Mitchell waited nine hours for someone to find him breaking his back. This is his remarkable story

Mitchell Stone had nine hours to think about how his life had just changed. Rugby league was the furthest thing from his mind as he lay in his boat, unable to move with a "snapped right arm", busted ribs, mild hypothermia and dislocated vertebrae.

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Two kayakers eventually found him and dragged a 22-year-old Stone and his boat back to shore.

Albion Park Kiwi Mitchell Stone and Australian captain Bayley McKenna square off at the World Cup launch. Picture by Adam McLean

He spent the next six months in hospital trying to piece his life back together, and someone mentioned wheelchair rugby league as something he might be interested in.

Stone didn't think 16 years later he'd be lining up in the World Cup in his hometown, especially when you consider this twist.

The Albion Park resident and owner of Rolling Stone Mobility said he was "unco as" when he first started playing wheelchair rugby league in 2011, but soon after made his international debut for Australia in 2013 - less than two years after getting out of hospital. Now he's about to play for ... New Zealand.

That's right - an Illawarra business resident and business owner is about to commit the biggest trans-Tasman flip since NRL superstar Kalyn Ponga turned his back on the Kangaroos.

But think Stone is worried? No chance. The life-changing accident he endured has taught him to take every opportunity - on and off the field.

"I started playing the sport 15 years ago after I broke my back," Stone said. "I played for Australia back in 2013, and then last year I had the coach from New Zealand approach me.

"He saw my heritage on the sign up sheet and both my parents are born in New Zealand, so I qualified that way."

Stone's whirlwind life journey to get to a home World Cup is a remarkable story, but the opportunity to play for New Zealand only emerged recently after a change to the international eligibility rules.

Mitchell Stone, right, speaks at the World Cup launch. Picture by Adam McLean

England and France are tier-one nations because they've won every World Cup since 2008. The "Wheel Kiwis" only made their international debut two years ago, and players can switch between tier-two nations like Australia, New Zealand and Scotland.

So while Stone lives in Wollongong and started his wheelchair company earlier this year - which customises wheelchairs as well as servicing, repairing and maintaining them - he'll suit up for New Zealand.

The wheelchair World Cup games will be played at the WIN Entertainment Centre, starting with a clash between Ireland and the United States on Friday afternoon before Australia v New Zealand on Saturday.

"I know they've probably got a little bit of a target on my back, especially coming from Australia and then going to New Zealand. That's fine," Stone said.

"That kind of pushes me a little bit to go harder as well."

It's the New Zealand squad's first time in the tournament accompanying seven other nations who will be vying for the trophy. Australia's captain Bayley McKenna expected the competition to be brutal.

"I've heard a lot of good things about Ireland at the moment," said McKenna. "We are obviously expecting to be in the final as well.

"We have to get through New Zealand, and then we have to get through Scotland. But we are feeling really good."

Stone expects plenty of his mates from Albion Park to be in in two minds about who to support ahead of Australia's first game.

"Yeah I think there'll be a few cheering for New Zealand and a few going for Australia but cheering for me," Stone said.

His message to others? "Jump in a chair and give it a go," he said at a New Zealand training session earlier this month. "It's just amazing to still be able to play a competitive sport with friends and family."

The IRL Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup is about to begin in Wollongong with players from one country wasting no time to immersing themselves in the local sporting culture.

The waves at North Wollongong Beach might be familiar to locals, but for many of the athletes competing at the tournament, the waves are a new experience as they swap their wheelchairs for surfboards.

The WIN Entertainment Centre will host the IRL Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup. Picture by Adam McLean

Reigning world champions England quickly settled into Wollongong and enjoyed an afternoon off training as they learnt to surf at North Wollongong Beach.

Many of the England players were enjoying the thrill of catching waves for the first time, with the fear of sharks at the front of their minds.

"It was my first time surfing and it was fun, a real experience," winger Luis Domingos said.

"We were a little bit scared of the sharks and I'm terrified of snakes and I kept thinking 'where are the snakes'.

"It was my first time and I am really pleased to be here."

Pines Surfing Academy played host to the England wheelchair rugby league team with Domingos joking about the conditions in Wollongong being much different to his hometown of Leeds.

"It is a little bit cold back home," he said.

"If I was to do it again, I would come back here again.

"The guys we went out with were so amazing and so inspiring and made us feel part of the team."

Rob Hawkins, who plays as a winger for England, laughed as he spoke about a teammate who undertook research about the ocean and warned others about the sharks.

"We have one teammate who was worried about the sharks, Justin, and he had a radar on his phone and he was messing with us and saying there were sharks spotted in the area about three times in the one place" Hawkins said.

Gallery: See all the photos as the England Wheelchair Rugby League players and staff hit the waves at North Wollongong Beach. Pictures by Adam McLean

"I have never surfed before and it was a great experience and we loved the surfing lesson.

"Wollongong is a stunning place and it's a lovely place to be.

"We chose the right time to leave England because they are currently going through a bit of a storm back home and we much prefer to be playing and sitting around in the sun then rain hammering down and being stuck inside."

Teammate Mason Billington said it was his first time surfing and an experience he will never forget.

"It was an amazing experience and I have never seen the boys smile so much," Billington said.

"It was my first time surfing and it was definitely one for the bucket list and I'm glad I got to do it.

"A couple of the boys had an app where you could track the local sharks and they were making everyone worried about that."

The WIN Entertainment Centre has been transformed from a basketball court to an indoor wheelchair rugby league court as the IRL Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup hits Wollongong.

Eight nations will battle it out in Wollongong for Rugby League World Cup glory with this year's tournament the first Wheelchair World Cup to be held in Australia since 2008.

The wheelchair tournament will be played alongside the Men's and Women's Rugby League World Cups, and for the first time will be played at the same venue, with WIN Stadium hosting a double-header on Friday October 30.

Rugby League World Cup organisers report that ticket sales have been strong for the double-header with fans encouraged to take advantage of the "World Cup Magic Round" ticket offer whereby anyone with a ticket for the double-header can use their tickets to gain free entry to the wheelchair games on Friday.

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