Goodes and O’Keefe have been named in the 30-player extended Victorian squad, alongside fellow AFL stars, such as Jonathan Brown, Gary Ablett Jr, Jimmy Bartel and Chris Judd.
Bolton, Kennelly and Kirk have all been named in the Dream Team squad, consisting of players from outside Victoria. They will join players such as Andrew McLeod, Dean Cox, Daniel Kerr and Matthew Pavlich.
Swans co-captain Craig Bolton said he was looking forward to playing in a match against and alongside some of the best players in the game.
“I think it’s really exciting,” Bolton said on Tuesday afternoon.
“It’s a good concept and it’s going to be great on Saturday night, to play against and play with some of the great players running around at the moment. So I’m really looking forward to it.”
“You don’t get that many opportunities these days to play state of origin, or to play with the highest players, so for me it’s more a really good opportunity to play in that sort of game.”
Swans forward Ryan O’Keefe said he was looking forward to donning the Victorian guernsey and representing his state.
“It’s pretty exciting to be wearing the Big V,” said O’Keefe.
“It’s something that, as a kid growing up in Melbourne, it’s probably the most prized jumper you could wear. It’s very exciting to have the opportunity, I’m very thankful.”
O’Keefe laid to rest any idea that the one-off game might not be competitive.
“When you put the top echelon of players together, they’re at the top because they’re all competitive.
“I don’t think anyone is going to go out there and go half-hearted because everyone wants to play well and everyone wants to win- it’s just the nature of the players.”
With Sydney Swans representatives on both sides, O’Keefe said the match will offer the opportunity to answer some questions about his team-mates.
“You train every day with them… You always think, in the back of your mind, I wonder what it would be like to actually have a real game against them,” he said.
“It will be interesting. We know each other’s strengths and weaknesses, so we might have to exploit that a bit.”
In an exciting prospect for Swans’ fans, O’Keefe and Bolton may well match up against each other in the match.
“It should be interesting, actually, if we get that chance,” said Bolton.
“I’ve matched up on Ryan a few times at training, and there’s been a little bit of banter this week, so we’ll have to wait and see. If it happens, it will be good fun.”
O’Keefe wasn’t quite so keen on the idea.
“I’d hate to play on [Bolton], actually, because he’s such a good player and such a good defender. I think there’ll be plenty of banter out there.”
Bolton wasn’t sure O’Keefe was telling the whole story.
“Oh, right. He doesn’t say that in the change rooms, I tell you,” he laughed.
Dream Team Squad
Andrew McLeod (captain), Adelaide
Nathan Bassett, Adelaide
Nathan Bock, Adelaide
Craig Bolton, Sydney
Peter Burgoyne, Port Adelaide
Shaun Burgoyne, Port Adelaide
Brett Burton, Adelaide
Jamie Charman, Brisbane Lions
Adam Cooney, Western Bulldogs
Joel Corey, Geelong
Kane Cornes, Port Adelaide
Dean Cox, West Coast
Daniel Cross, Western Bulldogs
Leon Davis, Collingwood
Corey Enright, Geelong
Lance Franklin, Hawthorn
Darren Glass, West Coast
Simon Goodwin, Adelaide
Ryan Griffen, Western Bulldogs
Graham Johncock, Adelaide
Tadhg Kennelly, Sydney
Daniel Kerr, West Coast
Brett Kirk, Sydney
Luke McPharlin, Fremantle
Cameron Mooney, Geelong
Daniel Motlop, Port Adelaide
Matthew Pavlich, Fremantle
Matthew Richardson, Richmond
Ben Rutten, Adelaide
Matthew Stokes, Geelong
Coach: Mark Williams
Assistant Coach: Neale Daniher
Victorian Squad
Jonathan Brown (captain), Brisbane Lions
Gary Ablett, Geelong
Jimmy Bartel, Geelong
Daniel Bradshaw, Brisbane Lions
Campbell Brown, Hawthorn
Paul Chapman, Geelong
Trent Croad, Hawthorn
Nick Dal Santo, St Kilda
Brendan Fevola, Carlton
Nathan Foley, Richmond
Josh Fraser, Collingwood
Adam Goodes, Sydney
Brent Harvey, North Melbourne
Brad Johnson, Western Bulldogs
Steve Johnson, Geelong
Chris Judd, Carlton
James Kelly, Geelong
Darren Milburn, Geelong
Sam Mitchell, Hawthorn
Robert Murphy, Western Bulldogs
Ryan O'Keefe, Sydney
Scott Pendlebury, Collingwood
Luke Power, Brisbane Lions
Jarryd Roughead, Hawthorn
Matthew Scarlett, Geelong
Joel Selwood, Geelong
Brad Sewell, Hawthorn
Heath Shaw, Collingwood
Troy Simmonds, Richmond
Jarred Waite, Carlton
Coach: Mark Thompson
Assistant Coach: Kevin Sheedy
