this event in the wheelchair rugby world," McQuillan said.

"It's very exciting to be here with the 12 best teams fighting it out for the big one.

"Back in 2014, after I injured myself, it was a very difficult time for me.

"It felt like there was a lot taken away from me, that the future I had planned out was not what it was going to be any more.

"I wouldn't be where I am today without the support of my wife, Kathryn, my family and friends and the Albury-Wodonga community.

"They were incredibly supportive in the time after my accident, to fund-raise and help me get back on my feet.

"That allowed me to focus on getting back to the life I wanted to live.

"I spent a lot of time working on my independence.

"Pretty much everything I had to learn from scratch, which took a lot of time; I'm still learning.

"But it's been a really great journey now that I look back on it.

"I'm really stoked with how far I've come and I've still got a lot of things to achieve, which is exciting."

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