Murray secured victory at the opening World Cup event of the season in Cape Town and will hope to replicate his success at the Australian leg of the circuit.

The 29-year-old will be hoping to use the event to help hone his preparations for next month's Commonwealth Games in the Gold Coast, where he will looking to improve on his bronze medal from Glasgow 2014.

"There’s a strong field here with a lot of the younger guys moving through," Murray said at the pre race press conference.

"With the preparation moving towards the Commonwealth Games the plan is to head over to Wanaka, New Zealand, for a training camp.

"The preparation is going well and my body is in good shape so it should be a good race here this weekend.

"There’s a lot of travel this year compared to other years, I will be coming back to Australia three times this year.

"It’s a great place to race and train."

Murray will expect to face competition from local triathletes Aaron Royle and Luke Willian, the latter having triumphed in Mooloolaba last year.

As well as the Australians, New Zealand’s Sam Ward and Ryan Sissons could prove a threat in the sprint distance event, contested over a 750 metres swim, 20 kilometes bike ride and 5km run.

United States’ Kirsten Kasper will start as the one to watch in the women’s event following her fourth place finish in the top tier World Triathlon series opener in Abu Dhabi last week.

Australia’s Charlotte McShane, Natalie Van Coevorden and Emma Jeffcoat will hope to deliver home success.