Michael Cheika's squad to take on England was all about redemption and second comings as the coach called in two men who thought their day had passed and one who thought it may never arrive.

Among the 39-man squad set to assemble on Queensland's Sunshine Coast will be 10 newcomers, the highest-profile being Karmichael Hunt, who many thought should have been banished from the code after his involvement in a drugs scandal last year.

Four have been recalled from overseas, including World Cup discard James Horwill and Leroy Houston, the mercurial forward who was called into Eddie Jones' Wallaby squad some 11 years ago and has now inked a new deal with his former side Queensland.

Houston played with the Reds until their championship year in 2011, when he started five games and appeared four times off the bench. It took a move to English side Bath for him to finally unlock his talents and Cheika clearly believes the 29-year-old returns a far more polished product.

His return to the Wallaby fold is the ultimate in good things coming to those who wait. Houston, a prodigious junior talent who made his way through the junior Australian sides, toured Europe with the Wallabies in 2005 before he had even played a Super Rugby game. He would later be cut from the Wallabies, appear 46 times in three yo-yo seasons at the Reds before igniting his career in the UK. His knowledge of the English game stands to hold him in good stead ahead of the June 11 Test opener.

For Hunt, his inclusion in the squad marks a moment that he felt may have evaporated after he was caught up in the drugs scandal that engulfed the NRL's Gold Coast Titans. The Reds would stick by their star recruit, as would Cheika, who was in frequent contact with the former Brisbane Bronco and Gold Coast Sun and has now given him the chance to stake a claim for a Wallaby debut.

"Obviously it was a pretty hectic couple of years. Light was hard to see at the end of the tunnel. Things happen for a reason. I've always believed in evolving and that's what I've done and what I will continue to do," Hunt said. "He's [Cheika] always been very good to get along with. He understands people. He understands players. My past is no different to a lot of other people - we all make mistakes. It's a blessing for me. I've been honoured."

Horwill, the former Reds captain, was gutted to miss out on the World Cup squad after being one of Australia's better players through the Rugby Championship. But Cheika has watched him closely at English club Harlequins and the big lock stands to make an emotional return to Wallaby colours.

All will be thrown into another high-octane camp at Caloundra, which is anything but a holiday as Cheika puts the group through a week of intense physical preparation before another cut is made a week out from the Test. For someone like Hunt, how he aims up against his positional rivals could well determine whether he watches the Test at Suncorp Stadium from the stands or from the field.

"There's nothing like a challenge. It sounds like it's right up my alley. It does sound like it's a tough environment to be in but there's only one way to get better and that is to put yourself under pressure," Hunt said.