Selwood was part of the 2006 series and is West Coast's only representative in front of his home fans, and while he is keen to get to know the Irish opponents during the week, come Friday night it will be deadly serious.
"Irish guys are always fun to meet so it will be good to have that opportunity. Obviously it won't be over a pint of Guinness, but over a bottle of Powerade it will be good fun when we see them," Selwood said.
"We are taking it very seriously. This is the only opportunity we get to play for our country and the guys that have come together have done so because they want to and they are very serious about it. If they weren’t they would be on holiday in Thailand or somewhere."
In the last series, Selwood was sent from the ground after a high bump that saw his Irish opponent receive a broken nose, but he and all his teammates will be making sure it's a clean contest this time around.
"We've gone through the rules and understand what's acceptable and what's not compared to the last series. Obviously it did get out of hand for about 10 minutes the last time but the guys know where it stands and if something like that happens again the series is off forever pretty much," he said.
"We aren’t here to fight the Irish or anything like that, we have the utmost respect for them and hopefully it will be a good and fair game."
As one of the few players with experience in the game before, Selwood will be imparting his knowledge as much as he can this week.
"I'll be able to share my experience as there's only six or seven of us that have played before, but the guys will get stuck into training and find what feels comfortable for them," he said.
"The most important thing to do is to get as many kicks in as possible and to get an understanding of the flight of the ball. The way we train and play is very different to Ireland, so when we play it's going to be completely different anyway. It's just a matter of experience, and the longer you are out there the more you will feel comfortable."
Selwood is tremendously proud to be a vice-captain and to play for Mick Malthouse for the first time, and he's also hopeful the Fremantle fans can stop booing him for one night.
"It is a wonderful honour to be vice-captain with the great players in the side. I also feel privileged to be playing in the state I now play footy, in front of the West Coast and also Fremantle fans, so I hope everyone gets out there to embrace the concept," he said.
"I've been getting booed lately so it would be nice if they put that away for a week. It's just a matter of them supporting Australia, and there's also some WA boys coming back that are excited to be playing at home."
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The 2008 Toyota International Rules Series: Australia v Ireland
First Test – Subiaco Oval, Perth, Friday October 24
Second Test – MCG, Melbourne, Friday October 31
Tickets on sale now at ticketmaster.com.au, by calling 1300 136 122 or at a Ticketmaster outlet.
For full coverage of the 2008 series, click here.
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