The changing face of wheelchair rugby: Shae Graham helps Australia's Steelers lead the way for inclusion in the sport

It was love at first play for Shae Graham when she encountered wheelchair rugby. Key points: Shae Graham was the first female to compete in wheelchair rugby at an international level An Australian first, the development squad played an all-female and non-binary team on the court at the New Zealand Championships this year There are five female athletes and one non-binary athlete with the potential to make the Paralympic team next year Despite having been an active teen, for nine years she stubbornly refused to participate in sport after acquiring her disability in a car accident when she was 18. With Graham leading the way for other female and non-binary athletes, including former wheelchair basketballer Ella Sabljak, the face of wheelchair rugby is changing. Australia's Steelers eyeing another shot at Paralympic gold Photo shows A group of wheelchair rugby players train on a court, trying to outmanoeuvre each other and set up plays. Australia's top wheelchair rugby players are busy trying to perfect the brutal, beautiful plays that could take them to a third-ever Paralympic gold medal in Paris next year — but first, the World Cup in France.