On Tuesday, Williams revealed his initial Dream Team squad, which will be cut to 30 on Sunday, May 4. The actual 25 to play in the MCG blockbuster will be named on the Friday morning prior to the match.
“It’s more exciting than doing an English Premier League dream team and it’s not fantasy – this is reality,” he said.
“It was like we had a draft and we selected those players. It’s not a bad group to have. It’s like we came bottom 17 years in a row.
“Apparently there are more than 6000 games and 5000 goals in this group combined. I’m sure that when we get together and look at all the premierships, the different medals and the experiences each player has had, we’ll say ‘wow, this is unbelievable’.”
The squad includes players from 13 AFL clubs and also incorporates each of the states represented by the Dream Team, as well as Ireland, which is represented by Tadhg Kennelly.
The group also contains 10 indigenous players including skipper Andrew McLeod, Hawks star Lance ‘Buddy’ Franklin and Power speedster Shaun Burgoyne.
“It was actually a nightmare trying to get the right mix of players,” Williams said.
“I think we’ve got nine people from nine different clubs helping to select the squad and it’s been terrific to work with them.
“Obviously we have picked 40, but the rules state that we can pick players from outside that squad at any time. There are a few guys that are unlucky not to be in the initial squad, who we expect to be in at a later stage.
“Brad Ottens is someone who stands out. He hasn’t played at all this season and there are others that have been down in form or in match fitness that haven’t been selected yet either.
“Brendon Lade is another one. We don’t think he’s quite up to his best form yet, but he’s playing against Coxy this weekend, so we’ll see how that goes.
“There are some brilliant players who are probably line-ball in terms of picking them ahead of the next player.
“Out of those that 40, we’ve probably got 20 midfielders and I encourage you to try and pick them. The guys that miss out will be extremely unlucky and I’m sure people could make a case for each person.
“I guarantee that I’ll hear from a few players who think they should be in the squad and I’ll be happy to watch them in the next few weeks and compare them against other players.”
The Crows have six representatives in the 40-man squad and Williams defended his decision to only select four of his own Port Adelaide players.
“You can talk about Adelaide players getting over used, but I think they’re all warranted and I’m not sure who you’d leave out,” he said.
“It might actually be harder for the Port Adelaide players to get in because I know how well they are playing. If you look at where we are on the ladder compared to other teams, you might understand why they’re not in the squad.”
The squad, which Williams said was picked on form not reputation, is also missing names such as Daniel Cross and Hamish McIntosh.
The premiership coach also queried the legitimacy of Adam Goodes, who was born in South Australia, being selected in the Victorian Squad.
“We only found out a day ago that Daniel Cross was from NSW and not Victoria.
“I actually thought Adam Goodes was from South Australia? Wasn’t he born here? I thought he was and we’ll have to check up on that. I know there are specific criteria in terms of where you played your first game, but I’m not sure he would’ve got in our squad anyway,” he said with a laugh.
To reserve your seats at the match that’s been 150 years in the making, click here
