GYMNASTICS: The Australian gymnastics team is in the midst of a "rebuilding phase" and likely won't be as dominant in Glasgow as at previous Commonwealth Games.
The Australian championships, which began in Melbourne on Wednesday, double as the selection trials for the Games to be held in Scotland in July.
The men's and women's five-person artistic teams will be announced on Sunday, while the three-women rhythmic team will be revealed at the end of the titles seven days later.
Women's artistic performance manager Liz Chetkovich is warning against expecting too much from the athletes who do make the cut.
"Our team is rebuilding," she told AAP.
"We had a team of veterans in Delhi. We have more newcomers (now). We are in a rebuilding phase, and some of the other teams are probably more consolidated.
"We aren't going to lie down and give up but we're in a pretty tough position this time to necessarily be as dominant as we've been."
Australia's women have excelled at the Commonwealth Games since 1998, winning every team title, the majority of the all-around titles and many of the apparatus gold medals too.
The main rivals in Glasgow will be, as always, England and Canada.
Dual-Olympian and former world champion Lauren Mitchell is expected to again lead the charge.
The 22-year-old has dropped the uneven bars so won't target the all-around like in Delhi where she won four gold medals.
But she'll likely compete in the other apparatus focusing on her pet events, the beam and floor.
"She's still very, very well placed to do well on those," Chetkovich said of Mitchell who returned to international competition in March following shoulder surgery after the London Olympics.
Fellow West Australian Olivia Vivian is another specialist to watch at the nationals this week.
The uneven bars' expert is striving to be oldest team member on the plane to Scotland - the 2008 Olympian will be 25 by the time the Games begin.
Vivian will go head-to-head in Melbourne with Victorian Larrissa Miller who was on the London team in 2012.
Miller is part of a large Victorian contingent that includes Mary-Anne Monckton who Chetkovich describes as "the best beam worker in the Commonwealth".
There's also Georgia-Rose Brown who excels on the uneven bars and floor and is probably the leading all-around contender at present.
Other all-around gymnasts in the mix are 2013 national champion Madelaine Leydin, who's been troubled by an ankle injury so is somewhat of an unknown quantity, and Kiara Munteanu, who often flies under the radar but shines on the uneven bars.
Up against the Victorians is Georgia Godwin from Queensland whose a powerful performer best known for her floor and beam routines.
Hoping for a spot on the men's artistic team is 2004 Olympic gold medallist Naoya Tsukahara.
The 36-year-old Japanese veteran became an Australian citizen in 2013.
He'll be up against Victorian Luke Wiwatowski who is determined to secure his first all-around gold medal after finishing on the podium for the past five years.
"It would be a nice notch on the belt to finally get that," Wiwatowski said.
The 23-year-old was part of the line-up that made history in 2010 by winning Australia's first men's Commonwealth team gold at Delhi.
Wiwatowski's training partner Jayden Bull is also in the mix for Games selection as an apparatus specialist.
Day 1 Finals Action
After night 1 of competition Mitchell registered the top score on her two key apparatus and Tsukahara leads the men's all-around competition.
Perth-based Mitchell showed she is back in top form after taking a break from competition in 2013 with a fantastic score of 14.9 on beam and 14.25 from a stunning floor routine.
Tsukahara made a great start in his bid for a fifth all-around national title with a score of 85.266 giving him a narrow lead over Wiwatowski (84.116).
In the women's all-around event Victorian Brown leads the competition on 55.55, from Queensland's Georgia Godwin (54.2) and reigning national champion Leydin (53.0) of Victoria.
AAP and Gymnastics Australia
